It’s “San Leone” Elena kept reminding me because for the first few years of our marriage back in 2000 we lived in San Leandro (just across the East Bay Bridge in San Francisco) and the two sounded so similar I kept wanting to revert to our old stomping grounds.

Violet slept in until well after 10am while Elena and I figured out how to get to San Leone. Turns out it wasn’t that complicated as we ended up on the same #2 Bus we took to the Valley of the Temples yesterday and just stayed on it a bit longer.

*Beach selfie looking straight into the sun at just about high noon!*

We had been peering out at the beach since we arrived in Sicily two days ago and now we’re finally able to enjoy the water. But first, lunch. As much as we all love pizza, by this time we were feeling a bit pizza’d out so we found a seafood place on the boardwalk.

Violet ordered a burger. I ended up with a seafood risotto dish that was a lot like the paella we had back in Barcelona. Elena felt rushed and grabbed what was billed as “Prawn Scampi”. Google Image search and any reasonable person would think THIS is what would come out of the kitchen, right?

Instead, Elena did her best not to gasp as she was presented with six full skeletal prawns with their heads and claws still attached. And, it was partially my fault for not warning her about it ahead of time. I had made a similar mistake at least a month ago when I ordered “prawns” and got the same full shell presentation.

*This is a much nicer presentation. We failed to snap a picture :-(*

To each their own, for sure. But when it comes to prawns, the shell to meat ratio is unbalanced. I played the role of “good husband” and immediately took her plate and pulled apart the tails and de-shelled what I could get from each of the prawns. I took a crack at the claws, but there just wasn’t enough there to be worth all the effort.

I’m sure someone much more skilled than me could have shown me how it’s done and why the heads and claws are worth all the fuss. Personally, I prefer the pre-shelled option we’ve grown accustomed to and I got a ton of “husband points” for jumping in and helping out in this awkward situation. We shared our lunch to make sure there was enough to go around as I had plenty on my plate and Violet too while the protein on Elena’s plate was a bit sparse.

Nothing bonds a family together like an unusual dining experience. Nothing “bad” happened and everything worked out just fine. Sometimes these unexpected moments are the most memorable from a trip like this. So I thought I’d capture and share it here.

*We’re never “too old” to play on a playground. I love this picture!*

While the goal is still to “get in the water,” there was another important business matter to attend to before submerging into the ocean: the playground. I trust that I never feel too old to pass up a playground — ever. I can imagine at 85 or 90 my doctor will advise against me going on swings and I will nod my head in agreement and summarily ignore their sage advice. Who would want to miss out on this:

*Violet and Bill play “Criss, Cross, Crash” on a poorly designed swing set*

Or this new fangled device that Violet and I had a ton of fun figuring out. At first it just appeared to be a circular balance beam … until we started walking on it and realized it moved. That made the balancing so much more challenging … and fun.

*Violet and Bill attempt to walk around this free spinning balance circle*

And the whole time we’re swinging, we’re seeing the water calling to us. The thing about a playground is that while we are having fun playing on the equipment, we are seeing this incredible view the whole time.

And so, after playing on the playground, it was time to reapply the sunscreen one more time and enjoy a nice swim.

*Must keep applying sunscreen. Gotta do it on days like today.*

And then, once that’s done, just a few last pictures. As no one want’s to capture “after” getting out of the water, right?

*…close-up of Violet? That’s the beauty of digital. “Both” is always right.*

And yes, Violet and I enjoyed the brisk swim. It wasn’t freezing like when I first entered the Irish Sea in Greystones with Sean Griffin. But it was definitely a quick cool down and any heat we generated from our time at the playground was instantly gone. Totally refreshed and glad we had a nice swim in the Mediterranean Sea while in the south of Italy.

Not a bad way to spend our last full day in Italy. Tomorrow we travel to Athens and begin the Greece portion of our world tour … sort of.

San Leone Beach Day (October 8, 2025)

Catania, Italy (October 9, 2025)

Agrigento, Italy (October 7, 2025)