Sicily

 The power came back on around  8 so we were able to enjoy breakfast.  One of the couples in our class had arranged to take a cooking class with the hotel's chef and asked if anyone in the group wanted to join them.  We didn't have to be in Catania at a particular time so we joined them. We met with the chef to discuss what we could make that we would all enjoy.  We had a loose plan before heading out to the nearby market.  We could use produce that the restaurant had but we bought several different kinds of fish from the fishmonger.  Before taking it bake to the hotel, we stopped at the raw bar booth to try a couple of different offerings.  We started with oysters on the half-shell along with a glass of wine (even though it was ten in the morning).  This was followed with a raw pink shrimp which I wasn't a big fan of, and finish with sea urchin which we enjoyed with bread.   We meet back up at the upstairs kitchen where the chef ga...

 We had our morning free to choose photos for our final critique this afternoon.  We walked over the bridge to a cute little sandwich shop the used light, fluffy, focaccia for the bread.  Such a nice break from sandwich bread back home.   We met this afternoon to look at each others shots from the last few days.  It's always interesting what everyone sees when we go out to shoot.  Everyone seemed to have a good time in the quarry.  Those models were really great. We had a little free time to pack up before we gathered for our slideshow and farewell dinner.  The slideshow is a great way to see all the great work that happened during the week.  We also spend a little time thanking those that helped to make the week possible. For our final dinner we went to a fun little pizza place.  They kept bringing out different pizzas to our tables until we could eat no more.  It was a fun way to end our trip. However, the evening turned out ...

 This morning we're heading to an ancient quarry to photograph costumed models.  This quarry has been used to house prisoners of war dating back to ancient Athenians to modern day World Wars.  It now houses a couple of outdoor amphitheaters but today it would serve as a location for our photoshoot. We had a few minutes after we were put into groups to explore the grounds to pick locations to shoot in.  Each team was issued a lighting set to use during the shoots.  A few minutes later our five models, four females and one male, arrived dressed in a variety of costumes ready to pose.   We had staked out and area cut into the woods that seemed to fit our models.  We were able to work with three different ones over the course of almost 3 hours.  Because we liked our initial location we stuck with it for the entire time.  It didn't seem to make sense to spend a lot of time moving around if we didn't need to.  Probably my favorite model h...

 There was a lovely little outdoor market very close to our hotel that I decided to visit this morning.  Being so close to the ocean, there was plenty of very fresh fish available.  The produce was also very fresh and enticing.  I returned with a bag filled with strawberries, cherry tomatoes, and a very random red pepper.  I just couldn't resist! Midmorning, a local guide led us on a tour of the island.  There's remnants of ancient cultures along our walk to the Duomo.  Once we reached the church, we watched the activity in the large square in front.  There were a couple of school groups that gathered on the steps before going in for a visit.  The Duomo had been through several transitions with older columns exposed to show what had been there in previous cultures.  The current church likes like other catholic churches in Italy.   We had some time before lunch to explore the side streets.  We noticed what looked to be a wo...

 We had an early start for the day boarding our big bus (yea for getting to spread out!) for our journey to Siricusa.  We stopped in Cefalu, a small ocean front town, to roam the streets, visit the church and have a pleasant lunch.  The streets were ancient stone, almost alleyways, that wind down towards the ocean.  This town is where the beach scenes were filmed for the latest White Lotus season.  We had plenty of time to explore before going to a lovely lunch at Galleria.  We definitely have not starved on this trip! After lunch, we were back aboard our bus for our trip to Siricusa.  It took longer than anticipated because of the road construction along the way.  I think most of us took advantage of the time and grabbed a nap.  We finally got to our hotel, Ortigian Marriott a little after six which gave us a few minutes to unload our bags before meeting for tuk-tuk rides to our group dinner at Alfeo Restaurant by the water.   It was a ...