When I land on the runway, caught between the Tyrrhenian Sea and the dark mountains, at Palermo’s Falcone and Borsellino International Airport late tomorrow night to begin a six week stay in Sicily and Polizzi, I will be thinking about; returning and rediscovery, taking a Sicilian road trip and Paul Theroux’s words, about having “a trip to do one thing well". (Theroux, P. 2013, “My Travel Wish List”, The New York Times.)

Staying at The Sicilian House “Palazzo Notar Nicchi” in Polizzi, where the top terrace overlooks the village rooftops and the mountains, now green after the winter rains and snow, I will make my plans;  to take a Sicilian road trip to the island’s interior, re-read some books like Tomasi di Lampedusa’s “The Leopard" and Peter Robb’s “Midnight in Sicily”, among others, decide what the one thing to do well will be and simply enjoy returning.

There is 'joy in returning'. The rediscovery of the daily rhythms of Polizzi; the vibrancy and welcome of familiar faces on the evening passeggiata on warmer nights, the pleasure of getting freshly baked bread from the young bakers around the corner from the house up past the old stone fountain, the sight of the spring colours of the surrounding Mountains, and the silence of the night once the village rests.

And also, the sheer joy of unlocking the front door and rediscovering the interconnecting rooms of the house, which overlooks a small rear piazza where the soft murmurs of the evening prayer, coming from the centuries old church of Sant’ Orsola,  can be heard when the doors to the balconies are ajar.

Living in the village for a few weeks has always 'fed my soul' yet the thought of doing something well this time stays on my mind and six weeks is a good amount of time. Continuing to learn the piano under a local music teacher or becoming a serious student of Italian again with a local language teacher are both appealing.  Imagine my Italian improving so that I can discover seriously some of the titles of the village’s unique 40,000 volume library.

Yet, the thing that I think I want to do well this time is to learn to cook Pasta con le Sarde – the classic Palermitana  pasta which uses fresh, wild mountain fennel, fresh sardines, pine nuts, saffron and sultanas. I first tasted this exotic pasta, a legacy from the Arabs, years ago in Giblimana, a town of the Madonie, up behind Cefalu. I have been told that it is a classic dish found only in the province of Palermo and Western Sicily.

In May, the mountains outside of Polizzi will be full of the feathery fronds of sweet wild fennel and I can ask Maria Culletta, the property manager of The Sicilian House and one of Polizzi’s best cooks to teach me. We could collect the wild fennel from the roadside on the mountainous Piano Battaglia road, just outside of town and the fresh sardines; I will be guided by Maria on these. We will cook together in the kitchen adjoining the terrace.

I will tell more about how this all goes in the coming weeks. I may even ask Maria to also teach me how to make cannoli; the quintessential indulgent Sicilian pastry. It is also a legacy from the Arabs and I would like to have ago at making it.

And, the thinking about a Sicilian road trip; Paul Theroux has reignited my desire to take road trips. The thought of taking off in the car from the back door of The Sicilian House in Polizzi, in the early morning before the village wakes loading only a small overnight bag with enough gear for 3 or so nights, to take some of the back roads through the heart of Sicily, to discover a bit more of the interior is exciting.

I am thinking a trip to the interior that I have never done before. Maybe it will be a trip from Polizzi to Palermo along the small mountain roads through towns with names like Santa Caterina, Marianopoli, Prizzi, Coreleone and Piana degli Albanese.  It’s the heart of this beguiling island, steeped in stories, that I want to explore.

To make a road trip, stopping at small places for a night’s sleep in the heart of Sicily and then returning to the house on Polizzi’s main street is appealing.

I will leave you with some of Paul Theroux words from his inspiring article, “My Travel Wish List”. His writings reignited my desire to take a Sicilian road trip and also to seriously do one thing well when there.

“There is also on my mind the joyful notion of studying something useful in a far off place; a transformational residence somewhere distant, and pleasant, to learn a skill, or feed my mind is an idea that animates me……….and  a trip to do one thing well.”

Over the next few weeks I will share what I learn and discover.

Salve

Suzanne