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Today, we are looking forward to going to Mt. Etna, the most active volcano in Europe. It has erupted every year, but the worst time was in 1669, when the lava covered villages all around it and even reached Catania, many kilometers away. It always emits steam and is ever-present in the landscape of eastern Sicily.

Denise, our driver and guide, took us there to get as close to the summit as we could. It is remarkable to see hundreds of hikers, climbers, runners, and ordinary folk work their way up the mountain. Most people take the cable car up to the 3,000 meter level, then go on a four-wheel drive bus another 500 meters. From there, well above the tree line, the landscape looks like the moon, with no vegetation, and patches of ash-covered snow. It isn’t horribly cold, but very windy. Even if you know you will be climbing Mt. Etna, visitors rarely bring heavy jackets or hats, so they can rent all they need, including shoes and socks, at the cable car entrance.

The other diehards who run marathons on the side of the mountain, have to navigate running up and down on ash, which is treacherous. Supposedly, people even “ski” down the ash, which is very steep. The climbers wear helmets, just in case they fall, and go in groups that tied to one another. The bikers ride up the switchback roads to the base. This is all above my pay grade.

We took the cable car to the next level, then the bus to the highest point. From there, we had to walk uphill about a kilometer or two to the actual summit. The line of humanity doing this was endless and not easy. We started the walk, but decided that although we are in relatively good shape, this was not for us. The other couple traveling with us on this tour did climb the last leg and Caroline, in particular, regretted it. Jim and I took the bus down to the coffee shop and waited for them to return. It was the smartest thing to do.

Just going up to the 3,000 meter level (about 11,000 feet) was something we will not easily forget. Now, it was time to return to the bottom to go on our Etna wine-tasting at a local winery. It has been said that the soil around Mt. Etna is full of minerals and other nutrients for the wine grapes, giving the wines a unique, complex, flavor. The winery, Barron Villagrande, is situated just outside of Taormina and is a beautiful property. They served us, as well as many other visitors, a beautiful lunch, paired with different wines.

We started with a tomato bruschetta, which had the tastiest tomatoes you have ever had. The bruschetta bread was crusty and homemade, making this simple first course very special. It was served with a Etna Rossata, or rose. The next course was a tiny ground beef tartar sandwich, topped with a locally grown hazelnut, and accompanied by a light, fruity white wine. Our next course was a chickpea pie, topped with sauteed chickory on a bit of tomato paste and a bread cracker. This was served with an Etna Bianco. The spinach ravioli that followed was filled with cheese and served on a red wine reduction, with an Etna Rosso.

When you thought you couldn’t eat any more, we were served incredible locally grown mushrooms with thinly sliced tuna belly and a yellow tomato sauce. This came with a second red wine that was more full-bodied red wine. And, finally, we had a unique dessert of a peppered chocolate mousse on a chocolate biscuit with red fruits. This was served with a delicious Malbec. We were totally satiated but still enjoyed seeing the wine casks made of chestnut wood in the wine cellar. Chestnuts are grown everywhere in this part of Sicily, and the wood gives the wines a uniqueness to make the wines very special.

Well, that was our day. We passed on dinner and instead went to the restaurant in the hotel and had a beer to celebrate our day. Tomorrow, we leave Taormina and head to Noto, Marzamemi, and finally to Syracusa for a couple of days.

We met Giovanni at the Messina Arch again and walked to the Greek Theatre not far from our hotel. It was built in the1400’s, but after WWII, parts of it were rebuilt in 1955. It overlooks the valley, and the Ionian Sea, crowned by Mt. Etna. It was used for Greek dramas and  Roman gladiators. Now, it hosts many cultural events including concerts, opera and ballet.

Afterwards, we took a short walk to see a small amphitheater, Odeon, uncovered in the middle of town. Two years ago, my daughter and I ate at a small restaurant overlooking the theatre. It was a unique juxtaposition of old and current times.

While Giovanni retrieved the van we were using for the rest of the day, we enjoyed a visit to the public gardens. The garden was left to the town by an English woman to honor her love of the city. The trees and flowers were very similar to those we have in Mexico, giving us a comfortable feeling of home.

You never know what you will see as you meander around the streets of Taormina. We were delighted to see a couple going to the church for their wedding. They arrived in a VW bug convertible and we were told that there are many weddings per day. Everywhere you look, the vista is filled with flowering bougainvillea, charming alleys and small restaurants.

It was now time to take the many hairpin turns, past the beach area, on to the town of Forza d’Agro to start our Mafia/Godfather tour. While Taormina became famous from the second season of The White Lotus, the third Godfather movie was filmed in Sicily, and more specifically, in the small towns near Taormina, including Forza d’Agro. The churches were the stars of the film, looking much larger than they actually are. 

It was time to take a break and have lunch at a small, charming restaurant. We started with a tomato bruschetta, followed by fresh pasta called “norma,” topped with dried and baked ricotta cheese in a fresh tomato-eggplant sauce. The brown cheese looked like mushrooms, but it was the ricotta. Finally, we enjoyed a delicious cannoli filled with a sweet cream.

Time to move on to the Santa Lucia church to see another location from the Godfather movie. The church was simple and mainly unadorned, but in a side room, they had a repeating video of the segment filmed in the church. 

As we walked up to the church, there were remnants of an old synagogue, with a small plaque in the stone road just outside honoring Anne Frank. It was quite odd, I thought. In Amsterdam, plaques of those who died in the concentration camps, were everywhere. I didn’t expect this in Sicily. There also was evidence of an old mikveh or ritual bath where the synagogue supposedly stood.

Time to return to the hotel to rest a bit before heading out for a light dinner, hopefully pizza and a caprese salad. We said goodbye to Giovanni and will be going with Denice, our next guide, to go up Mt. Etna to see the volcano first-hand.

After a grueling day and a half getting to Sicily, we went to our hotel, the same one I stayed in two years ago. Taormina is about 40 minutes from the Catania Airport. It was dark when we arrived, so Jim couldn’t see the scenery awaiting him. We managed to go to the hotel restaurant for a sandwich (really yummy) and a beer. The kitchen closed at 10:30, so eating more at that hour would have not worked.

Jim crashed immediately, while I stayed awake for hours. Italy is eight hours later than Ajijic, so sleeping in the middle of the day wasn’t easy for me. Ultimately, I got about five hours of sleep and welcomed a lovely shower and a delicious breakfast this morning.

We hung around our room to allow more de-compressing and even had a video call with Ajijic friends who are also in Sicily. They were going to join us for our cooking class starting on June 8, but it was full. Instead, they are going a week earlier, starting June 1. Once they get to the villa for the six-day class, we will connect again to get their impression of the location.

We started our tour at 6:00 PM today with a food frenzy! I will endeavor to upload lots of photos of Taormina. More challenges!

We met Giovanni, along with a couple from Los Angeles, to begin our evening tour. Giovanni lives in Catania and has worked as a tour guide for many years. He is charming and very sweet. The other couple, Caroline and Dennis are very nice and with only the four of us, the tour will be great fun.

Our first stop was a nearby restaurant, Pirandello 2.0, where we were wined and dined starting with a delicious glass of Prosecco, and then a very good white wine. We enjoyed crusty bread with an excellent olive oil for dipping. We started with a mini appetizer of arancino (a fried rice ball that can have a filling of cheese or ragú), a brioche, and a savory chip with a pistachio cream.

This was followed by a wonderful marinated fresh tuna and a fresh grouper appetizer to enjoy with the sparkling wine. Next was sautéed octopus on a bed of potato puree and breaded and fried calamari (squid) (which I tasted but passed on). Giovanni was very knowledgeable about the food and the wines. The white wine was an Etna Bianco and was excellent. We were also serenaded by lovely music with songs that were very familiar. Everyone sang Volare with them.

Our next stop was another restaurant, Porto Messina, (which was where my daughter and I had an amazing cooking class two years ago), where we had two red wines, an Etna Rossi and a Luna Nero D’Avola. The first wine was a light, flavorful red, while the second was a full-bodied red, matched with the food we were eating. At 7:30, the restaurants were full and lively.

We were served a variety of breads, along with a pickled onion and a roasted red pepper spread. Next, we had an eggplant caponata, two local cheeses and a small serving of eggplant Parmesan. All the portions were small but satisfying. Dennis and Caroline, our tour mates, were fun and we enjoyed getting to know them.

Finally, our last stop was a pastry shop where we tasted a sampling of an almond wine, a moscato wine, and limoncello. We had a small canolli, a pistachio-filled cream puff-like treat, and another nut-filled treat. My head was reeling from all the alcohol because I don’t drink very much. Still, it was a treat to try all of these unique flavors.

We returned to our hotel to relax and enjoy a quiet rest of the evening. Tomorrow, we begin at 9:30 with Giovanni to see the Greek ruins, visit a couple of interesting towns and do the Godfather Mafia tour! As a group of four people, this is as close to a private tour as one can get!

The flight through Mexico City was uneventful. Eleven hours later, we arrived in Rome. The airport is a shopper’s paradise. The brands and number of shops is mind-boggling. If I have to (haha), I may shop and see if I can squeeze it into my carry-on bag.

I sent a couple of videos and a photo of the amazing performance at the public piano with not only students from Belgium on an Italian holiday, but many other travelers enjoying their enthusiasm and singing along, including me!

Our flight to Catania, Sicily leaves soon, where we will have a good night’s sleep and almost a full day to explore Taormina (made famous from Season 2 of The White Lotus). We start our tour tomorrow with a dinner to meet the others in our group of eight.

Sorry that I haven’t mastered the idiosyncrasies of enlarging the print. Obviously, WordPress has a mind of its own on my iPad! I am just grateful that I didn’t have to bring my laptop!

Until tomorrow…

Not to be overly dramatic, I am OVER THE MOON! I have been trying to use my iPad Mini to write future entries rather than taking my laptop, and it FINALLY worked! I was just about to give up. Many YouTube videos later, which were useless, somehow I figured it out. I even contacted my tech guru and she was going to walk me through it later today, just in the knick of time before we leave tomorrow for Italy. I guess this old brain is still working! There is nothing more to report for now but I thought I would share my triumph. I will write soon.

The time has flown by and we are excited to be embarking on another grand trip.

In the meantime, we went to Baja California Sur for a week in May to visit Denver friends (for over 40 years) who have a home in San Jose del Cabo for a few days with mutual friends who live in Ajijic. I worked with the husband of the couple here about 45 years ago and lo and behold, they live 10 minutes from us. In any case, we had three fun days with our Denver friends before Jim and I drove to a small town north of Cabo San Lucas, Los Cerritos, to meet my son and his family. It is a well-known surfing town on the Pacific with dusty dirt roads. It could have been plucked from old hippy days (surprise!).

Judd and his wife, Elizabeth, along with my two granddaughters, Arlo and Sanelle, frolicked in the water and everyone, except us and Elizabeth got to surf or boogie board. The water was about 65F, which is waaaay to cold for my tender toes. Good thing they had wet suits! It was a short but fun visit with them.

We leave for Italy on May 28, but Jim is taking a few days to go to the Denver area to celebrate the high school graduation of his youngest grandson and his granddaughter, who graduated from Colorado State University last December. Going to Colorado in the winter was not a big draw, so he will enjoy celebrating with them this weekend. After a one day turnaround, we will leave for Rome, via Mexico City, and then on to Sicily for a week, starting in Catania and ending in Palermo. This is a similar trip I took with my daughter two years ago that Jim didn’t get to go. We are using the same tour company and we will be traveling with a group of no more than 8 others. That is the ideal number of people!

From Sicily, we have a short break and will go to the Amalfi Coast, where I have not been before but Jim has visited. Then, on to a villa between Rome and Naples for a week-long cooking class. This will also be with a small group, where we shop together, plan meals together, cook together, and, of course, eat together. We just hope that they will be a fun group!

And, finally, we will fly from Rome to Brindisi for an eight-day self-drive tour of Puglia, in the heel of the boot of Italy. The hotels are booked by the tour company, as well as the car with all the insurance needed. We, then, drive to all the towns in the area, enjoying visits to Lecce, Bari, and more, depending on how we feel. We also stay in an Alberollo trulli (look it up), rather than just driving past them.

I was hoping to write about all of this on my iPad Mini but it is being very cranky and won’t let me into the blog site. I may have to take my MacBook Air instead, which I was hoping to avoid. Maybe between now and next Wednesday, I will figure this out and write often with my little device. I think that WordPress is the problem, not my mini!

I will send an email or WhatsApp to let you know that there is a new entry on happyhelena.com. When you have a few minutes, check it out. It is more for me, than for you guys, because I review what I have written and marvel at the details of where we have been without having to rack my steadily shrinking brain!

I hope you enjoy it…