Our van ride today was about 50 minutes to arrive in an area that reminded me of the Netherlands, except there were salt ponds. We stopped in at a salt museum and saw a video and demonstration of how salt is collected from the sea. All still accomplished by hand during months of June- August. Our boat ride to the island, Mozia, that has ancient ruins on it and the city of Motya, was canceled due to high winds and rain.

Plan B for our rainy day was a visit to the Archeological Museum where underwater discoveries are now on display. A ship built by the Phoenicians and another Roman cargo ship had been discovered, retrieved and rebuilt with what they could piece together. Very awesome! The ships were huge and quite the task to rebuild what they could. One was discovered in 1974, the other between 1999-2011.

Lunch was unfortunately not a picnic lunch on the island due to the rain and wind. So we enjoyed an appetizer plate and couscous with tuna entree. Dessert was fruit and our guide provided us with a dip of Marsala wine and sesame seed cookie.

Cooking class with Chef Paolo was the highlight for me today! Our group of 12 was divided into smaller teams. Chef demonstrated the task for each team and we did our part. My team was making fresh fettuccini noodles. Right from the ingredients to kneading, rolling and putting it through the machines. Right thickness needed for noodle making! Other teams made eggplant parmigiana, another red pesto and another team made a dessert. We sat and enjoyed our cooking… delicious!

We had wine, delicious food, fun and I need to think about my future cooking. Red pesto had red garlic, almonds, basil, olive oil and large cherry tomatoes. That was the winning sauce! Good experience for us all!

Today was a rainy gray day, but I think the morning itinerary and lunch were a good plan B. Plus we were all looking forward to this cooking class! Tomorrow, on to a new location!