5F in Sicily

It's so much more than The White Lotus showed you.

I’d always wanted to visit Sicily. I’m not really sure why. It had just been there on my list for years. Perhaps I saw a photo of it that captured me, or perhaps it was that so many travelers had mentioned that it was Italy “sans the hordes of tourists.”

That all seems to have changed since it was the setting for the second season of The White Lotus. I actually haven’t been back since the show aired, so I couldn’t personally tell you. But I do see a lot more interest in going there than I did when I planned my first trip in 2019.

Before we get into this month’s travel edition (!), a few housekeeping notes. First, thank you for your patience — if you didn’t see the update on Instagram, I came down with what I’m now calling “the daycare plague” last week, a combination of a cold and stomach flu that knocked me off my feet. It was also my son’s first time being sick, and it was quite challenging trying to parent, work, and recover at the same time. Not a favorite. And parents of young children, you are all heroes in my book.

Second, the 5F community is growing! If you didn’t catch the deal with these travel editions of the newsletter, you can read more here. In short, I publish these at least once a month and they are for paid subscribers only, mostly because they require the most professional and personal experience to write. But also because I take requests! Paid subscribers also get access to the archive, which includes all other travel posts.

I can’t wait to show you some of the many merits of Sicilia this week. Psst…it’s a little-known fact that I actually was planning to hold my wedding in Sicily before the actual plague aka Covid hit. That’s how much I love it.

Andiamo!

eating

We all know that eating is one of the best ways to explore any destination. And that every culture has ingredients and dishes that define their country — those alone make travel worth it to me.

And then there are those destinations where, any and everything else aside, you would travel to just to eat. For me, Sicily is one of those. Practically any dish I had in Sicily was one of the best things I had ever eaten, no exaggeration.

So believe me when I say: you can’t go too wrong eating in Sicily. Perhaps it’s because the local food culture is strong and traditional, perhaps it’s because it’s an island, and perhaps it’s because it’s not so touristy. Regardless, here are my top five items to seek out along with my favorite places to try them.