Welcome to couch surfing
Many years ago, while sitting alone in a bar in Luxembourg, a Dutch couple approached me and asked, “Are you a couch surfer?”
I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about. But I invited them to sit down anyway — and that random moment introduced me to the world of Couchsurfing.
The concept is simple: you either host or “surf” (stay with) strangers purely to meet people, learn about their culture, and share a bit of life together. Yes, it’s free — but it’s not a free hotel. In London we used to get loads of requests, and you could always spot the ones who just wanted a free bed. That’s not the spirit of it.
But when it works, it’s magic. I’ve surfed all over the world and met some of the most generous, fascinating people — the kind you simply don’t meet through guidebooks or TripAdvisor. Anya and I hosted plenty too. There’s something special about welcoming a stranger into your home, cooking for them, and realising that the world is a lot smaller and friendlier than you think. Just Governments and Religion divide us.
So Sicily became our first Couchsurf of 2014 — staying with a kind, friendly guy called Fabrizio in Palermo.
Palermo, Puppies, and Possible Rabies
Fabrizio lived in a wonderful central apartment with a huge terrace overlooking the city and surrounding mountains. He also had a three‑month‑old puppy called Rufio — a Boxer/Cane Corso mix with the teeth of a piranha and the kind of energy our kids have after a chocolate bar.
We spent hours chatting about Sicilian life while Rufio spent hours biting, scratching, and generally using my arms to test that his teeth worked. By bedtime, I looked like I’d lost a fight with a blender.
Naturally, I Googled “rabies symptoms” before going to sleep. The combination of blood loss, puncture wounds, and the knowledge that Rufio hadn’t had his injections yet made for a very restful night.
A Crash Course in Sicilian History
Sicily has one of the most fascinating histories in Europe. Strategically plonked in the middle of the Mediterranean, everyone has tried to conquer it at some point.
Cave paintings show humans were here 20,000 years ago. Then came the Greeks around 750 BC. Then the Romans for 700 years. After the Roman Empire collapsed, Sicily basically became the Mediterranean’s version of a revolving door:
- Vandals
- Byzantines
- Arabs
- Normans
- French
- Spanish
- Austrians
- Spanish again
- British briefly
- Spanish AGAIN
- And finally unified Italy in the 1860s
With a history like that, it’s no wonder many Sicilians still identify as Sicilian first, Italian second.
Cefalù: Mountains, Medieval Streets, and Much‑Needed Calm
Palermo didn’t offer us much beyond confusing road signs that sent us round in circles, so we headed east to Cefalù — a beautiful coastal town an hour away.
We stayed in a massive three‑bed house perched high in the mountains, with views so good they felt fake. It was the perfect place to decompress after the chaos of preparing to emigrate — peaceful days exploring, quiet evenings cooking and relaxing.
Cefalù itself is charming, with cobbled streets and medieval buildings, though a bit tourist‑heavy at that time of year. So we escaped inland, winding through mountain roads to remote villages like Castelbuono and Pestalia Sapora, full of old churches, castles, and that wonderful feeling of being somewhere untouched.
Stromboli: Nature’s Fireworks Show
One of the highlights was a boat trip to Stromboli, Europe’s only continuously active volcano.
After sunset, the island put on a natural firework display — booming eruptions, glowing lava, and smoke rising from the summit. The sound alone was incredible, echoing across the water as red‑hot rock tumbled down the slopes into the sea, just 900 metres from where our boat bobbed nervously.
What amazed us most was that people actually live there. Imagine popping out for milk while a volcano casually explodes behind you.
A Short Stay, A Big Impact
And just like that, our time in Sicily came to an end. It was a culturally rich, eye‑opening stop — another stepping stone on our journey before migrating to the other side of the world.
Looking back, I owe a lot to that random meeting in Luxembourg. Couchsurfing shaped our London years, introduced us to incredible people, and gave us experiences like this one that no hotel could ever match.
Sicily was short, sweet, chaotic, volcanic, and unforgettable.
