An Almost Awesome Day

As our two month adventure in Italy comes to a close we had a truly remarkable day yesterday. It started with a climb of Mount Etna..........well, not really a climb, technically. We drove from our room in Giardini Naxos (a beach town just south of Taormina) up the mountain along a long switchback road to Refugio Sapienza at 2,000 metres above sea level where we were able to park our vehicle. Then we took a cable car further up, followed by a 4x4 mini transport bus with tire chains that brought us as high as it could on a steep and snow-covered, broken lava road. At that point we walked up the final two hundred metres with a local guide to reach a set of active craters above the 3,000 metre level (almost 10,000 feet above sea level). It was fascinating to hear about the history of this destructive and powerful volcano that is still very volatile today. Daily mini explosions still occur. We noticed one on our drive up the mountain when a large plume of dark brown smoke emerged from a crater at the top. With below zero temperature and a wind that was howling close to 100 km / hr, our stay didn't last much longer than 30 minutes because of the dangerous conditions that prevented us from climbing any higher. We did have time however to check out a few hot spots where we could feel the underground heat with our hands. Once back down the mountain we then decided to stop at a local winery to try some tastings produced from the rich volcanic soil. The winery I had picked out (Benanti) was busy with a large private tour, so we were initially turned back, but I must have had a good pout on hearing the news because after a few more verbal exchanges the hostess relented and offered to give us a private tour and tasting herself. It turned out she (Bianca) was the 40 year old grand-daughter of the original owner and she did a fabulous job showing us around, telling generational stories and letting us taste some lovely wines. Unbeknownst to us she checked with the chef and was able to offer us the same meal that the private group was having so we ended up being there for several hours and enjoying more wine. Following our second wonderful experience of the day we returned to our room and hit the sack early, setting the alarm for just after midnight so that I could wake up and follow the Stampeders quest for the Grey Cup on my laptop. Unfortunately the outcome didn't cap off the daily trifecta but what another incredible Grey Cup game with so many big plays and momentum swings right up until the very end of the game.

Prior to reaching our current post on the eastern coast of Sicily, we drove down the west coast from our starting point in Palermo and then along the southern coast with a quick inland detour to Piazza Armerina (Roman mosaic tiles). We spent time in Marsala, famous for it's fortified wine which is a delicious after dinner treat, and for the remainder of this trip, a replacement for limoncello. Another interesting event here was venturing into an old church that a priest pointed out to us when we were close to the Cathedral. There was no one else inside except an older gentleman, the guardian of the church. He spoke no English but took a hankering to Pocahontas (don't we all) and led her by the arm around the entire church, including a special visit to a hidden side room, where he explained every single detail of every piece of art in the church....in his best Italian language. My dear wife kept nodding her head as if she understood everything he said.

Then it was on to Agrigento and Valley of the Temples, the largest archaeological site in the world measuring 1,300 hectares, and we walked a lot of it spending one afternoon there. The remains of this former Greek city (2500+ years old) featured ruins from 7 temples, ancient walls and gates. It was a fascinating trip through time listening to the history on our audioguide. Although the temple and amphitheatre on top of Mount Balaro in Segesta were better preserved, our visit there the day before paled in comparison to the size and scope of the Agrigento site.

Our most recent stay was in Avola, just south of historic Siracusa on the east coast which was our base for 3 days because it was convenient to visit other nearby places from here. My CAO (Chief Accommodations Officer) found an upstairs apartment in a lovely home that had a balcony with a nice view of the Mediterranean that we enjoyed on several occasions. We made side visits to Noto (baroque churches and palaces), Ragusa (lots of closed sites in November, could have skipped) and Modica which we enjoyed much more. Perhaps that's because it is famous for its production of 'glass chocolate' made without cocoa butter and heat, making for a crunchy, grainy texture but still delicious. We had free samples of many varieties before deciding on some favourites to purchase.

Leaving Avola, we drove further north up the east coast of Sicily, stopping for several hours in Siracusa. Once there we split our time between the historic old town of Ortygia (bustling Saturday market, ped-friendly streets, connected to the the mainland by a bridge), and the ancient Greek archaeological site on the mainland. It featured 2,700 year old ruins with the highlights being a 4,000 seat amphitheatre that was completely carved into the underlying rock, a gladiator arena and the large Ear of Dionysius cave.

Today we will explore the seaside city of Taormina before moving on to the north coast tomorrow for the final few days of our trip.

The well preserved 420 B.C.Doric temple in Segesta that was never completely finished due to the ongoing battles the Greeks had with their neighbours in the region.

Ruins in Agrigento's Valley of the Temples.

One of the best preserved temples in Agrigento. Once the Christians took over the area they added the interior arches so it had more TLC over time than some of the other Greek ruins.

A typical view of the Sicilian countryside. They made good use of their land using every non-rock space for agriculture.

Only a small portion of the tiled floors within an ancient Roman villa in Piazza Armerina. Every room told a different story and the floors are well preserved resulting from a mudslide that covered the villa for over a thousand years.

Our first view of Mt. Etna. There seemed to be orange and clementine groves everywhere on the island.

The Town Hall in Noto, a wonderful place to walk around that we enjoyed very much.

The baroque styles was evident throughout Noto with most of the balconies featuring carved stone like this.

The Duomo di San Giorgio (St. George Cathedral) in Modica. This picture was taken part way up the 250 steps to the church.

Rhonda caught with her hand in the cookie jar at our 'glass chocolate' tasting in Modica.

Siracusa's amazing Greek amphitheatre (5th century B.C.) that was carved out of rock surface. It is still used today for special events.

One of Mt. Etna's craters that we climbed to. This one last erupted in 2002. The warm spots around the crater keep the snow from accumulating in this particular area.