We have arrived in the teeny, tiny coastal village of Scopello in the northwest corner of Sicily. The kids requested that we stay in one spot for more than a few days, so we sought a place with a pool and some outdoor space for us to chill out in for several days. It's our first hotel stay on the trip, and so far, it's quite pleasant. The floral-filled grounds overlooking the Mediterranean are beautiful and the whole town is two stones' throws away from one end to the other. As with every town in Europe, no matter how large or small, it comes with the staples—a bakery and a gelato shop.
We were all very excited that the hotel included breakfast. Austin hasn't self-risen this early the whole trip, but he was the first one out the door this morning! Usually, we eat muesli or granola, yogurt and a banana every morning, which the kids have grown very tired of, though I could eat every day.
The hotel breakfast was even better than we hoped. We had more variety in this one meal than we have had in all of our meals combined this whole trip! The staff served each of us our chosen items, plating each category (savory, sweet, hot, cold, etc.) on separate plates. We were so embarrassed by the number of plates we accumulated by the end of our meal that we all vowed to sit in the back corner of the restaurant tomorrow so we can be more discreet about our hefty appetites. Leave it to the Americans!!! It reminded us of the towering stack of plates we always left behind at our old favorite conveyor belt sushi place back home.
There were a few scattered guests from Germany, France and Italy eating at the hotel as well. Across from our breakfast table sat a beautiful French woman wearing a flowing, green floral sundress that caught my eye (she only had one plate in front of her!!). As I sat there admiring her dress from afar (and her natural beauty), I wondered if she would let me borrow the dress for just one day. How nice would it be to mix up my tiny wardrobe? Maybe, she too has grown tired of her own clothing and is just wishing someone would ask her to swap outfits... sigh... Ha! She doesn't want to wear my running shorts and a t-shirt!
After I snapped out of my little daydream, we headed out for a short hike up to a tower overlooking the bay. The beautiful sweeping views were worth the trek and I hope we can do it every morning during our stay here.
