Companions

Guides, Buddies and Fellow Travelers

The people who accompanied us and those we encountered were kind, knowledgeable and oh! so fun!

I learned a lot about our friends. Here’s a fun story I’ll call “Lime Slush.” See the beautiful blonde with the pony tail? That’s Linda, a teacher married to a commercial pilot. Years ago, Linda was working at her parents’ Tastee Freeze outside LA when Gary, a policeman at the time, asked for a lime slush. She was a college student. She could tell by the look in Gary’s eyes he was going to ask her out and sure enough! He did. She could not resist a guy in uniform. They have been happily married and enjoying Rick Steves’ tours for years!

Linda was also my “buddy.” Rick Steves’ tours insist that everyone be paired with a buddy who makes sure you are accounted for when the team is leaving an excursion.

You may also wonder why I included the old goat in a gallery of people. It was just an incredible goat with such a fantastical horn-cone and I thought you’d like it!

The Puppeteers

The Teatro dei Pupi in Ortygia Sicily was a remarkable show. Puppeteers Ariadne and Sarah were amazing at how they made the marionettes stomp around and flash their swords and try to scare the audience. It’s no wonder this is a UNESCO protected art.

Shopping, a Companion Sport

Sicily is a mecca for shopping, and my sister was in heaven. The evening’s passeggiata gave us lots of opportunities to duck into art galleries, jewelry stores, markets full of exquisite linens, rugs and porcelain, and of course wine!

Here’s the ultimate children’s gift—a Mercedes—to accent any evening stroll through the city streets!

My sister is the proud owner of the Antonello Blaniz painting of the sea goddess who exemplifies all that is great about Sicily! And the luggage, the rug and the beautiful leather purses.