Sicilian friendliness

Although I've already decided on a place to live, I've been seeing lots of other places with my friend and new colleague, Hope. Nearly every day we go out and see houses and apartments. Unfortunately, every time I do this, I have second thoughts about my own choice!! We have seen SO many beautiful places. Although none is perfect, they each have some details to make them desirable: views of Etna and/or the sea, location, a garage, security, marble floors, high ceilings, built-in kitchens, lights, fans, air conditioning, city gas, light, palm tree gardens, fireplace, etc. So, it's always a trade-off. I had to recall my main priorities in order to stop myself from wondering if I made the right choice.

Anyway, one really interesting thing is the landlords who show these houses. They make you feel like one of the family! In the past two days, we have been invited to sit down and drink some wine, eat cake, meet grandma or grandpa, and even to have a complete supper! Of course, we have to be polite and take advantage of all of these offers. In Sicily, you are immediately embraced by the family. One little grandmother (noni) yesterday brought out her fresh tortelloni and homemade pasta to show us. Another landlord gave us bottles of homemade wine and a bad of fresh figs from his farm. I'm totally surprised and awed by the friendliness of the Sicilians. Even though they usually speak little to no English, they want to make us feel comfortable and at home with them.