Last Day at Parco Cavalongo

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Today we all decided to take a day off from sightseeing and stick around the villa to do some laundry and catch some rays by the pool. Dan got an early start by hiking the hills of the Parco before the hot sun came out and he got some great photos of the countryside while I putz around the villa starting to pack up for our next week of adventure. Later in the day, we decided to run into Ragusa for our final southern Sicilian supper and drove to the Centro and main piazza. We knew we were too early to eat yet as it was only 6:30 pm, and the sun was starting to set. Lissa wanted to take some photos of the sunset but we noticed that the sky was getting dark fast. A huge thunderhead was forming and we knew it was just a matter of time before a downpour would start. We wanted to find a small wine bar to wait out the rain and for supper but most were just starting to set up for the evening when we finally stumbled across a quaint little one in a small square. They had a nice outdoor covered patio where we sat and enjoyed a bottle of wine with several plates of appetizers like olives, almonds, cheese, prosciutto, bread and chocolate, which is all free with the wine. When suddenly and as expected, the rain started to come down, slowly at first and then it just poured. When it rains in southern Sicily it’s like the skies open up and pour like it’s from a bucket, but it never lasts longer than an hour. When it got too wet for us, we decided to run into the little wine bar itself which had a few tables in the back. There we finished our wine and waited out the rain before we ventured the streets looking for a good place to eat. The owner of the wine bar suggested a small place down the street where all the locals go. I can’t recall the name of the place; something Belloco, but it was small too with only a few tables. No one was there except the cook and one waitress. Apparently it was still too early for dinner as we were the only ones there, but they started serving us anyway. Dan freaked us all out when he decided to try horse, which was on the menu. I tried a bit of it and it was really good, but still, horse! I kept thinking about all the horses Megan (Dan’s daughter) rides at her pony club.
After dinner we went back home to do some more packing for our long drive to Palermo and Cinisi where Ron’s friend Leigh lives and who kindly offered her place to us while we were there.

Wine count is 24 now.

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