Stories from Sicilia Part One

Everything in Sicily is deep-fried, swimming in oil, and just fucking amazing

– “Papa” Giorgio Russo

Well, he wasn’t wrong. Our arrival in the southern island of Sicily began with oil, continued with oil, and ended spectacularly, with oil.

I could write a book about our time in the southern Italian island of Sicilia, truly a tome! But of all the deep-fried Arancini’s, velvety gelatos, and perfectly-pulled espresso’s, my most cherished memories of Italia are not of enjoying its killer food – but rather eating killer food in the company of cherished friends, new and old.

With that, let’s get to the photography, since this is a photo blog, right?
With this collection of photos taken just before the New Year, I focused on the transition from completely black-and-white photos to partially saturated shots, and by the end, you’ll find one of my favorite shots of the whole trip – in full color. Enjoy!

Within the hour of arrival, we find ourselves drooling over oily goodies (the notorious deep-fried risotto thing: Arancini’s!).

Within three hours, we find ourselves gorging on a regional specialty – Horse Meat Sandwiches. The locals here love to postulate: horses that lose during race-tournaments are slaughtered and consumed by hungry carnivorous Sicilians! Regardless of its source, the meat looked stunning.

But don’t take my word for it, judge for yourself from these three fabulous faces below!

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For however many wonderful day-time adventures one can have in Sicilia, we lived the true locals’ life – that is to say, like creatures of the night.

Surrendered to a life of ruthless night after night; surrounded by the musical roar of not-just-Italians (but Sicilians!); and bar none, humbled by the temporally and physically defying force of friendship. That is how we found ourselves cheers-ing into the new year – nay, the new decade!

Happiest of new years to friends and family.

Special thanks to Barton, Shally, Brenna, and Jenn for supporting my photography and this blog with their donations.