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In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Morning Cafe in Palermo, Sicily

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

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Not far from our apartment and across the street from the famous Piazza Pretoria was this small cafe where we had coffee and pastry almost daily.

This was a habit we began in Anzio and carried out through the various towns like Gaeta and Lecce in Italy. It's a great way to meet up with other travelers, people-watch and get to know the local wait staff who serve us.

Beautiful woman wearing a ball cap in Palermo, Sicily

Dark-haired beauty

This stunning woman was a bit of a grump when we first met her. In fact, her nickname between us was  "lady no-smile." That is, until we gave her one of our Retire Early Lifestyle hats.

THEN... well THEN, we got smiles Every Day!

Honestly, being a barista can be overwhelming and she might have simply been focused on her job. But we did notice she smiled at the young men coming in, so we knew she was capable of glowing.

And how often does someone give her a gift out of the blue?

For a week, we were her favorite tourists.

Coffee shop in Palerno, Sicily filling up

Coffee shop filling up

Lady Big-Smile was always busy at her job.

These people in line is a typical 5 minute snapshot of the morning time, and people continuously came in!

So she was always running.

 

 

 

 

Cannelloni, capuccino, and corntetta in Palermo, Sicily

Cannelloni, Cappuccino and Chocolate Cornetto

Ok, so this morning I pointed to a mini-pie with some nuts on it (most likely pistachios, which Sicily is famous for) but I was served the giant cannelloni above, STUFFED with cheese and whipping cream, sprinkled with chocolate chips.

OMG.

Counting calories?

This sort of thing is a bit sweet for me, and even though I didn't order it, I chose not to make a fuss.

I'm tellin' ya, it was huge. The cheese contrasted nicely with the sweetness. Billy had his chocolate filled croissant which is called a cornetto here in these parts of Europe.

Cornettos contain more butter than croissants, but no eggs and less sugar in the dough. They come filled with jam, cream fillings, and plain.

Cafe in Palermo, Sicily with a garden setting

Cafe with a designated garden edge

There was outdoor seating here at this cafe, and we could people-watch early in the morning.

Tourists walking the streets, people on their electric scooters which looked like skateboards with handle bars, and sometimes we'd see a horse-drawn carriage.

Looking this way from the cafe, Piazza Pretoria with its fountain is to the left.

espresso, capuccino, pastries at coffee shop in Palermo, Sicily

Cornettos, cafe and waters

 

 

 

 

Yes, more coffees and pastries.

Look closely at the cornettos and you will see what sort of fillings are inside.

Cornettos are baked first, then a pastry bag is inserted in the top and filling is mooshed into the pastry. Servers everywhere simply need to look at the top to see what filling is inside.

In Naples, we received a lovely lemon cream - this whole area of Italy is known worldwide for their sweet lemons, which make lovely fillings, jams, lemoncello and creams.

smiling dark-haired beauty with a ball cap on, Palermo, Sicily

One happy barista

This young woman ran the coffee shop alone most of the time.

She had a lot of orders to juggle and she was thrilled to have received our hat this morning.

A little kindness goes a long way.

It's a universal language.

 

For more stories, photos and videos of Italy, click here for Sicily, click here

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About the Authors

 
Billy and Akaisha Kaderli are recognized retirement experts and internationally published authors on topics of finance, medical tourism and world travel. With the wealth of information they share on their award winning website RetireEarlyLifestyle.com, they have been helping people achieve their own retirement dreams since 1991. They wrote the popular books, The Adventurer’s Guide to Early Retirement and Your Retirement Dream IS Possible available on their website bookstore or on Amazon.com.

 

contact Billy and Akaisha at theguide@retireearlylifestyle.com

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Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

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