The founder of US-based social accommodation network Couchsurfing.org put his site to the test in Sicily and partied into the night ? on land and seaThe decision regarding where my girlfriend and I should spend Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve together was just one of the many that we bickered over in the course of an intense, volatile ? and ultimately ill-fated ? two-year relationship. As an entrepreneur and founder of Couchsurfing.org, a global network that lets you stay with locals for free wherever you go, I was eager to use the site myself to go somewhere in Africa or Asia, experience authentic culture, have adventures, and connect with locals. My girlfriend, however, preferred Sicily ? so off we went.Our host in Sicily was roughly our age (mid-20s) and lived with his grandmother in Catania. We didn't speak a word of Italian, but he was eager to show off his city and practise his English, so we were taken on a whirlwind tour.To celebrate Christmas, he took us into the hills to sup with his extended family, where we enjoyed a meal full of unrecognizable delicacies. On Christmas Day, his devout (and not especially wealthy) Catholic grandmother cooked us a traditional Sicilian meal, washed down with delicious wine in an unmarked bottle from the local farmers' market. She liked my girlfriend so much that she insisted she accept the gift of a trendy new black leather jacket.We had no plans for New Year's Eve, and no idea where to start, so our host proposed that we join him and his friends on an all-night dancing cruise off the coast. His friends were wonderful people ? warm, inviting and thrilled to welcome a couple of Americans into their lives and to share their celebrations with us. Racing to get to the dock before the ship left, and running late, our driver took a turn around a roundabout too hard and slammed into its centre. The car gave a sickening shudder and lifted high up in the air on only two wheels for a second that seemed to last forever, before landing hard on all four wheels and jolting to a nerve-wracking halt. My girlfriend, pushed hard against the side of the car, found a deep tear in her new leather jacket. That jacket had protected her from harm. No one else had any injuries.A cab ride later ? no travel obstacles can stop determined couchsurfers! ? we were boarding the boat and kicking off an all-night festival full of dancing party-goers. My girlfriend, a beautiful, fashionable, and flirtatious woman, received quite a bit of attention from some of the Italians on the boat, and I was reminded how lucky I was that she had chosen me.We got home late that night after the cruise, and I was pleased yet again that we had a bedroom all to ourselves at our host's home. We cuddled up together and I switched off the light, only to be greeted by a glow-in-the-dark Virgin Mary, keeping a protective and watchful eye on us.SicilyItalyEuropeSocial networkingTravel websitesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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