Tampa 2 Sicily: 09/27/16

What a lovely view from the balcony where we ate!
This was our first night in Sicily.
We started the day leaving Tampa, Fl. around 3pm
the previous day
and arrived finally in Sicily around noon.
Which might explain why we look a little tired.

The Caponata was quite good
(this dish is on the menu as "aubergine casserole")
It was served at a room temperature and contained: eggplant,
pine nuts, bell pepper, zucchini, and the un-sweet local raisins.

Prosecco di Valdobbiadene
DOCG Astoria Millesimato 015
( info )

We started the meal with some prosecco
(which, like everything else that we had, was local made)
The prosecco was nice
but the Planeta Carricante was my favorite white wine of the trip.
(for more info: Planeta Winery Eruzione 1614 Carricante)

Fried combfish. I loved this dish! The name is a mystery though-the "comb" of combfish refers to the fact that you need a comb to pull the meat off of the bones when eating (we used forks-lol)

Fried appetizers served steaming hot.
The incredibly thin and light batter made this dish very good.
Contained shrimp, combfish, and calamari.

Benanti Nerello Cappuccio 2012

info

Radicchio pasta-

was tasty but a little strange, because of the radicchio.

I had never even imagined such a thing previously!

It had a nice flavor with a touch of the radicchio bitterness.

Funghi pasta with porcini mushrooms.

Delicious dish!

Linguine with pistachios and prawns.

Almond Cake. Had to try some!
It was a nice ending to a lovely meal!

Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo

Rear entrance to hotel adjacent to entrance to Greek theater.

Grand rear entrance to hotel.

A little breakfast in our room.

Turn down service at night with:
bottled water at the bedside and tomorrows forecast.

View walking into our room.
This was the bottom floor with a seating area, bathroom, and balcony with Etna and city view.

The pigeons could be a bit aggressive trying for crumbs of food, which is why the hotel has resident kitty's.

Cocktails on the Literary Terrace.
They served roasted almonds and hazelnuts with fresh fried chips and olives every time we sat for drinks.

We had breakfast in the Hotel restaurant with these incredible views. The breakfast buffets were wonderful and a great chance to try local cheeses, cured meats, fruits, breads, sweets, and more. The hot options on the menu were incredible also. We particularly loved the Eggs Benedict (anything with eggs was incredible because of the quality of the fresh eggs).