White Almond Sicily

Packed with essential vitamins and minerals like vitamin E, zinc, calcium, magnesium and omega-3 fatty acids almonds can do a world of good when it comes to your health. In this moment we are all going nuts for almonds. Consumption has nearly doubled in the past six years and recent studies have shown that almond consumption may well boost memory function. As far as vegetable foods are concerned, nuts and seeds are the richest in fibre after cereals, which could explain why almonds are thought to be good for cardiovascular health and may help contribute to lowering cholesterol. Nuts are natures way of saying that good things come in small packages. They are not only beneficial to eat, almonds can also be a great beauty boost in the form of almond oil. Almond oil can be incorporated into your beauty regime as a homemade natural cleanser, a nourishing face pack and it can be massaged into nail cuticles to make them softer. Additionally a lot of well known beauty brands around the...

"The Climate's delicate, the air most sweet ... Fertile the isle. The temple much surpassing the common praise it bears" William Shakespeare, Winter's Tale Act III, Scene I The Almond Blossom Festival of Agrigento ( Festa del Fiore del Mandorlo ) is probably one of the most famous events in Sicily's calendar and it is when Agrigento literally goes NUTS !!!!! This famous festival is always held in late February or early March, months with which, thanks to Sicily's mild temperatures, the spring awakening begins. The Sicilian countryside is filled with delicate white almond blossoms and the famous Valley of the Temples ( Valle dei Templi ) in Agrigento offers a wonderful panorama for the festival. The almond blossoms are celebrated as the first sign of spring. Once the delicate pinkish white almond blossom appear, spring will not be too far behind, well at least in Sicily. The festival originally started in a small town in the province of Ag...

So you have booked your flight and your hotel ... you have packed your swimsuit, suntan lotion and flip flops and you are ready to discover and fall in love with Sicily. At White Almond Sicily I only use and recommend the finest contacts with local inside information and knowledge and one of my favourite contacts is Sicily Tour and Excursions by Franco Group ... they are pretty amazing. Based in Giardini Naxos, and founded in 1950 Vincenzo Franco Senior was granted the first chauffeur license, that allowed a private car service with driver on the island to accommodate the requirements of exclusive clientele. Those that have used the services of this distinguished company have been many, some of the VIP's include The Onassis family and King Farouk of Egypt amongst others. They also continue to provide drivers for the annual Taormina Film Festival every June, escorting Hollywood and international movie stars. Vincenzo senior was a special person who envisi...

Piazza IX Aprile, Taormina Taormina is a charming place to be at Christmas time, the Corso Umberto is adorned with lights and there is a huge Christmas tree in Piazza IX Aprile. On Christmas Eve after dinner and present opening, everyone heads to the Duomo where a huge bonfire is lit at 11pm, the tradition is that the bonfire will keep the baby Jesus warm. The locals call Christmas Eve the Night of Luminaria (Illumination). Evening mass begins at midnight in the Duomo when the priest carries baby Jesus down the cathedral aisle. Duomo, Taormina On a clear Christmas day you will see Mount Etna’s snowy cap sparkling in the winter Sicilian sun as if she has been dusted with icing sugar especially for the festive season. Christmas day morning you will hear the many church bells peel signifying the beginning of Christmas mass. Christmas lunch is usually meat and as expected in Sicily sweets and desserts are of the most importance. The evening is usually ...