The last time we saw Agnes and Manfred Baxman was on their wedding day almost 40 years ago as their witnesses. They are avid sailors themselves, but in their hometown, Mönkeberg, near Kiel, the sailing season is as short as it is on Georgian Bay, so coming to Sicily where the weather is very temperate is a real treat.
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| Agnes & Manfred Baxman |
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| Luisa |
Our friends on Vivamare have recently welcomed a furry friend on board. Luisa has won our hearts and will become 2nd mate on Vivamarae when we set sail in Spring. While away in Canada the "marina dog" has given birth to 6 puppies. Yippy....I'm getting my puppy/kitten fix.By now our friends have returned to Germany and are preparaing for their family Christmas. Their visit gave us the opportunity to experience and see interesting, fabulous places. On our first excursion we set off with a rental car and a GPS heading for Caltagirone, ceramic capital of Italy, a town famous for the its unique pottery
and its 142-step staircase of Santa Maria del Monte where each step is decorated with different hand-decorated ceramic tiles. On this particular day we weren't the only tourists out and about. The entire city was teeming with groups of school children of all ages. Just when we thought we had found a quiet little cafe in one of the side streets, along came a group of about 50 teenagers. 
Continuing on, we visited a 4th century Roman villa. The Villa Romano del Casale has the largest most complex collection of Roman mosaics in the world and as result is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Unfortunately, the entire site was under major renovation with scaffolding everywhere. It looks like the ancient Romans invented the bikini long before the 1950's. |
| Cemetery & Harbour |
It seems that almost every town has its own castle, some have been maintained, but most are just ruins. Overlooking the cemetery and the harbour stands the Castel Sant'Angelo, the only surviving military architecture in Licata. To the east the sandy beaches look inviting, but even in Sicily December is too cold for swimming.
We all agreed that the highlight of our friend's visit was the wine tasting at a local winery, Quignones known for their high quality wines. Our wonderful marina staff, on call 24/7, organized everything including transportation.
Our host Alfredo Quignones and his co-worker Angelo welcomed us warmly, not only in English, but in German as well. I quickly noticed that Angelo's German was better than mine as he explained the intricate mechanisms of wine making.
The table was beautifully laid out with antipasto, olives, sun-dried tomatos, cheese and with different varieties of bread and of course 5 different wine glasses. The terrace overlooks the many orange and lemon trees of the estate. It is a little piece of heaven. During our meal of Sicilian pancetta, pork fillet and home-made sausage we tasted 4 different wines. Starting with a Rose and closing with a dessert wine.
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| Wine Tasting |
Gradually the weather has become much cooler, with Christmas Eve at our door step, we celebrate quietly trying to remember what snow looks like.
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