Easter in Sicily 6 Days 5 Nights

THE RELATIONAL EASTER IN SICILY

Discover the traditions and events

From March 29 to April 03,2018 6 Days/ 5 Nights

If you are interested in spending some time outdoors, enjoying a “Easter Monday Picnic” with the team of “ Sicily by Experts ” in the Madonie Park, visiting great art and historical sights, discovering an unknown Palermo, participating to some Easter Sicilian traditions, we recommend to reserve this “Special tour” .

Easter is one of the best occasions to visit Sicily. Weather is usually good with mild temperatures and most of all, many traditional events take place in this period. For food lovers, Easter is a great time to come to Sicily, enticing seasonal delicacies and gastronomic delights celebrate the bounty of Primavera. It is the time for Martorana, or Pasta Reale, marzipan confectionary, that is delightfully shaped and painted, to resemble fruit of all types. Easter is also the time for the Cassata, Sicily’s signature cake, made of sweetened ricotta cheese, marzi pan and candied fruit. And then, fresh peas, fava beans and artichokes that combine wonderfully in “frittella” and, naturally, remember in this period, the tuna fish season gets underway.

We’ll cook with a Sicilian chef, and during the tour, eat and explore the traditions – both food and cultural – of this corner of the island while enjoying delicious dishes. We look forward to welcome you in Sicily

Six days to get to know the deeper roots of the Sicilian Western coast and the Madonie Park, molded by millennium of invasion from: Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans and Normans, that influenced landscape, culture and cuisine. A rich gastronomic culture. And don’t forget the Wine!

ITINERARY

Day 1: March 29, 2018 ARRIVAL PALERMO - MARSALA AREA

Arrival at Palermo Airport. A warm welcome by our English speaking driver –guide and transfer at our special hotel either Trapani or Marsala. Depending on your flight itinerary, you can relax at the hotel or participate in a guided exploring tour of the town. A welcome drink and meeting with our facilitator for an introduction to the philosophy of Relational Easter Tour by “Sicily by Experts” . Dinner in a local restaurant “ to meet “ the Trapanese cuisine, unique melting of Arab, Spanish and Mediterranean tastes. Back to the hotel for overnight (welcome dinner included)

Day 2: March 30, 2018 OLD TRADITIONS - PASTRIES and RITES: The ERICIAN PASTRIES - GOOD FRIDAY PROCESSION in TRAPANI

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for Erice, the best preserved medieval town in the world, rich of castles and churches. Enjoy a breathtaking view from the hilltop. Do you love all those beautiful Sicilian pastries you see in the bakeries windows? Would you like to do it yourself? Here is your chance to learn the secrets of making some of Sicilian’s most famous desserts! Let’s start our cooking lesson in a “Baglio” (a building with a courtyard) . The chef will send you back to a cultural and culinary tradition that chooses the best raw materials available, reinterpreted in dishes from the Trapani's gastronomy from the cassatelle to cannoli. All this combined with the tasting of the wines of a historic winery. Typical Sicilian lunch . In the afternoon we’ll go to the city of Trapani to attend one of the most typical rituals of Holy Week, the Procession of the Mysteries of Trapani In Sicily the rites of the Easter week come from ancient local habits and deep- rooted traditions. Particularly special are the rites dating back to the time of Spanish domination; for instance, the Procession of the Myste ries in Trapani is the longest religious display in Italy (lasting 24 hours) and one of the oldest (repeated year after year forabout 400 years). The “Mysteries” are 20 artistic tepresentations of the P assion and Death of Christ, 18 statue groups, as well as two simulacrums of Mary, whoweeps over the body of Christ. Before going back to the hotel, we will stop at the “Stagnone” for an Aperitifdinner in a “trattoria” that overlooks the salt-pans. A very charming place, especially at sunset with colours that shift from red to orange to pink, encircling the ancient mills and the silhouettes of the Egadi Islands. Back to the hotel for overnight (Breakfast, lunch and dinner included).

Day 3: March 31,2018 BETWEEN FOOD, ART and ARTISANS: a UNIQUE TRAIL in PALERMO and MONREALE

Breakfast at the hotel and check out. Departure for Palermo We will spend the morning doing a special walking tour of Palermo dedicated to “Street food”. A 3 hour walking tour where you will sample the best of Sicily’s street food, led by a local expert guide, you will explore the fascinating culinary world of Sicily’s Capital. You will visit the famous and bustling Vucciria and Mercato del Capo, outdoor markets, tasting five different Sicilian treats along the way – including “panelle” (chickpea fritters) and arancine (deep- fried rice balls). During the tour we will see the main monuments of Palermo: "Palermo Arabo-Normanna", "Palermo Barocca". Round out your tour with some local sweet wine and seasonal dessert. Check in at our 4* hotel. Now we go up to Monreale with our guide will explain us the splendid 12 th century mosaics and the cloister. Back down to Palermo. Are you ready for a special dinner at one Palermo’s finest restaurant, offeringSicilian cuisine in an elegant setting? Overnight (breakfast, Street food stop and dinner included)

Day 4: April 01,2018 BETWEEN TRADITION and INNOVATION: PIANA DEGLI ALBANESI – CEFALU’

Breakfast at the hotel. Check out. Departure for a special place, Piana degliAlbanesi, just south of Palermo. As the name suggests, Piana degli Albanesi was founded by Albanian immigrants fleeing a Turkish invasion in 1488. Being somewhat isolated, the town has managed to maintain much of its original identity and many of its traditions, one of which is its Orthodox Easter celebrations (it has been a Greek Orthodox Bishopric since 1937). It’s Easter Sunday when the townsfolk put on their traditional 15th Century Albanian costumes and hand out previously blessed red hand-painted eggs. After Mass there is the procession of the Holy Veil, a piece of cloth in which believers can make out the face of Christ. Taste one of the most famous Sicilian delicacies, “Cannolo”. They say their pastries are the biggest in Sicily. Our Easter lunch will be in a solitary country place which shows the real part of rural life in Sicily. Departure for Cefalù, famous for its rich historical centre (the Normand Cathedral and the medieval quarter) as well as for its beautiful beach and bluesea. Check in at our hotel 4*. Dinner on your own. Overnight (Breakfast and Lunch Included )

Day 5: April 02, 2018 THE PERFECT RELATIONAL DAY: MONDAY EASTER in the MADONIE PARK- CEFALU’

Breakfast at the hotel. Today is Easter Monday or “La Pasquetta” - literally little Easter – one of favorite Sicilian holidays. It’s the first day after the religious intensity of Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. This is the day in which families and friend, who have been solemn and pensive, get together in a completely relaxed, informal, always noisy way to enjoy each other’s company and – hopefully – the warner spring weather. We go up to Piano Battaglia, a popular winter resort. Walk through one of the “geological path” where you can see fossilized sponges, algae and corals at 1400 meters above sea level as the result of the forces that created the Madonie mountain chains 20 million years ago, the sea and the history of the earth. Between hydrogeology and Karst systems with our geologist. After a nice walk around the mountain we are ready for a traditional Sicilian Picnic with wine. The “Travelers” will become absorbed in the rural and friendly atmosphere of a “Pasquetta day” in a beautiful, unspoiled landscape. It’s time to join also our friends in order to become part of the company. We will eat things like frittatas (omelets), or hard-boiled eggs with cheese and cold-cuts. Fresh fava beans with pecorino cheese (from sheep’s milk), or a “bistecca” with grilled vegetables. And naturally taste ourlocal wine. In the late afternoon back to Cefalù to relax in this beautiful spot. We want to say you goodbye in a special way. You will enjoy a delicious light dinner facing the sea in a local restaurant with a romantic atmosphere of a private violin concert. Overnight at the hotel (Breakfast, picnic and dinner included).

Day 5: April 02, 2018 THE PERFECT RELATIONAL DAY: MONDAY EASTER in the MADONIE PARK- CEFALU’

Included in the Program:

5 overnights accommodation in hotels 4* as per program  Welcome dinner in Hotel day 1
Cooking lesson about pastries day 2
Aperitif – dinner day 2
Street food tour day 3
Special Artisan tour day 3
Dinner in Palermo day 3Taste cannoli day 4
Special Easter Lunch in farmhouse day 4
Outdoor Picnic for Easter Monday day 5
Light dinner near the sea day 5
Private Farewell concert day 5
Private car - minivan or minibus + driver guide speaking Italian , English and French, at disposal of the clients for the entire tour from arrival to departure

Not included:

Airfare
Meals not mentioned
Drinks during meals
Entrance fees at all the monuments and archaeological sites
Excursions not mentioned
Tips and extras of any personal nature

Holiday Inn Ravenna Special offer

Holy Shroud Exhibtion