On the One Hand

 Since the weather has broken we're now able to do something that couldn't dream of doing in August and early September: actually go outside in the middle of the day. It's hard to discuss the Sicilian sun without it seeming like an urban legend, but it is truly fearsome. It sort of turns us all into vampires, and we avoid direct exposure to the sun as much as we can. Anyway, on Sunday we decided to actually go for a walk down the hill to grab lunch at Assettati. Somehow, we didn't know that Salvatore served lunch on Sunday (we also didn't know that he served dessert for a long time to, for some reason, which we've made up for). There are many reasons to go to Assettati (the food is wonderful), but one of them is Salvatore himself. We popped in around 1:00 and I gave him some gentle grief, "Salvatore, you didn't tell us you served dessert, and then we found out and started ordering dessert. Then we didn't know that you were open for lunch on Sunday, and we found out and here we are. What else are you hiding from us?" He smiled and replied, "Oh, so much. I have to leak information slowly." Great answer.

Once we were settled, I simply asked Salvatore what I was having. It turned out I was having spaghetti with clams and sea urchins, which is not on the menu, but it's clearly what I was having. Delicious.

Janet had swordfish and lot of grilled veggies, although I think she was allowed to order. As always, she is more beloved one of us.

On the way back we decided to take advantage of the cooler weather and stopped at Barinello for an Aperol spritz. It was Janet's first opportunity to sit at the wonderful window seat, and she wasn't passing it up. She should clearly be stopping here every day to sit, stare out at the sea, and write.