Sicily: Day Two

We woke up early for day two of our weekend in Sicily. We took a bus to Compagnia Meridionale Caffè Torrisi, a coffee company and factory in Sicily. We were offered coffee and snacks for breakfast by Mr. Torrisi and his son who now run the company. Then we were taken on a tour around the company by the Torrisi family. The older Torrisi barely spoke English, so Patania had to translate. His son spoke decent English so he was able to speak with us directly about his company.


We got to see the process of roasting and packaging the coffee beans. We were able to try the beans during the cooling-off process. I do not think I am a fan of eating coffee beans by themselves (let alone drinking coffee in general), but it was an interesting experience. I have never been inside a factory before, so to see the whole process is fascinating. The Torrisi family was incredibly sweet. After our tour, they gave each of us gifts: coffee beans and tea cups. They even gave our bus driver a gift. It was one of the nicest, cutest things I have seen someone do. Obviously, it is smart public relations move from their perspective. I am left with a very positive impression of Torrisi.

Then we traveled to the Condorelli sweet factory. We were supposed to be greeted by Mrs. Condorelli herself but she was unable to make it. We were lead on a tour by one of the workers instead. She spoke very decent English even though she kept apologizing for how bad it was. The Condorelli specializes in small candies and giant chocolate eggs with presents inside. The eggs looked amazing. If I remember correctly, eggs that size are around 230 euro!


The woman let us try dark and milk chocolate that was left over. I had giant pieces of milk chocolate for a mid-morning snack. We watched women wrap the eggs in green fabric and tie them into elaborate shapes with flowers embedded into the design. After the tour, we were each given a bag of the small candies as a present. Another amazing adventure at the candy factory.

We then ate lunch at the Condorelli bar that launched the Condorelli factory. I got rice balls with meat sauce, which is one of the foods that Sicily is known for. I had a desert with mixed berries and cream on angel cake- amazing!


AND THEN..we went to the Harbor of Augusta, where Patania grew up. The Commander lead us on a tour around the harbor on a tugboat of the Italian Coast Guard. I saw a few sunken ships, an academic building in the middle of the harbor, and some attractive members of the Italian Coast Guard. It was decently warm and sunny, so it was great to be on the water. I forgot how much I love being on boats and by the water. One of the students, Bob, has a boating license so he was allowed to drive the boat for a while! I am now very tempted to get a boating license when I return home. I do not know when I would get to drive a boat, though, considering I do not own one...


As the last planned event for the marketing class, we were taken to meet the mayor of Catania. I honestly do not remember much about this experience because I was so obsessed with taking pictures. I do remember being lead on a tour around City Hall but the man in charge of public relations (great opportunity). We were shown several rooms in City Hall and the art in each of these rooms. I fell in love with one statue there named "Paolo e Francesca."


We then had a chance to actually meet the mayor- the same man who also has a position in the senate (it's a bit of an unprecedented move in Italy right now). We were offered the chance to look out on the square from City Hall. During our group picture, the mayor took some kind of liking to me because his hand was on my shoulder...I was also able to get a picture with the mayor by myself. He said "Ciao bella" when we left. Interesting man.


That night, Patania took us to a seafood restaurant on the Harbor of Catania. We had courses and courses of food. I have never had so much food in my life. I had octopus, anchovies, multiple kinds of pasta (one tasted like black licorice so I could not even force myself to eat it), whole shrimp with eyes, and so much more. I love trying new food. I think Patania even got a little drunk!

We explored the main square for a little while, and that was the end of my night. An adventurous day two!