Hello, & Welcome to my blog!

I think I've always loved to travel . . or maybe I just think I have - because these days, all I want to do is travel all the time.   So that's why I set up this site - so I could catalog my trips and you could follow along (if you're so inclined).  I've tagged these posts "Travel" so they'll be easy to find.

Of course, my other obsession is FOOD.   Finding it, shopping for it, cooking it, entertaining with it, sharing it, eating it  . . and yes, talking about it (by some accounts - all the time)!  So for those of you that love it almost as much as I . . I've tagged these posts "Eat & Drink".  I'm not the best photographer, nor do I always remember to shoot pictures - but I promise to be obsessive about the food this time around.  I apologize in advance to those of you that will be just plain jealous that you don't get to smell it or eat it! 

Two years ago, my cousin Nick told me about the ancestry work he'd been doing on the family.  We decided I would take it over for awhile & fill in the "blanks" on the Rafello (Graffeo) family.  You see, my Dad happens to hold much of the rich, colorful family stories - and if he doesn't know them - he knows where to get them!  Hence, the start of my new obsession with the Rafello side of the family.  I've been studying Sicily (the ancestral home) for the past 18 months and the more I read, the more I knew I just had to go!   5 weeks may not be enough, but it's a great start & I hope the beginning of many trips back.  If I can find some cousins it might be an annual pilgrimage to "the homeland".  So for those if you interested in what I find - be sure to hit all the posts tagged "Graffeo Family & Sciacca".

I've been lucky enough to have traveled to quite a few places - but this trip will be different.  My college friend, Sherine Smith is joining me for the first 2 weeks, but the final 3, I will be on my own.  It's a little daunting to travel to a new place on your own AND one that speaks little English is even harder.  I hope that a common interest in food, wine & family history will ingratiate me into the hearts of the Sicilians - besides, I'm pretty charming when I want to be!  I've been working hard with an Italian tutor (she's actually Romanian - but lived in Italy for 10 years) to be able to communicate with the Sicilians in at least some rudimentary fashion.  I may butcher the masculine & feminine AND fail to correctly conjugate the verbs - but what the heck, I'll make them laugh & I'm sure to make some new friends in the process!

Wish me Bon Voyage (Buon Viaggio!) and I'll do my best to entertain you with my stories & pictures!

Arrivederci famiglia & amici!!!    **Use Google translator if you don't know what that means!!!