So from the stag to the wedding and after a night in Palermo with a random chance encounter with some Americans (Gobby, I mean Gabby and co, all lovely!) who became our friends for the holiday and even the visit to the wedding venue of Favinagna, a small island off the coast of Sicily and the coastal town of Trapani.  First night is spent at the local pizzeria with some great pizza and the company of most of the wedding party.  Scooters followed the next day with my trepidation born out after the American girls crashed and being distracted myself shot off into the curb and a minor dismount myself.  Girls were fine which is more than can be said for Vipul the Cripple whose brief scooter adventure lasted about 100m followed by swift impact into a local van and swift dismount leading to incapcitation and a lovely pair of stilts to keep him upright for the wedding the next day.  Scootering an idealic island after a few miles is great fun as you open up round the windy quiet roads of the island past crystal clear waters and small beaches and coves.  The island once a quarry is now populated with small holiday homes and sheep with a single mountain and tunnel for entertainment on the 5km loop of the island.  I can see why people like bikes but for now the scooters rule!

 

With the scooters back in their rental home it was time for the wedding and looking like the local Reservoir Dogs posse we descended on the town square for the wedding.  With Franco getting Anxious that Silke might not make it, the fear is replaced with a smile as she turns up, dad driving the motorbike and sidecar to the wedding door.  With the wedding complete and the husband and wife battered with rice it is on to the james Bond location of the quarry hotel the Cava Hotel Bianche.  Stunning blue sky a pool and some local food to pass the time before the wedding meal, it all ideal made perfect by the turning up of the wedding planner - a supposed but not Katie holmes lovely.  All is good as the food and wine flows - not usually one for the white but it goes down well with the food and 51 bottles later (well between the few guests drinking), it is onto the dance floor for a U2 rendition by the local cat Bruno and then some dancing and partying.

 

With the wedding fest over it is into town for a chance encounter at the only bar open with the local underworld.  After settling into the bar and £4 bottles of beer, meeting of the local mafia begins with drinks bought and requested.  It's all going well as in stumbles the wedding planner with boyfriend in tow.  Dating rule 1 go say hi, dating rule 2 befriend the boyfriend, dating rule 3 try out your fluent Italian skills on all and make friends with everyone, convinced that you are in with the local crowd and your fluent Italian and Naples heritage will keep in love with the locals.  Random Scott Sandra joins the party, a local hotel manager in a sea of Italians.  Things all seem great, everyone friendly, everyone buying me drinks but in fact things had taken a sinister edge with Marco the only real fluent Italian speaker convinced that Chris (my friend) is not liked by the local Honcho and it is time to leave, not entirely convinced stay around for a while, while others drive into the mountains for some smokes and I continue the chat.  Home is a lift in a random kids smart car, shofa driven to the door.  Italian goodnight and it is into the flat, bugger, no keys and a wait while the others turn up with local gangster numero uno.

 

Back for a smoke, not partaking and working out how the cripple and co will retunr home on their 7am ferry with the time already fast approaching that.  It seems time for bed but for one last adventure with real grass as Biggs falls down the staires depositing the keys in the local bush.  After ripping out the entire garden in a smoke fuelled stuper, it was his responsibility to find them it is into the flat for a sleep and the start of a two day trek home from an island I really had fun on and want to stay and enjoy the sun of more!

 

Great wedding, fantastic people, lovely time!