Jun 2, 2011 - Italy again

After getting out of bed at 5.45 am in Malta, we took a 90 minute ferry ride to Sicily. As is often the case, the port was nowhere near public transport connections and we were given a “tour” by a taxi driver before finally insisting on being left at the bus stop, as per our initial request. Emily texted at this point and we sent some bus station vocabulary for her to translate. Clearly fluent in Italian, Em promptly informed us that it was a public holiday and that our “blast off” was 6 hours away.When the bus finally arrived we were...

May 28, 2011 - Palermo, Sicily

Entry #13 May 28, 2011 The Castellammare shipyard workers' protest had settled down and a driver was scheduled to pick us up at 9:45AM for the drive to the Naples airport. The certainty of this arrangement had been a bit scary since on Thursday night we heard talking in the lobby of our B&B around 11PM. A couple had just arrived from Naples and had to take a real "Round Robin-hood's Barn" drive to get from Naples to Sorrento which involved going inland and then back up the Amalfi coast rather than by the direct road (which the workers had...

May 14, 2011 - 02. Setting off

Arrived in Palermo after an exhausting series of flights and airport lounges. The less said about that the better. In Rome as I queued to clear customs, I finally met up with my first fellow rider. By coincidence he was Andrew, the only person with whom I had made contact before the trip. We were going to catch up for a training ride but didn't manage it. He was on a different flight to Palermo and, as I waited in the departure lounge for my flight, I was approached by Tom, Marek and Libby, all from Maleny in Queensland, who spotted me as a...

Apr 22, 2011 - A full day at sea

Today was a full day at sea, so we were all pretty lazy. We did watch Sardinia going by. Mom and dad finally got the internet working (slowly) on board. We updated the blogs and got caught up on a few emails. After a nice last dinner, we went back to the room to pack. Disembarkation starts at 8am but the suitcases had to be out in the hall by 2am. Cruising is a neat way to have a family vacation. It is also an outstanding way to see a lot of tourist sights in a very short time. The rapid fire sightseeing is a bit like snacking though, you...

Apr 21, 2011 - Palermo---Arrival Met the family

Maureen and I had the most extrodinary and amazing welcome last night. Words can not describe how wonderful it was to meet many of my Pecorino's side of the family originally from Godrano. From 6 to 86 we were greeted by 10 of the most wonderful, loving people. There were not enough hugs and kisses to go around. We are planning to go to Trapani today with Vincenzo and Maria escorting. Tomorrow, Saturday they are all coming to Godrano with us to show us where Philip Pecorino and everyone lived. Seems they still have a house there that they...

Apr 21, 2011 - Palermo, Sicily

The boat docks right in the heart of Palermo, Sicily. We took a leisurely walk up the main streets, and had a quick pizza, panini and kebab lunch. The city streets near the harbour are some of the craziest we have seen. When 40-50 scooters and motorbikes take off from a red light all at once, jockeying for position as they rev their engines, one can’t help but think of Italy’s history in Formula 1 racing. The cacophony of sound as they all zoom away across the intersection is amazing. For afternoon desert I enjoyed a cannoli while the rest...

Dec 7, 2010 - Palermo, Sicily (Victor's hometown)

Palermo – December 7 ... warm balmy 22C The plan was to get off the ship around 9 and wander through Palermo to do some exploring prior to meeting up with Victor’s family at a restaurant across from the port at noon. As we were getting off the ship on the gangway at 9 am, we looked down and saw some members of Victor’s family – Toti Di Blasi, his wife and two of their grandchildren – waiting and waving up at us. They had been waiting since 8am in the hopes that they would see us leave the ship. We were greeted warmly and whisked away in a...

Oct 1, 2010 - Driving through Sicilia

We set off early to see a Norman Church near Caltanissetta. It was very pretty but not open until 9.00am so we moved on. Next stop was the Valley of the Temples near Agrigento. Progress would have been more rapid if the road which led directly to the temples had not been closed but they were well worth seeing when we got there. The navigation challenges were just part of the day. We drove over the centre of Sicily to Palermo on the small roads. Lunch was taken at a small village on the way. Things that we ordered turned out not to be...

Sep 26, 2010 - Taromia

All's I can say is beautiful!!!! This was a beautiful city in the mountains but also right on the water! He water was crystal clear. Jehovah is just so amazing in all his creations! We saw the greek ruins in argenteinia. That was spectacular! ( ya like my big vocabulary? ) haha Ok so I kno y'all wanted to see pictures...I'm working on that...access to a computer is harder than I thought! :( Us girls are having soo much fun! It was a little rough at uncle phils house...( Similia) while we were in peresapazia. But it was a fun experiance!...

Sep 20, 2010 - Traveling to precipazia*

* don't know if that's spelt right... Opps Today we checked out of the hotel in Palermo and headed down to precipazia. It took us about 2 hours to drive down here but it is as beautiful as ever!!!! Most amazing drive I have ever done. It looks a little deserty but it's because of it being the end of the season. Useally it's as green as can be Dino said. He was here in April about 8 years ago and it was at the peak season I guess. It was cool to see they burn the old crops because burning it makes the soil more rich and is better for...

Sep 19, 2010 - Lunch at zeo faliches

So we just had dinner at zeo faliches and all's I can say I'm full! 5 course meal... 1st - honey dew and prociuto. 2nd- pasta dish. 3rd- pork and Green beans. 4th- fruit. 5th- cake dessert. Than some expresso! Omg sooooo good but I'm so stankin full! They are all so hospitable it's rediculous! It's good to know there's family all around the world. Love you all!

Sep 18, 2010 - Another day at the beach/ Dino and sherry arrive!!!!

So I went to the beach...again. Lol it was nice but we went in Early today and passed put. I didn't relieze how much the sun drains your energy!!! The water is beautiful. Clear as can be. As one of my best friends would say..."it's stupid clear" no one will understand besides my bff! Hahaha anyways... It's about 11:51pm here but it's the first time we have free wifi so we are all going crazy trying tonreplyto emails and give updates. I think I said this before but I'll b posting some pictures in a couple days when I have a computer....