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  Santo Stefano, Cefalu, Palermo, Italy
Monday, August 20, 2007

T and I visited my family in Santo Stefano, Sicily in July 2007. This was my third time to Sicily and T's first. I hadn't seen my family since I was sixteen years old, fourteen years ago! it was very nerve wracking and I didn't really know what to expect. To add even more stress, this was the first time they'd be meeting T.
Santo Stefano di Camastra is on the northern coast of Sicily and it sits at the edge of a cliff.  
The buildings of Santo Stefano are pleasant but undistinguished.  The hills around the town are a source of excellent clay which has made Santo Stefano the ceramics capital of Sicily. The main street is lined with merchants and manufacturers displaying beautiful and useful objects, from traditional to modern designs, from small plates to giant urns.
I am very lucky that my family on my dad's side is in the ceramics business. My uncle Nino is an amazing artist and in fact, he is nationally recognized.  The Pope even traveled to his store to see his work and meet the artist himself! We were sent home with many beautiful ceramic pieces that have found a home on our wall. We made sure to bring gifts for every family member on both sides. This was daunting in itself because I hadn't seen many of them in so long, and some members, such as my second cousins, I had never even met! I played it safe and brought everyone 'American' items, such as, Ralph Lauren polo shirts for the men and American brand perfumes for the females.
The Mingari and Fazio families were both extremely gracious and generous hosts. From the moment we arrived, it was clear that we were with family!
We stayed in my dad's apartment, which is right in the middle of town and very accessible to pretty much everywhere we needed to go.  The apartment was great and exactly what we needed, except for one little thing...air-conditioning!! We were in Sicily during a heatwave and there was literally no air-conditioning, except for Zia Cicina's store, thank god for that small relief. It was so hot...almost unbearable. It got better in the last couple of days but hot is hot. This was the only complaint of the trip
This trip was definitely not about sightseeing. We only left Santo Stefano twice; one day we visited nearby coastal town Cefalu with Fina, Enzo, Jean Carla, and Augostino, and on the last day of our trip, we went to Palermo to stay with my cousin Arcangelita prior to our return flight home.
We ate so incredibly well on this trip. On my mom's side, my Zia Antonia is the chef, and she's a wonderful cook. Everything is fresh, straight from the farm, and truly delicious. She made arancini (my favorite) pizza, pasta (of course), involtini, and so many other amazing dishes.  Zio Nino (this one is on my mom's side) and Zia Graziella brought us and the rest of the Fazio family, excluding Antonia (she was home cooking, of course!), to an amazing restaurant, Antica Finlanda...see the pictures below. The restaurant was perched on a cliff overlooking the water and the food was incredible. Not only was every course amazing, the presentation of the food was unlike anything I'd ever seen...talk about art! This was definitely the best meal of our trip and may be one of the top 5 culinary experiences ever...although this is still up for debate (according to T, anyway).
We ate at some other good places as well, specifically specializing in seafood (we were on the coast, after all). 
All of my relatives made us feel at home and were extremely hospitable. We couldn't have asked for better hosts.
Oh, and did I mention how good my Italian was??? None of my relatives, excluding Arcangelita, speak English so I really had to step it up. I must admit, I was pretty damn good, if I do say so myself. T started to pick it up to...he carried about 3 books with him at all times for reference. It was very cute!
It was wonderful reuniting with my family, especially after all these years. I hope that it won't be another 14 years till we see them again! 
 

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room with a view	Spectacular Santo Stefano	The Fazio family	Mingari family
our apartment	our apartment	delicious Antica Finland	delicious Antica Finlanda
delicious Antica Finlanda	delicious Antica Finlanda	delicious Antica Finlanda	Zia Graziella and I
Zia Antonia	Zio Melo, me, Zia Cicina, and T	Fina and Enzo	Augostino and Jean Carla
the lovebirds	Claudia and Zia Antonia	Zio Melo and T	Spectacular Santo Stefano
Spectacular Santo Stefano	Spectacular Santo Stefano	Spectacular Santo Stefano	Mingari family
Mingari family	T ate the whole thing!	lunch at the beach	Mingari family

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