Final Day in Sicily: Why Must We Leave!?

We had one more day to take advantage of everything Sicily had to offer. We started the day again at Caffe Sicilia because it was that good. This time, I tried the mandarin granita, also delish! 

Then it was time for Pete and Oma to get to work! Pete surprised his mom with a mother-son cooking class to make up for a previous gift that Oma wasn't able to cash in on. They drove to La Corte del Sole near the coast and enjoyed a 3 hour private Sicilian cooking lesson with two chefs and a translator. They got to pick the veggies and herbs they would use from the gardens. Then they made pasta, Sicilian pesto, cleaned and stuffed anchovies and sardines, an orange salad, squid stuffed with a ricotta stuffing and a lemon jelly for dessert. 

Chef's tattoo

While the chefs were hard at work, Opa and I took the kids to yet another beach, Eloro. This was next to an archeological park at the top of the National Reserve. On the walk to the beach, we passed an old Greek theater from the 4th or 3rd century B.C. NBD. There was a small stream flowing into the ocean alongside the ancient ruins, another fun place for the kids to play! We worked up an appetite and were invited to join the chefs for lunch.

Grounds at the cooking class

Gorgeous setting for the boutique hotel

And here are all of the dishes that they made: 

Stuffed anchovies and sardines on top of an orange and olive salad.

Pesto Pasta and ricotta salata cheese. 

Squid stuffed with a bread crumb/ricotta cheese stuffing. 

Lemon gelatin dessert. 

After that feast, it was hard to think about dinner. Oma and Opa offered for us to go into Noto again for a full evening out. So Pete and I wandered around the town, did some shopping and settled for a hole in the wall pizza place. We were feeling "fine dined-out." We made sure to save room for dessert though. While Caffe Sicilia is the best for their granita, they have competition for the best gelato and the honor goes to Caffe Constanzo. We shared a cone with ricotta and chocolate and after tasting the ricotta, my eyes rolled back in my head. Pete tried it and was also visibly moved by the deliciousness. A waitress had been watching us both in our ecstasy and she just gave a knowing smile like, "yep, it is that darn good!" I am still dreaming of the gelato and hoping to go back there some day!

The perfect way to end to an amazing trip! 

We had a short delay leaving Sicily the next morning so these two got to check out the cock-pit!

Noto and Lido San Lorenzo

I was already excited about visiting Noto and then we saw the Netflix special on Caffe Sicilia and I couldn't wait to get there and get my hands on their granita, brioche and other specialities! We arrived for breakfast and it lived up to all our expectations. Corrado himself even came out of the restaurant and said hello to me on his way to talk to an Italian television crew that had arrived (he has been famous in Sicily for a while, but I imagine the Netflix special is taking his celebrity to a whole new level).

That brioche!! So light and airy, but so rich in buttery flavor!

And the piece de resistance- the granita. So different from the slushy drinks I thought were granita before arriving in Sicily. So smooth, so flavorful! They were not yet making lemon flavor as the type of lemons they use are not yet in season. So I had blood orange and others had the famous almond flavor or almond

Kid approved! 

The day was already made and we spent the rest of the morning checking out the main drag of Noto with its impressive baroque architecture and massive Duomo. We took turns going up to the terrace of the Church of Santa Chiara and playing on the playground with the kids. Maeve came down with a cold and was out for the count early. We managed to find a restaurant that was open for lunch before noon and while the service left something to be desired, my ravioli blew me away!

While on the steps of the Duomo, a parade of clowns in lab coats came by. They were clown therapists initiating their new crew. They made balloon animals for the kids and posed with us for a photo. 

Tiled floor of Church of Santa Chiara

Skip's picture from the terrace.

Views over Noto out to the sea

It was another beautiful day so we drove down to Lido San Lorenzo. No facilities on the large, white sand beach and just a few families. The tides had created a tide pool that was perfect for playing in and blessedly warm compared to the chilly Mediterranean. I was loving these unexpected beach days!

Surrounding scenary

Hilltop town of Noto in the distance

Back at the Agriresidence, we made some fresh squeezed lemonade with Opa.

Oma and Opa had an early dinner in Noto and then babysat so Pete and I could go to dinner at Manna, which I'd read about on a travel blog. Yum!