Oct 6, 2011 - Catania and Taormina, Italy

Thursday 6th October 2011 Weather:-25degrees and beautiful Catania and Taormina, Sicily-Italy Catania and its harbour are dramatically situated between the Ionian Sea and Mount Etna, Europe's greatest active volcano (it only erupted 16 times last year). As well as ruins from the ancient city, the town boasts a wealth of fine Baroque architecture and it was the place that our boat moored today. One of the most significant events which shaped Catania was the earthquake of 1693, which devastated most of south-eastern Sicily. The town was...

Oct 3, 2011 - Taormina, (Sicily), Italy

Sicily lived up to and exceeded our expectations both in terms of beauty, food and wine! this is a spot where Cheryl and I could spend some serious time in the future! That is one thing we really like about taking cruises--it gives you a little taste of a lot of places to let you decide where you want to come back to spend more time. We will spend more time here! The quaint town of Taormina was everything you would expect from an Italian coastal town--beautiful views, quaint streets littered with shops and restaurants, and some friendly...

Oct 1, 2011 - Messina

Messina:  okay, not much too tell, except the coach trip was long anddaboringasthe Siciliannnnnnnnaaatranslatorwassaveryyyyyyysinggasongginganddadifficlulttahforrametounderstanddah.   She didn't stop talking for four hours.   Messina was nice...and was more or less a stop to say it was a port call.  We were the very last people to re oars the ship.    Our dinner guests are Gary and Roberta from Ohio and Dennis and Elaine for the U.K.  Dennis and Elaine are pub managers and are on their 22nd cruise.   Gary and Roberta are tied with...

Sep 6, 2011 - Trapani & Erice

Tuesday, September 6 - Trapani, Sicily The western point of the Sicilian triangle is a land of wild beauty, where rocky coves and cliffs overlook sandy and all but deserted beaches. Trapani was founded by the Elymians to serve as the port of the nearby city of Erice, which overlooks it from Monte San Giuliana. The city sits on a low-lying promontory jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea. It was originally named Drepanon from the Greek word for “sickle”, because of the curving shape of its harbor. Today it is known for it’s production of...

Sep 4, 2011 - Taormina Sicily

Sunday, September 4 - Taormina & Castelmola Our smiling, mild mannered guide Roberto met us at the dock and drove us to our first stop in Taormina - the Greek Theater from the 3rd century- the Theater is still used today and is one of the most important sites of Taormina. Taormina has remnants of its Greek and Roman past, a medieval quarter and castle ruins, and modern shops and restaurants. It’s perched on the side of Monte Tauro, the town offers fantastic views of the coast and Mt. Etna volcano as well as good hiking paths. Below the town...

Jul 3, 2011 - Pizza and the Mafia

Last Thursday, our whole study abroad program (13 students, our resident director, and our Italian Cultural History teacher) got on a plane to Catania, Sicily. It is on the Eastern Coast, right below the largest active volcano in Europe, Mount Etna. We stayed in a small hotel that was pretty nice considering we were a bunch of travelling students who are used to hostels. I shared a room with the same two roommates I have here in Florence. Right after arriving, we got a casual walking tour of the center of Catania. The program we are...

Jul 3, 2011 - Up a volcano, then down to the beach

On Saturday and Sunday in Sicily, we got our chance to explore the great outdoors. My whole study abroad program was in Catania, Sicily for 4 days on a travel seminar learning about the culture of the South and seeing the city. On Saturday, we took a bus to the tallest active volcano in Europe: Mount Etna. A local geologist was our guide for the day, and on the bus he told us to look out the window at the volcano because, "it just made a little eruption". I seriously thought he was kidding. But no, a turn to the left showed me that there...

Jun 17, 2011 - Sicily then Pompei

We woke up Thursday morning past the “toe of the boot” off Italy on the island of Sicily. The ship pulled up to the dock vs. anchoring off shore which meant easy access without waiting for the tender. After the morning workout regime was complete we showered up and struck out for our day of exploring. Although the city of Messina was at our feet we elected to go up the mountain to Taormina. And were we ever rewarded for that extra effort – Taormina must be the poster town for every photo of Italy you’ve ever seen. It is built into the...

Jun 16, 2011 - Messina, Sicily

June 16, 2011 The Wind Surf arrived at the dock in Messina, Sicily at 8:00 a.m. It was going to be nice to debark onto the pier instead of the warm confined tender ride in. We had breakfast with Penny and our American friends and commiserated over the Canucks 4-0 blow out loss of game 7 of the Stanley Cup final. Penny had stayed until the final buzzer with the other diehards in the Lounge while Brenda and I slept through it. Possibly even more disappointing was the news that trickled in about the small band of idiots that conducted a minor...

Jun 6, 2011 - Agrigento,Valley of the Temples, Segesta & Archeological Site, Palermo - Taveling Home

Entry #19 June 6, 2011 Our last day was extremely long and we had a lot of ground to cover before we returned to Palermo for our last night before a very early morning alarm clock and our departure to the airport for our flight to Rome, then back to Atlanta and then home. Our bus rolled at 7:05AM from the "Bishop's" hotel and we arrived about 3 hours later at Agrigento for our tour of the Temples in the "Valley of the Temples" (it's not really a valley but a ridge). Agrigento is aptly named for there is lots of farming done in this region....

Jun 5, 2011 - Caltagirone, Villa Romanadei Casale

Entry #18 June 5, 2011 Wow! The bus wasn't scheduled to leave until 9AM! After a couple of hours, we visited a ceramic studio in Caltagirone where we saw the ubiquitous smiling sun being made. While not our favorite piece, we learned that it is a traditional item. We also learned that the Moore Knight and the lady that we had seen in the puppy show last night are also traditional Sicilian objects of art based on a history of conquest. This revelation gave us some insight into the puppet show. There was time for a leisurely lunch and a...

Jun 4, 2011 - Siracusa, Archaeological Park, Paolo Orsi Museum, Puppet Show, 45th Wedding Anniversary

Entry #17 June 4, 2011 Another early start (probably to beat the tourist crowds). We walked from our hotel to the bus and then were driven off to the Archaeological Park. The major structure is another Greek theater that was hewn from the hillside by slave labor in the 5th Century BC. This theater was host to many premiers of Greek tragedies and comedies. Today it still has performances of these timeless plays. Around the back of the theater is the gigantic stone quarry which forms the "Ear of Dionysius" that is a cave in the shape of an...