When in Sicily...

After a whole summer (and a bit of spring) filled with days of spending hours and hours on album preperations - a trip to an island in the Mediterranean was luring around the corner... I booked my flight late August and it was one of those spontaneous moments where I said to myself "Just goooo". For once, I didn't think if I could (financially) afford this trip. C'mon, 4 days on island? A 2,5 hour plane ride away? What harm could it do to my wallet ;) Sometimes you just gotta enjoy life to the fullest, go on a (solo) trip and JUST GO.

Sicily was the place to be. Taormina & Giardini-Naxos to be exact... I've returned last week and I can honestly say the island is magical and mind-blowing... 

Some of my friends were there as well, but I made sure I had plenty of solo-expeditty time for myself. I'm sure I'm not the only one who gets caught up in the everyday life where things get complicated easily when you don't make time for yourself. As a recording artist, I face many beautiful aspects of the industry, but at times it can be also quite challenging for the soul, as there is SO much competition and critism around the corner. Always gotta be one step ahead and I'm not gonna lie... it does frightens me sometimes!...well...lucky for me, Sicily offered everything I needed to connect head to heart again. 

On a monday I walked to the bus stop in Giardini, where I wanted to take the bus to Taormina - a magical town on top of a mountain. A taxi driver offered to bring me for €5, so instead of waiting for the stinky bus, I hopped in the taxi and learned some Sicilian words from the taxi driver Giuseppe. He dropped me off at the gate of Taormina, and I instantly felt the energy of the magical historic town flowing through my 'solo traveling veins'... The smell of fresh canolli's, seeing lovers walking hand in hand and a cobble stone path made my heart skip a beat... 

On tuesday I did "The Godfather tour". I'm not a big fan of organized excursions, but when I read about the GF tour, I knew I had to do it. Actually, I still can't believe I did it. Savoca and Forca were mind-blowing. A little town, 400 m high up in the air, with endless mountaintops as a backdrop. Well done mother nature & mankind. The sites of the Godfather trilogy (the cobblestone street where Michael & Apollonia walk with their family after they get married, and bar "Vitello" where Michael asks for her hand) made this excursion a little hilarious. As in, I can't believe I'm actually HERE!

(Solo) travelers - if you're itching to leave...I highly recommend to just go already! Nothing is too far away, and paradise isn't too far from home. Sure, I had to miss my husband, my 6-string and I'm prettttty broke at the moment...but I returned home fulfilled and with a bronzy color on my skin.

When in Sicily:

- In Taormina. See for yourself what the Greek theater is all about (€8 entrance). Take a break on a vibrant street terrace where you can see the tourists walk by and enjoy a limoncello and some bruschetta. Walk into a little church, light a candle for your loved ones and connect mind to heart. Visit the Giardino where your mind get's blown away by mount Etna flowing into the sea. 

- In Giardini Naxos. Relax by the sea. Collect pastel stones on the beach and take them home as a souvenir. Plenty of massage oppurtunities by lovely Thai ladies, I got a back massage for €10 two days in a row. Eat a Sicilian snack, called "Arancini" - fried rice balls with meat filling for about €2...delissh. Eat gelato. Drink limoncello. And I absolutely recommend "The Godfather Tour" €33.

La vita e bella...now back to work and music ☯ 

xxAngela