Ciao Bloggisti, I’m suffering from a bit of Sicily withdrawal. Please bear with me. Thanks to a birthday present from my parents (thank Mom and Dad!), I returned to Sicily for a long weekend. There was an airline strike and my flight departed over two hours late. The weather was horrible. I rented a car … Continue reading A Belated Birthday Trip to Sicily
Hello, my name is Arlene Antoinette Gibbs and I have a Sicily problem. It’s bad. Every time I go, i wish I could stay longer. There’s so much of the island I haven’t seen yet, for example the entire West Coast, the interior, and other islands like Stromboli, Lampedusa, etc. etc. This time I was … Continue reading My Return to Sicily
A few years ago I wrote about how much I adore the boutique accessories label founded by Andrea Ferolla and Daria Rein, Chez Dédé. There has been a lot of retail space turnover in our neighborhood. Antique stores, artisans, etc., are shutting down and Subway fast food restaurants, and other weird sandwich shops are taking … Continue reading Life in Rome – Chez Dédé Opening Party
Dolce & Gabbana have been knocking it out of the park. I did read one review from a UK fashion critic who complained that D&G were tapping the Sicilian well too often. She was RELIEVED to see that their S/S 2015 was influenced by Spain. Hello, Spain ruled Sicily from 1516-1713. This is still a … Continue reading Weekend Inspiration – Spain via Sicily by Dolce & Gabbana
Why do I miss Sicily? There are Sicilian restaurants in Rome. Perhaps this is only an infatuation. My first trip to Sicily was just last year, which I wrote about in FATHOM. Maybe the island will lose its hold on me after a few more trips, or years. We’ll see. Like the cuisine, the art … Continue reading Seven Days of Sicily – Day 7 – Art + Design
I appreciate the majesty of the Hudson River and the cool blues of a lake in Maine but I’m a sea/ocean person. It’s probably because I’ve spent the majority of my life living on the East and West Coasts of the United States and during the summer my family went to the Caribbean to see … Continue reading Seven Days of Sicily – Day 6 – The Sea
Sicily is known for its hand painted pottery. Like the cuisine, each region has it’s own style. I have to ask Erica where she bought her octopus plate. I think it was somewhere near Cefalù. As I have stated before, I have no more room in my apartment, so I was only able to buy … Continue reading Seven Day of Sicily – Day 5 – Ceramics
I kept bumping into Erica and her parents at the market. We do have great markets in Rome but the market in Ortigia is on another level. I think it’s because the food doesn’t have far to travel. The freshness and variety is unreal. I’m still going on and on to Erica about the peaches … Continue reading Seven Days of Sicily – Day 4 – Ortigia’s Farmers Market
I took a little day trip to Noto on my birthday. After a quick thirty minute ride on the shortest train I’ve even seen, I arrived in a small town considered to be the height of Baroque urban planning. The Duomo is a show stopper. The old town was completely destroyed in the 1693 earthquake. … Continue reading Seven Days of Sicily – Day 3 – Noto
You can see and taste the Greek, Spanish, and North African influences in Sicilian cuisine. The rich agricultural diversity of the island (the interior landscape is completely different from the coast) has also played a role in making this cuisine so unique (and delicious). A separate post will be written about the Ortigia Farmers Market. … Continue reading Seven Days of Sicily – Day 2 – Food and Wine
Arlene Gibbs Décor 