Goodbye Sicily

After the last 16 days it was time to say goodbye! We were up before 2 in the morning as we had a 6 am flight from Messina to Rome. Our incredible driver was right on time at 3am with the luggage loaded and ready for the 1 hour drive. Over the last few weeks we have come to appreciate what an excellent driver we had. Walter seemed to be able to navigate the tightest turns and the never ending switchbacks as we moved around to island. There are dual lane highways but once off the beaten path the streets narrow with tight turns. Since we travelled around the coast of Sicily we needed to go through many small towns not designed for the “modern” automobile. Many in our group commented that they would not drive here. Take a tour! and let experienced drivers like Walter and the excellent guides do the rest!

The flight to Rome was about an hour. Etna did pop up into view as we left. We did have an extended stay in Rome (about 5 hours) while we waited for our Air Canada Flight to Toronto. 10 hours in the middle seats of the airplane were made tolerable by the fact that we were going home.

With Senior Discovery tours, we got exactly what was advertised. All tours and guides were part of the package except for the 2 optional tours that we decided to take. Our tour “manager” always had a surprise for us. Gelato, chocolate, cocktails, good stories etc. all made the trip truly a wonderful experience. Having at least 2 meals – breakfast and dinner - a day with the 24 other people enhanced the experience as we chatted about everything. And who can forget the wine with dinners! Sicily is an island with a multicultural past. Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Normans all have left their imprint on the culture and structures to be seen here. Endless areas of vineyards, citrus groves and olive trees can be seen. Thanks to Helen our Tour Manager who counted and recounted the group so that no one was “left” be

A Tour Of Castelmola

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Today we opted for a tour of a small town high above Taormina called Castlemola. It was only about 45 minutes from our hotel – a distance of about 6 kilometres. However it was another of this hairpin turns and hang over the edge type rides. There were at least 4 tour groups from cruise ships all visiting at the same time. It seems that everywhere we go we have seen group tours. This town had a different feel

to it than some of the other places we have been. Although a tourist attraction, with the small souvenir shops, it did not feel the same as other places. Our guide took us to several scenic overviews, the Duomo, the main squares as well as the steps to the “castle” which was the highest point of the village. It commanded a wonderful view of the coastline. Any group wanting to attack any of these towns had to be very determined. They could be seen miles away. We stopped at one of the places for a tasting of almond wine in a “risky” glass. The wine was very good and we got to keep the glass!

An interesting souvenir. We were back at the hotel around 1 so we decided to walk back up to Taormina and have lunch in a cafe and watch the tours go by. It was not as busy as a few days ago when we had the guided tour of the place. Tonight we had a farewell cocktail party before our farewell dinner. It was a chance to say “goodbyes” because we leave in the middle of the night for Rome! Etna was covered in clouds today. After the farewell party dinner was a step above what we had tasted in the past. Shrimp, Sicilian style after pasta! great meal with wine and toasts.

A Visit To Syracuse

Syracuse was the most important Greek city from the 5th to 3rd century B.C. It remained a powerful city until it was

defeated by the Romans in the 2nd century B.C. This was the last scheduled tour of this trip. Although it took about 2 hours form our base here to reach the city, we had a good view of Mt. Etna that seemed to be throwing up extra plums of smoke this morning. Our first stop was the Archaeological Park Necropolis. It was quite impressive a site which was evident as soon as we moved into it. We walked into the original quarry where slave worked to remove the limestone blocks which were used to build the city. There were massive “caves” where the blocks were removed by hammer a chisel. How they could even do it without modern equipment is amazing. The Ear of Dionysus is the most famous of these quarried caves. The Greek Teatro is very large and was hewing out of solid limestone. It is very impressive. The Romans also built an amphitheatre but it was small in comparison. There were many other sites in the park but we did not have time to visit them.

The second part of the tour was to the island of Ortigia. A short bride connects it to the mainland. Immediately after crossing the bridge we encountered the Temple of Apollo. There are many remaining parts of the structure. The main square has a large Duomo and buildings. We walked the “island” which is the oldest part of the city. It was the end of a long weekend, it was bright and sunny and all the restaurants were very crowded.

We had lunch along the waterfront and treated ourselves to another gelato. On the way back out of the city, we stopped at a cemetery where allied solders were buried. The grounds were impeccable. We did not have time enough to find the graves of Canadians who landed in this area in 1943.That ended the last included tour of this trip.Tomorrow we are taking another optional tour before preparing for our departure.

A Tour To Mount Etna

Today we took an option tour to Mt Etna. .

Almost all of the people in our group decided to go on this excursion. We left around 8 in the morning and did not get back until after 1. The drive from the ocean road to the volcano's south parking lot took about 75 minutes. We picked up our local guide and then started the long climb. We stopped in one of the small towns that was threatened during a recent eruption but the lave flow halted about 4 kilometres from it. The parking lot is about half way up the mountain at around 5500 feet.

Although the “tourist” season is apparently over there were plenty of people at the site. It is a long weekend in Sicily and the guide suggested that many families were out enjoying the nice weather. The weather has been nice the entire time while we have been here. Warm sunny days and cool nights. From the parking lot, it is short easy walk to see the string of popup (button) volcanoes.

The area looks similar to a very small fissure eruption zone. The colour of the ash changed from one location to another. Normally lava is black. Most of the area is that dark sort of surreal landscape. The last cone in the sequence was black as might be expected. The one that we were walking on was a rusty colour. This is due to the iron content in the material which has started to weather. We had a chance to walk the rim of one of the cones but we were not able to go very far because our tour was only scheduled as a half day tour.

It is a very eerie landscape but there are a few low grasses that are starting to grow on some of the lava from older eruptions. The area supports many grape growing areas as the soil is very fertile. The lava contains a variety of minerals. There are a number of lava tubes in the area and we did see one on our trip back. We have encountered a similar landscape before in the Craters of the Moon National park in western U.S.A. The group gathered for cocktails before dinner where we did a few simple line dances. Go figure.

The Godfather Towns

Another full day as we visited the “Godfather Towns”. There are 2 small towns up on the high hills where scenes from the

Godfather movies were filmed. Yesterday we had a number of hairpin turns on our travels. We had so many more today it was not really possible to count them as we went higher and higher to these small villages. The first village was Savoca. We stopped in the small plaza which has a sculpture dedicated to Francis Fiord Coppola. The movies have boosted the popularity of this place. We did encounter another ship tour. We walked to the church where scenes were filmed . As we made our way up the small road we stopped at a shop selling Sicilian wines and olive oil. We decided to make our purchases. The place had many old residences that were damaged in past earthquakes but are slowly being restored as the town get more tourists.

Down the mountain, a short drive and then up more hairpins higher up to the second town of Forza D'Agro where more scenes from the Trilogy were shot. Our guide did an excellent job of describing the scenes, the camera angles used and any changes made to the area since the movies were shot.

Again, churches and plazas were the main items. This town has a much better roadway and probably more room so it has become a favourite for local visitors. We had our pizza lunch in one of the cafes. We did not order anything. They just kept bringing different pizza. First cheese and mushrooms, then 4 cheese, then pizza with pistachios, vegetarian, pizza and fresh tomatoes.

They kept bring the pizzas until we had enough! Unlike Canada, pizza in this part of Italy has a whole variety of things on them. Then it was a walk around town. We saw the castle but did not climb to that position. Finally back down to the coast and a drive to Naxos which is the seafront area of the town of Taiomina where our hotel is located. Eruptions from Mt Etna in the distant past has made it to this area. All the rock in the water were lava flow rocks. It is where the Greeks first established their settlement in this area. Tomorrow many from the our group are taking an optional tour to Mt Etna.

Finally a night shot with the cell phone.

A Day in Catania

After another early start we made our way back to the city of Catania. From our hotel on the side here in Taormina, our drive took us down around the 2 dozen switch backs and hard curves down to the shore line before we made our way back east. Hairpins and narrow streets (lots of them ) do not seem to be a problem with our driver. We picked up our all day guide and headed into the city. It has been destroyed many times over the centuries – living in the shadow of Mount Etna but has been rebuilt many times because of it's excellent position along the coast of southern Sicily.

Again the crossroads of the Mediterranean was emphasized. This city has all the trappings of other cities with the Duomo, Plazas and noble built homes. In the main square was an sculptured elephant made of lava carrying an Egyptian oblast. It is the symbol of Catania. Lava is used extensively in the city. Ash from a recent eruption about 2 weeks ago could be seen throughout the city.

A walk through the “fish” market was part of the tour. It is more than just a fish market and we returned there for lunch at a local vendor. We had him make up a sandwich based on salami, cheese, olives and olive oil. We sat and watched the world go by! Again we tried to get the local flavour of the city. After lunch we drove down along the waterfront on our way back to our home base stopping along the way to have a gelato. Excellente!!! The shoreline itself was a result of the lava flows an upheavals that have occurred for centuries . We arrived back at the hotel shortly before 6 and got ready for our Halloween cocktail party. Judy went as the gypsy queen!

A Day In Taormina

The beautiful sunny view of Mount Etna marked the beginning of our stay in Taormina. We had a half day tour of the

city. The guide was very good as he walked the group through the very large public gardens which were established over 100 years ago. They contain plants and trees from all over the world. the gardens are large enough to spend a long time just wandering. In the park there is a memorial to World War 1 as well as a torpedo from the Italian navy from WW2. The torpedo was very interesting. A frogman actually drove the torpedo to the intended ship, detached the war head and then sped away in the underwater speed boat. The navy did sink 2 British ships this way. The gardens also provided an excellent view of an old monastery which was used as a headquarters by the Germans in WW2. The area was bombed by the Allies but all damage has now been repaired.

Our guide then took us through the old streets of the lower part of the city on our way up to the “Greek” amphitheatre. It really is misnamed because the Greeks were the original builders of the theatre, but it was the Romans who rebuilt the structure as we see it today. The more we travel, the more we wonder at how the Romans knew how to built these structures. The city has “modernized” the amphitheatre somewhat by building a large wooden platform and installing metal supported seats. They continue to use the area for performances. Gone are the days when the wild animals were part of the show. There were many entrances (exits) where the gladiators would appear. We did not enter the backstage or underground passageways where the devices for raising and lowering the props were kept. This is one of the main attractions of Taormina and we crossed paths with at least 4 tours from a Holland America ship which is in Messina. The third part of the tour was a walk down the main street of the town. Of course it was crowded with all the tours in

town. The street ends in a plaza with a wonderful view of the ocean and of course Mount Etna. About 20 of our group decided to stop at the “best” pizza place in town. It was up away from the main street in a very small plaza. We were early enough to be seated at one large table. There were about 25 different types of pizza that could be ordered in the Naples style. We had a very good time just chatting having pizza and drinking a beer!

Finally, Sunset over Mt Etna. Just beautiful.