A year ago I had just two word associations with Sicily: Mafia and pizza. Then Erica Berry, our Bowdoin host student, said that she would be spending nine months in Sicily creating a documentary for the renowned Anna Tasca Lanza Sicilian Cooking School. In short order, Tina and I decided that, as host parents, we had to visit Erica. In equally short order, our dear friends Hugh and Surrey Hardcastle decided that they needed to go along. So we embarked upon our 10-day adventure on April 27. Shortly after we landed, I emailed Erica to say that we had arrived safely. She responded, “Welcome to sunny chaos!” Her description proved apt.

Our itinerary called for circling the island of Sicily by rental car, spending two nights each in Catania, Agrigento, Scopello and Taormina and one night in Cefalu. Travel tales can bore, so I’ll just recap.

Highlights

The people. They love to talk. And talk. And talk. To each other. Or on cell phones. I don’t think they have words for “shy” or “introverted.” They’re anxious to please, and delighted when you express appreciation for their homeland.

The history. The Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, which was constructed from the 6th century BC onwards. What prompted the decision to build such edifices? And how, on earth, did they do so? The Greek-Roman Theater in Catania and the Greek Theater in Taormina. I admire cultures which value performance. The magnificent duomos (Catholic churches with cathedrals) and churches wherever we went. While these religious edifices inspire awe, one might fairly ask if “the people” were best served by building monuments to “the Church.”

The views. A funivia (cable car) took us up to Erice, located 2,460 feet above the city of Trapani. By getting off the tourist path, we were rewarded with spectacular views. Taormina, Sicily’s most popular tourist resort, is simply stunning. Built on a hill overlooking the Ionian Sea, Taormina is a photographer’s paradise. Gorgeous panoramas as well as glimpses into charming alleyways and stair landings. Drives through the heart of Sicily up and down hills over winding roads featured olive orchards, old farmhouses, picturesque villages, castles perched atop hills, sheep (we had to stop the car once) and goats.

The food. Erica made a terrific lunch, highlighted by a risotto-with-artichoke dish, a scrumptious salad (mint, watercress and flowers) and homemade ice cream. The owners of the Baglio Buccellato B & B in Scopello prepared our other superb meal: mussels in garlic sauce; inchthick pizza (they graciously cooked an additional glutenfree pizza for Tina); fish and potatoes grilled in an outdoor oven; oranges and pastries for dessert; and wine. (Total cost: $25 Euro/person including the wine or about $28 in American dollars). We shared that meal under a full moon with a delightful British couple. Other highlights included fine pasta dishes (e.g. spaghetti with bits of lemon and a lemony sauce), swordfish or tuna covered with pistachio bits and tasty sauces, caponata (eggplant dish), and arancini (fried stuffed rice balls). Other favorite Sicilian culinary experiences involved stops for gelato and granite. Our own Gelato Fiasco here in Brunswick held its own against almost every gelato we tasted. Almost. And then there was the granite (or granita), a gelato-like treat that varied from place to place. The Bam Bar in Taormina featured the very best granite, almond or chocolate flavored, say, topped off with a thick creamy topping. Finally on the highlight ledger, the weather was perfect every day: sunny and in the ‘80s.

Lowlights

Locked car keys in the trunk (thanks, AAA!). Return trip delayed by two days because of a fire in the baggage area in the Rome airport. (Trip insurance, a wise investment at our age, reimbursed us for expenses incurred by the delay.) It took an hour and a half to get through customs at Logan Airport upon our return. The word “overkill” comes to mind.

Cautions

Get ready for a wild ride if you plan to drive a car around Sicily. The drivers (both car and motorbike) are crazy; the pedestrians are crazy; and the road signs, when they exist, are unclear and inconsistent. Enough said.

Try not to get sick if you go to Sicily. Erica and two interns were alone at the cooking school one weekend, and they decided to forage in the field for edible plants. They picked what they thought was chard, which proved to be mandrake leaves (poisonous and hallucinogenic). Without going into detail, they ended up in an understaffed hospital in Palermo, where no one spoke English, and one of the interns almost died. We heard another story from a distraught passenger at the airport in Catania. She had taken a bad fall and suffered a concussion. She ended up at a hospital where there were only two doctors for 100 patients. She said that she was left alone for 10 hours with no water or assistance of any kind.

We were warned to be very protective of our valuables in Sicily, which we were. That said, nowhere did we feel unsafe or under siege. We were also warned not to say anything about the Mafia. We did not.

Impressions

Sicily offers authentic flavor — and flavors. It’s real, not tacky, not Disneyland. Sicily is Europe back in the day.

The exchange rate is currently favorable for U.S. travelers, and we weren’t traveling in the high-season. As a result, Sicily was surprisingly inexpensive, especially compared with other European destinations. Most of our B & B’s were under $100; we had many fine meals for $20-30 a person; and, a bonus, the gelato is cheaper than here.

In retrospect, our itinerary may have required too many moves, too much finding the next place, too much packing and unpacking. But every stop had some good points, so cutting back would be tough.

Because of the chaotic driving conditions, joining a tour would have presented fewer day-to-day hassles. But some of our most memorable experiences occurred because we were on our own. Next time? Tough call.

All in all, it was wonderful to experience the richness of Sicily with our good friends. But it’s good to be back in Maine, even on the not-sosunny days.

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David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary as well as suggestions for future columns. dtreadw575@aol.com