Sicilia you're breakin my heart.

So since my last post, which took place at 4am this morning, my crackberry which i used to write it, has been stolen. i was asleep on the over night train from palermo to rome (where i am currently). while i was sleeping a man dressed in orange was creeping around our cabin with a flashlight and must have gotten his theieving hands on my most beautiful phone.. anyway it was covered by insurance and all is ok, though i am sad to see the crack go. ANYWAY i will continue from where i left off.
From Catania we were off to Tudia, which we would soon learn that the farm WAS the town. We got on a train and were forced off a few stops before our final destination due to train trouble. we were put on a random city bus, with no other travellers and a bus driver who had never seen the route. we got lost several times and were in the middle of rolling farmland, down winding streets. Finally a miracle occured, the bus driver who had been stopping many car along the way to ask for direction, flagged down the host of the farm, Sudhir, and we were finally released and off to Tudia. Upon arrival we were amazed to see the grounds and the old buildings which once made up a feudal estate. Sudhir and Gila are the couple that we stayed with and they are new in the world of wwoof. Sudhir, who is a follower of Osho, a rando eastern religion, had come back to Tudia I'm guessing because his mother needed his help (she is getting old and the farm is not doing well financially). Sudhir we would learn is a lazy bastard who expects his wwoofers to be his slaves while he does absolutely no work. On a side note his family is part of some blue blood lineage, and his older brother held the title of prince before he died and passed it along to his son. Sudhir missed out though his sense of aristocracy continues to shine through. Despite these things, the farm was gorgeous. It was in the roling hills of sicily about 2 hours from Palermo and 40 minutes from Cefalu. The grounds were breath taking, and the wwoofers had their own house to stay in. When we arrived there was an Italian couple, an Australian couple and Cesco who was a former UVMer. We were required to stay at this farm for 2 weeks, people came and went throughout this time, though Cesco stayed until we left. 5 days before we left 2 Americans, Curt and Hal from Seatle came to join us. They were a lot of fun and we all had a really good time together. Before we left 2 other wwoofers came, one from Belgium and one from Paris. It was a melting pot of cultures so to speak. We spend our last night in Sicily in a hostel in Palermo with Curt, Hal and Cesco who took off the same did as us. So much happened at Tudia that it would be hard to recap. There was also the greatest dogs ever name Tigrotta and Houdini, who i fell in love with. The staff at Tudia Rita and Niccola were also amazing, and were the best thing going for the farm. Also, one of the best parts of the farm was unlimited wine and olive oil that were produced there!!! aka many many drunken nights :=)
This takes us to where I am now. Last night I took an overnight train from Palermo to Rome, hence where my phone/ life was stolen. Rome seems amazing so far though I have only seen the Colesseum and the Roman Forum. I think we will wait till Arielle and Julianna (friends from UVM coming to visit for spring break) to see the major sights. Tonight I would like to venture to the Jewish Ghetto for some fallafel! We will also be venturing to Venice and Florence over the next 12 days!! more fun to come

You Want it is

Its been about a month since I last wrote so I will try to summarize and add some good details as much as possible. After our adventures in naples we went off to meet Rosa, the quirkiest little italian woman. She lived alone in Monte Falcione close to Avelino in Campagnia, though she had a husband and son in Naples. Monte Falcione was on the mountain side at a semi high altitude. We had mostly good weather, mild but sunny until our last day when we left to avoid the predicted snow. Rosa was cute and old and lived off the land and survived using natural medicine. The house we stayed in was very cold and to get the heat and hot water going a fire had to be built and reach a certain temperature. To keep warm at nightwe had to use hot water bottles. We ate mostly food she had grown, bottled or was fresh and in season from the market. The work was nice and relaxing. We pruned the branches of grape trees to prepare for grape production on a series of vineyards along with random yard work and cleaning. She had two dogs; frets and boss. Frets was the new arsenico because he destroyed all. During the time we stayed in Capagnia we got days off and had some time before heading to sicily (our next farm destination) to make a few tours of local coastal communities. We did day trips to Sorrento, Pompeii and Almafi and spent a night in Ischia- which was more or less a deserted island. Pompeii was really cool but got boring after the first 2 hours. The main attractions were the amphitheater, brothel and field of the dead bodies. In total we stayed at the hostel of the sun 3 times and it would later be known as our head quarters. It was there that we met many interesting people traveling like us.
From Naples we took an overnight train to Catania in Sicily. We spent 2 nights there. The first day we arrived very early after taking the overnight train and had some time to explore the city and get food from quite possibly the best market I may ever experience in my life. The food was so fresh and the market went on for many streets. There was fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, cheese, crepes and candy- this description doesn't do it justice. The marlets in the main square which has a really cool elephant statue made from volcanic rock, much like most of the city buildings due to mount etna being really close. The elephant is the protector of the city.
The first night we were exhausted from traveling but went out for a few drinks and dinner but went to bed early. The next day we attended the most famous Sicilian carnivale celebration in Acireale. The floats were amazing. The parade started off with a float featured Brarack Obama, Michael Jackson and the statue of Liberty which said Black power. The streets were filled with people, many dressed in costume, and confetti and silly string. I was of course in a homemade red tutu I fashioned with some tooling and a gold mask. It was a great celebration. Afterwards, back at the hostel we made friends with a beautiful quebecois man biking through europe. Becky ran into her friend from high school who was abroad and happened to be staying at the same hostel, ironically, and there was another girl from uvm... Small world. Also, the room next to us had male italian models who were in town for a photo shoot. it was quite an interesting situation.
The next morning it was time to head out and catch a few trains and buses to find our next farm in borgo tudia.. TO BE CONTINUED

After