foodwtogninis

One of the most rewarding parts of this journey has been renewing old friendships of long distance relatives and meeting new ones as well.

We are fortunate enough to have family in the north of Italy in a tiny town of Colorina, several hours out of Milan, and family at the opposite end of the country in Piedmonte Eteno, Sicily.

Their differences are many, but so are their similarities. The overwhelming sense of "family" is what's important to both sides. Mark's father, Alfredo, was born in Colorina and has two remaining brothers there. Mark's mother, Nunziatina (Nancy to all) has the Sicilian heritage and first cousins still in Piedmonte Etneo, a tiny town nestled at the base of Mt Etna only about 15 minutes drive from Taormina.

In Colorina, not far from the Swiss border , Mark has two uncles and six first cousins - this makes for about 30 direct cousins, second cousins and extended family at the local pizzeria the night we go. To my surprise all of the children eat an "American" pizza that is covered in french fries. Another surprise is a dish called "sciattia' which is a deep fried buckwheat fritter filled with cheese - a little harsh on the waistline!

We share many family meals and conversations over the weeks we spent in Colorina between our touring. Another memorable time was a lunch spent in Caspoggio - a ski village only about a half hour drive from Sondrio (our base). This is where Mark's uncle has a home that is used in summer to escape the heat. The day we went it was rainy and the temperature dropped from 33 deg the day previously to 13 deg up the mountain. In winter the place is completely snowed in. The views are amazing overlooking the valley. One can only imagine the beauty of the snow in winter.

We share a massive bowl of pizzoccheri this day. The traditional buckwheat pasta is mixed with potato, cheese and beans till it forms a creamy texture plus some good Sondrio red wine. A lovely day shared with family eating traditional fare. The fire place was on in the middle of summer to keep us cosy!

In Sicily, we, along with Beni and Tracey Tognini spend time with one of Mark's 'uncles' in his country retreat - beautifully positioned on Mt Etna, the house overlooks villages and out to the Mediterranean.

Here, Pippo has a healthy self sufficient farm growing everything from potatoes, zucchinis, tomatoes, all kinds of fruits including figs, citrus and grapes of course. Pippo makes his own wine. There are turkeys, chickens and eggs are plentiful.

It gave us great pleasure to be able to prepare brunch for Pippo made from the ingredients entirely off the farm.

The time spent with family in both Colorina and Sicily is to be treasured - our lives are so completely different - but we share a sense of belonging when we are with family. We spent weeks in Sondrio - it really feels like home.

We shall miss our afternoon drinks at our favourite bar in Sondrio "la fragola" and will fondly remember these times in the coming months.