Celebrating a Milestone Anniversary inside the Enchanted Fig Tree of Australia

Irene and Alex Shaland at Fig Tree Restaurant, Kangaroo Island, Australia

Alex and I have traveled to nearly 70 countries. We celebrated our birthdays and anniversaries in places like a street corner café on Easter Island, tiny seafood restaurant in Cochi, Kerala,  a second century BC villa –turned Renaissance palace-turned art studio in Rome; opera singers’ favorite tavern in Palermo near the famed Teatro Massimo, just to name a few. But we had the most unique experience this year on March 5th, when our new friend Steve Lane, Kangaroo Island’s Sea Dragon Lodge owner and our exceptional guide, took us to the remote Snellings Beach on the north coast. As a present on our milestone wedding anniversary, Steve invited us for a luncheon inside a… tree.

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Sicily: Glorious Sicilian Food! And The Best Place in Palermo to Discover It

Trattoria El Pepita in Palermo Sicily

Sicily is not Italy, even though the island has been administratively part of that country since the 1860s. Likewise, Sicilian food is not Italian, though of course it has been influenced by the mainland cuisine.  Only in Sicily, a paradise for art lovers and foodies alike, one can see and experience a successful harmonization of so many different influences. And I do not mean only mosaics and architecture. Their food is a true masterpiece on its own.  Sicilians never rejected the past but with love and care combined all the trends brought by many invaders over the last three thousand years.

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The Best-Kept Secret in Rome: Maestro Enzo Samaritani and his Arciliuto Theater

Restaurant L' Arciliuto in Rome Italy

Rome has so much to offer! We were advised by our new Roman friend Marco, the owner of Arco dei Tolomei B&B in Trastevere, to celebrate Alex’s approaching milestone birthday at L’Arciliuto Teatro near Piazza Navona. “A very non-traditional place, “said Marco. “You will be enchanted.”  And we truly were.

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