#cheekybici

[thecheekychef]

vineyards on mt. etna in sicily #CHEEKYtravel #sicilia #Sicily #italia #italy #southernitaly #terronia @ssilvestori @tenutaterrenere #mtetna #etnadoc #etnawines #vinosiciliano #vino #thecheekychef #cheekybici

[thecheekychef]

Linda fends off pervy shepherds while Silvestro feels the wind in his hair: Marsala + Mazara del Vallo

The core muscle-building biking days of the CHEEKYbici Sicilian bicycle trip were along the route to Menfi. I call these the "Kardashian-booty-training days". We were riding up to 70km per day from Trapani through Marsala to Mazara del Vallo on the first day and Mazara, Campobello di Mazara, Castelvetrano to Menfi on the next. This was pretty much the same route on the way back as well. We started along a country road near the salt pans that line the coast from Trapani to Marsala, stopping to take photos and change flat tires (Silvestro's, not mine). At the halfway point, we took a break for a quick lunch in the main piazza of Marsala and shared salami sandwiches, a container of buttery green olives and a bag of sesame cookies called biscotti regina before taking a little cat nap in the sun. It was Palm Sunday when we first stopped in Marsala so there were little kids learning how to braid palms to sell in front of the church. 

From Marsala, the next stop was Mazara del Vallo a main port city on the southwest edge of Sicily. We rode into Mazara del Vallo over a long high bridge just as the sun was setting; wind blowing in our hair (well, not Silvestro's), sun on our faces, with a feeling of peace and complete open mind and heart. Of all of the breathtaking views on the trip, all of the rolling green hills covered in tiny white and yellow wild flowers, all of the baroque cities built like little wooden carvings into a mountainside...the moment we rode over that bridge into Mazara will still be one of our shared favorites of the trip. 

After a night in a rented apartment (in let's call it the shadiest of our hotel choices), we said arrivederci to Julio (a made-up name that I gave him) the skeevy groundskeeper, and took off verso Menfi to finally hit some vineyards! As we rode along the sleepy flat roads through Campobello di Mazara and Castelvetrano, we stopped to take photos of a sweet contadino (farmer) named Vincenzo pruning his grape vines and a shepherd with a flock of sheep and a flock of dogs to match. Silvestro's pro-tip is always stop and talk to people. There was a great encounter with Vincenzo as he showed us how he dry prunes and twists the branches along wires to train them to grow how he wants. On the other hand, my girly intuition to stop and take photos of the fat old shepherd and his fluffy white sheep was quickly put in check by Silvestro's warning to "stai attento" because these lone shepherds are stereotypically the horniest guys we'll meet on the road. Sicilians will take one finger and pull it down under your eye as a sign to be careful and keep an eye out. That's pretty much the vibe I got but I wasn't afraid of an old pervy shepherd; he couldn't catch us on the bikes anyway.

Here's some photos from the west side of the island and a quick video of Vincenzo explaining his pruning process on the Catarratto Lucido vines.

[thecheekychef]

Linda fends off pervy shepherds while Silvestro feels the wind in his hair: Marsala + Mazara del Vallo

The core muscle-building biking days of the CHEEKYbici Sicilian bicycle trip were along the route to Menfi. I call these the "Kardashian-booty-training days". We were riding up to 70km per day from Trapani through Marsala to Mazara del Vallo on the first day and Mazara, Campobello di Mazara, Castelvetrano to Menfi on the next. This was pretty much the same route on the way back as well. We started along a country road near the salt pans that line the coast from Trapani to Marsala, stopping to take photos and change flat tires (Silvestro's, not mine). At the halfway point, we took a break for a quick lunch in the main piazza of Marsala and shared salami sandwiches, a container of buttery green olives and a bag of sesame cookies called biscotti regina before taking a little cat nap in the sun. It was Palm Sunday when we first stopped in Marsala so there were little kids learning how to braid palms to sell in front of the church. 

From Marsala, the next stop was Mazara del Vallo a main port city on the southwest edge of Sicily. We rode into Mazara del Vallo over a long high bridge just as the sun was setting; wind blowing in our hair (well, not Silvestro's), sun on our faces, with a feeling of peace and complete open mind and heart. Of all of the breathtaking views on the trip, all of the rolling green hills covered in tiny white and yellow wild flowers, all of the baroque cities built like little wooden carvings into a mountainside...the moment we rode over that bridge into Mazara will still be one of our shared favorites of the trip. 

After a night in a rented apartment (in let's call it the shadiest of our hotel choices), we said arrivederci to Julio (a made-up name that I gave him) the skeevy groundskeeper, and took off verso Menfi to finally hit some vineyards! As we rode along the sleepy flat roads through Campobello di Mazara and Castelvetrano, we stopped to take photos of a sweet contadino (farmer) named Vincenzo pruning his grape vines and a shepherd with a flock of sheep and a flock of dogs to match. Silvestro's pro-tip is always stop and talk to people. There was a great encounter with Vincenzo as he showed us how he dry prunes and twists the branches along wires to train them to grow how he wants. On the other hand, my girly intuition to stop and take photos of the fat old shepherd and his fluffy white sheep was quickly put in check by Silvestro's warning to "stai attento" because these lone shepherds are stereotypically the horniest guys we'll meet on the road. Sicilians will take one finger and pull it down under your eye as a sign to be careful and keep an eye out. That's pretty much the vibe I got but I wasn't afraid of an old pervy shepherd; he couldn't catch us on the bikes anyway.

Here's some photos from the west side of the island and a quick video of Vincenzo explaining his pruning process on the Catarratto Lucido vines.

[thecheekychef]

roadtrip from Puglia to Sicily

 How do you pick a partner for a 20 day roadtrip? We were finding someone to spend 24-hours a day with, eat every meal together, sleep in the same room, exercise/sweat/stink together, and only have privacy when the bathroom door closes or when we're fast asleep. It's not easy. 

Most people know I'm pretty low-maintenance (as any girl would like to think she is) but ask my nearest & dearest and they will be a bit worried I'd get sick of someone very quickly.  Other than best friends and boyfriends, I've only successfully spent a week with one other guy so far without going mad. It was one week in June of 2014 at the seaside with my best italian friend Alessandro on what we called our faux honeymoon. For this year's biking adventure, Silvestro Silvestori asked me to join him for almost 3 weeks on the road, just the two of us, and I couldn't have found a better partner. We were both lucky I think. 

Silvestro owns the cutest regional food and wine school in the south of Italy. He started The Awaiting Table about 12 years ago in his home in Lecce, Puglia. The school focuses on the food of the Salento, a special section of Puglia, surrounded by two seas at the bottom of the boot's heel. I feel like I've known him for years thanks to blogging and social media but we finally met in July 2013 when I visited his school for a cooking course. 

When I arrived in Lecce, we packed up saddlebags for the bicycles and did a test run to make sure I didn't pack too much stuff. To think the only things I actually left behind in Lecce were a bathing suit and a couple extra lipsticks, I think I packed quite well. We loaded up Silvestro's car with two bicycles, our bags, my Spotify account packed with killer jams for the ride and a small wooden box with two wine glasses and a bottle opener (in case of emergency). We were ready to roll. 

Driving through Puglia, Basilicata and Calabria I was falling in love with the south. Silvestro is a true cheerleader for the south of Italy and repeatedly told me that the things I am so in love with about Sicily are also true of the whole south. I think he's finally cracked through my tough candy shell. Puglia is filled with olive groves and fields of artichokes with no rolling hills to block your view for miles and miles. Basilicata had orchards of breathtaking purple flowering trees (maybe apricots or peaches) that got me so excited to see Sicily's almond blossoms but actually the timing was not right. The coast of Calabria had bright blue water like the Caribbean and we stopped at a lookout point to see a beautiful castle on the sea with a veg vendor parked in front with a truck full of dried chilies. It was like a postcard. 

This was probably Silvestro's 9th biking trip, having done this before with other female partners whether they were long-time friends, work acquaintances or girlfriends. I guess we both took a risk when I booked my flight to Brindisi without much of a plan for our cycling trip to visit Sicilian wineries. He tried to keep me calm and trust that he's done this trip before and it's not easy to make a plan for wine tours, hotels or meeting up with producers and friends. We never know how long it will take to bike from city to city, if there will be rain or if we have bicycle trouble - so to ditch work for 3 weeks and take off across the ocean without a plan wasn't exactly comforting for me. The  capricorn ex-project manager in me was about to freak out but having someone as patient and smart as  Silvestro on my side through this adventure was really my little rabbit's foot. 

 The Awaiting Table Cookery School

www.awaitingtable.com

@ssilvestori @awaitingtable

[thecheekychef]

@ssilvestori teaching me how to change a flat tire on our bike trip. trapani|marsala|mazaradelvallo 🚲🚲 67km #CHEEKYbici #CHEEKYtravel #marsala #trapani #mazaradelvallo #sicilia #sicily #biketrip #bici #cyclingsicily

[thecheekychef]

this is how we do it @ssilvestori is rubbing n grilling up some steaks and i'm making a tomato & wild southern Italian rucchetta salad while we plan our bike route around #sicily #CHEEKYbici #CHEEKYtravel #dinner #maps #sicilia #lecce #Puglia #rucchetta #rucola #arugula #vinosalentino #vino #negroamaro (at The Awaiting Table Cookery School, Lecce)