It is almost time to say good-bye to Sicily. We decided to take the Siracusan cousins to dinner and started planning.

Well, one thing led to another, and soon we had 15 people coming from all over Sicily to join in. We found a local restaurant to host us and all met for our last aperitivo at the apartment.

The restaurant had set a long table for all of us and brought out platter after platter of antipasti – at least 15 different kinds.

Plus unlimited pitchers of wine.

Then the waiter told us what the choices were for the next round. The guests argued amongst themselves in Italian until they had decided on a few selections (Frank and I didn’t really know what was going on – I guess this is how it is done with group entrees!)

But they chose well – we had plate after plate of pasta, including one of my favorites, seppie (pronounced sepp-ee-ah), which is pasta cooked in black squid ink. The only downside to seppie is that it turns your teeth black – and you better not spill any on your clothes.

We ended with fruits and docli (sweets), plus sweet wine and grappa.

Our merry band finished the evening with a stroll to beautiful Piazza Duomo for one last farewell. Everyone was in high spirits – I looked down at my watch – almost 2 am.  We are living large in Sicilia!  We will miss this place.

Next Stop:  Venezia (where it all started)