Gangi as the most beautiful village in Italy

Ciao ragazzi,

as you know from my previous article I had a chance to spend a week in a small town called Gangi, thanks to Erasmus programme. Today I am going to tell you a little bit more about this amazing place because I think it is worth for the visit.

The big coincidence is that I visited this part of Sicily 2 years ago. I have not been in Gangi, but I visited another small town called Geraci Siculo which is right next to Gangi. And as you can see the fate has brought me back.

I have heard about Gangi before. How? Last year I read an article about houses in Gangi which price were only one dollar. So, I was thinking about buying a house there.  Find more information about this special offer here

Here are some facts about Gangi:

- situated around 80 km from Palermo

- the population less than 8 000

- the winner of the most beautiful village in Italy (2014)

- take your jacket because it is windy

And now let me show you how amazing Gangi is...

Etna is right behind me

with our best Latvians (Martins, Ivars)

The nature here is very beautiful

as well as local houses, what do you think?

My first day in Gangi. This was the moment when I fall in love with this beautiful city...

I took my favourite sunglasses by Oscar de la Renta from the U.S.

Kids are playing football at local square. This is one of those moments you want to go back to your childhood...

Piazza Vittime della Mafia

Spending our free time with friends from the Czech Republic and Latvia.

Ivars, me, Martins, Lenka, Kamil

Right next to this tower is situated the statue of Giuseppe Salerno who is famous Italian Gangi painter.

Torre tardo Gotica detta "dei Ventimiglia"

Giuseppe Salerno

And this is what I truly love about small cities. People are sitting outside and watching what is happening..

You can have a look at houses from below. Still amazing, right?

This is my favourite square and the view of Gangi.

And now let´s see how churches in Gangi look like.

My favourite church.

Chiesa di San Paolo

Inside another church.

Chiesa di San Cataldo

Local police.

Polizia Municipale

As you probably already know I love small streets.

We were very lucky because during our stay (on May 10th) they celebrated the most important event (patron of Gangi- San Cataldo) of the year. For this special occasion you can see these handmade pictures all over the town.

The sheeps on the road also belongs to Gangi. Their "leader" (a guy) in the car in front of them was very funny (modern times).

You know that I love cats, right? I have got three at home. Everytime I see a cat alone (and you do not know if they have some home), it is truly killing me. This one is probably blind in one eye. If I lived in Gangi, I would adopt her in a second. She (or he) is so beautiful and friendly. I hope this amazing cat is doing all right.

Gangi is the winner of the most beautiful village in Italy (last year).

Funny thing at the end. Last summer I bought this messenger bag by Tommy Hilfiger in the U.S. It is supposed to have some level of quality. Well, you can see and I used it like 3 times, maybe (Latvian bracelets saved me).

So, what do you think?? Is Gangi the most beautiful village in Italy? I believe it is. I definitely want to come back. One day.

But let´s not forget about Geraci Siculo which is next and also very beautiful :-)

Geraci Siculo

Here is the prove that I have been in this part of Sicily before.

Geraci Siculo, August 2013

So, what is my advice for you? If you come to Sicily and want to visit this area (which I highly recommend it because come on, it is like a paradise- like my friend Lenka says:-), go to Gangi and Geraci Siculo. You can all make it during one day :-)

Czech, Spanish and Latvians in Gangi

Ciaoooo, a dopo

How was my Erasmus project Wellness Knights in Gangi

Buongiorno,

today´s article is about the project called Wellness Knights which I attended last week. People still ask me questions like: What did you do there? How did you get there? Did you pay anything? What is it like? You travel all the time, how do you do that??

These kind of projects are financed by programme Erasmus+. I am sure you have heard about it, correct? If you remember 2 years ago I did my Erasmus in Lisbon (5 months) and then in Barcelona (4 months). Youth in Action is another programme of the European Union and it is short-term. I had a chance to spend 10 amazing days in Sicily. After every project the organizers give you the certificate so called Youthpass. It is like a prove that you gain some skills. For more information about Wellness Knights project click here

Here are some facts about this youth exchange:

- 36 participants

- 7  countries: Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Spain, France, Italy

First, let me introduce our Czech group.

Lenka, Kamil, me, Martin, Adela

Sports activities during the morning
 For the first time in my life I am trying Zumba. And yes, I was very bad in this activity. I prefere Judo :-)

Another first - trying Slackline.

Lunch at local school
In my opinion Italian cuisine is the best.

Non formal activities during the afternoon
My facebook page.

Brainstorming, SWOT analysis.

The source of vitamins? Czech beer :-)

How would you imagine EU Health city? The topic of my group was construction. I studied Technical Secondary School of Civil Engineering so I had a lot to say about this.

You can guess who suggested to go to disco club and got the most votes?

Free time
Sunbathing, summer, 32 degree.

Discovering the city.

Czech, French and Latvians

International culture nights

Every country had to present their local food, drinks, activities (e.g. dance), presentation (some facts) etc..

Georgiana and her typical Romanian blouse

Slovak culture night. My first Tatratea, very good.

Mayor of Gangi is about to give us the Youthpass certificates.

Other things
Unfortunately during the final football game Martin (Czech team) badly fall and for the rest of his stay he had crutches.

Martin in hotel Miramonti

Note: If you change your flight in Rome, be sure there is a very good chance they will loose your luggage.

Romanian group consists of 5 people. 4 of them lost their luggage in Italy. It took like 5 days to give it them back from Catania to Gangi. Funny thing is that there was actually note on the luggage which says something like priority, fast deliver :-)

with my best roommate Georgiana (my Ibiza T-shirt)

Here is the thing. Czech people are cold but this really touched my heart...

And finally all of us with the mayor :-)

What else would I say? I am very happy for Erasmus and it will be very hard for me to give up my student´s life which is about to end very soon. Anyway, we all had really good time and I wanna thank you guys for being part of it.

Arrivederci, ci vediamo dopo

Sicily: typical food

Ciao ragazzi,

I just got back from Sicily and I love that place very much. During following articles I am gonna tell you what was it like there. I actually might write about this amazing island for whole month. I am studying hard for my exams so there are not many interesting topics anyway. (not studying that hard if I just spent 10 day in Italy, right? yeah, you got a point)


First, let me tell you something about yesterday.

Ok, so yesterday I was visiting smaller cities around Palermo. When I was in Casteldaccia, taking photos of their beautiful square, somebody called me. I had just vibration on my phone, so normally I would not hear it. It was a woman from Alitalia (the company I was flying with). Due to big fire in Rome, approximately 40% of flights have been cancelled. So, they offered me to fly the same day (Tuesday) at 5:55 am. Next option was to fly 4 days later. I cannot imagine what would happen if I did not answer that phone call. I would probably be still in Palermo. Luck??

My dinner- Spaghetti alla carbonara- Sicilian style. This is my favourite meal.

I was supposed to sleep in this hostel (already paid for it).

Instead I slept at the airport. There is one thing I want to say about this. In Palermo, there is a free wifi and these seats are actually very comfortbale. The airport is better than the one in Los Angeles!!

You can see that I am very tired (due to goodbye party in Gangi, I slept only 45 minutes).

So, yesterday was just crazy. I am back in the Czech Republic, that is important. And now let´s back to food :-)

First article is about typical food in Italy and I love Italian cuisine very much.

Now let me tell you first a little bit about my first stay in Sicily. All photos below come from that period of time. As you might know first time I went to Sicily in August 2013. My plan was to visit my Erasmus friends. However 2 weeks before my flight I discovered that they will not be there as they promised. So, I decided to try Couchsurfing and it turns out it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Pizza
In Sicily you can find two kind of pizza. I don´t know which one I prefere because I like both.

Naples kind of pizza.

Pasta con nero delle sepie
This is very tasty. Highly recommend it.

Spaghetti con le cozze
(mussels)
My favourite meal is Spaghetti alla vongole (clams). Everytime I go to Italy I just have to eat it no matter what.

Pescespada arrostito
(roasted swordfish)

Octopus
Eating some menu in Palermo.

Ricci di mare
(Sea urchins)

Cannolo
Italian dolce of Sicilian origins.

Gelato and granita
I can not describe how much I love Italian ice-cream. It is the best in the world. I always want also their "panna" (cream).

granita

gelato

Water from Geraci Siculo
In Sicily everybody knows a little village called Geraci Siculo. I have been there and I love that place. It is famous across the island for their water. You can usually order it in restaurant as you can see on this photo.

Dinner with friends

Homemade dishes are the best, no doubt.

Thanks to my CS friends I had a chance to try all kind of traditional dishes. Some of them even home made. I am very happy for Couchsurfing and I highly recommend it to you in case you want to travel alone but also meet some local people. It is the best thing you can do. Next article will be about Gangi.  

Arrivederci

Saturday's trip to Macha lake

Hi guys,
Today I decided to go on a trip with my nieces and nephew. They were all sleeping in our house last night. I just couldn´t recall any fairy tale so I played from youtube Harry Potter (spoken word) and they were all happy :-)

My outfit: Sweatshirt by Abercrombie & Fitch from U.S., jeans by H&M from England, sneakers by Ralph Lauren from U.S., sunglasses by Oscar de la Renta from U.S.

Me in the woods.

Every summer my grandfather took me and my brother to this cottage. It is hard to believe that it was 20 years ago.

Doksy area

When I was a kid this lion was actually situated in the woods. However people want to make money every possible way (even if it is illegal) and they took apart it. It is made of bronze which has a big value. Fortunately he has been saved and rebuilt. Thank you.

Spa wafers- typical Czech product. My nieces love it.

And here we go. This is lake Mácha. It is very popular place in the North of Czech Republic. Karel Hynek Mácha was very famous Czech poet and he visited this place many times.

Local beach.

My first day at the beach (this year).

And that´s all. I really enjoyed this trip with my family. Instead of studying I am traveling, not so bad :-)

Following events

As you might know I am going to Sicily. What´s my plan for tomorrow?

Liberec - Prague by bus

Prague - Rome by plane

Rome - Palermo by plane

I love Sicily very much so I can´t wait to visit this amazing part of Italy again. So my next article will be about typical food. Very first thing which I am about to do in Palermo is buying "gelato" (ice cream).

Ciao

Ci vediamo dopo