Our time at Gulliver’s Nest was magical, and all of the credit goes to the wizard behind the scenes, the proprietor, Giovanni Rappa.
The magic began the moment we stepped into the villa; Giovanni met us at the door with a Rappa specialty--homemade lasagna and a salad fresh from his garden. His homemade wine mellowed us into Sicilians within moments. What a great start to our vacation!
Gulliver’s Nest is a spotless, spacious villa, beautifully furnished with contemporary furniture and ‘found’ architectural elements from Giovanni’s travels around the world. We especially loved the kitchen with its 100-year-old windows, beautiful carved wooden cabinets and marble-topped double-island. The kitchen is huge and well equipped—the perfect space for any level of culinary expertise. A plus for us is the long wooden table, large enough to fit our whole party and several dinner guests.
We had many opportunities to entertain guests and Giovanni made each event special by surprising us again and again with gifts from his kitchen. One day it was a jar of sun-dried tomato pesto to be eaten with fresh pasta and tuna. Another day was an extravaganza of sausage, pork, meatballs, potatoes and peppers prepared on site just for us on two large lava rock cooking surfaces. Incredible!
Giovanni makes sure that all of his guests’ needs are met. The furniture in the villa is lovely and well maintained. The beds are comfortable. Plenty of linens are provided. The villa is very airy and well laid out, there is ample room for everyone to gather in the main rooms and plenty of nooks if you want to get some privacy.
Gulliver’s Nest is in the quiet neighborhood of Fraginesi. Fraginese is just off of the main roads, so we could choose between staying at the villa for lazy, sunny afternoons on the chaise lounges by the pool; or hopping over to the crystal clear Guida Loca beach nearby; or day trips exploring the many foreign influences that have created the unique Sicilian culture - ancient Greeks at Segesta, Elymians at Erice, the Arab markets in Palermo, the Byzantine beauty of the Cathedral of Monreale.
We had an amazing, fun filled vacation and can’t wait to come back to both Giovanni and the lovely Gulliver’s Nest. We’re already planning our next trip. I’m ready for Christmas in Sicily!