Guest Author, Karen La Rosa
Karen La Rosa, founder of La RosaWorks, has turned her Sicilian heritage and fascination into her passion. She started La RosaWorks in 2008 and has been arranging Sicilian tours ever since. Karen handpicks hotels, plans the most enriching tours, and works to tailor every Sicilian experience to each client. Karen loves what she does and it truly shows through her work. Learn more here.
There are always trends in travel and in the recent years I’ve repeatedly heard a similar request; I want experiences on my trip. More than seeing another decorated church, I want to meet the people, see what they do, what they grow and how they live their lives.
Technology has made our lives faster and more complicated in many ways. It has put a screen between us and everything we do. Perhaps the desire for experiences comes from a human need to have real people in our lives. Whatever the reason, Sicily is an ideal place to accomplish this mission. It is a land that operates on its own schedule, not rushed, not forced, but alongside natural rhythms. Sicilians hold dear their traditions and revere their old ways.
They are also extremely hospitable and generous and want to share with you. They invite you to come and experience.
On the right tour, you’ll visit sheep farmers who manage to produce 200 kilo of cheese a day, milking their 600 sheep morning and night with few hands. You’ll go to the mill that produces varieties of ancient grains and uses those to make wonderful, dried pastas that are so much healthier than those made with refined flour. You’ll visit the olive oil producer who cares for each tree like a child, keeping a nursery for the sick ones and taste all that care in each shimmering green drop. You’ll meet the beekeeper who drives distances to his hives, keeping them protected from anything potentially harmful to their pure honey. The herb farmer? Nothing I’ve ever tasted comes close to the sundried herbs from Sicily. The lemon farmer will give you recipes, the prickly pear farmer shows you how to eat them. The list goes on.
All of them approach their work like art. They are dedicated, unassuming, and genuinely care for the wellbeing of their land, collecting rainwater, using natural fertilizers, rotating crops. It is such a pleasure to bring people to visit, to learn and let them see and taste for themselves. At gives an appreciation for things we mostly take for granted. It’s enriching on so many levels. To sit and talk while sharing food and wine is a concept that goes back to the beginning of time.
When I met Nancy from A Terra, I was excited to find a place where I could purchase a little bit of this special Sicily. It is from these farmers, the ones Nancy personally selects, that we can have some of that specialness on our tables and think about the care and dedication that goes into the making of the food as we eat it. Maybe you haven’t yet had the ‘experiences’ in Sicily, but until you do, this is a wonderful substitute. Come holiday season, it is hands down my favorite gift to give. Give it with a gift certificate for travel to Sicily and it’s the perfect package!
– Karen La Rosa