Mount Etna

On Sunday, April 29th we rented a car and drove up Mt. Etna, the 10,900-foot snow capped volcano that dominates eastern Sicily. It is Europe's largest active volcano, and our little Fiat rental would agree. We debated if it had one cylinder or two, or if there should be a set of pedals instead of the gas pedal. On the drive up we passed many new and ancient lava flows, some 10 feet high, that looked like nothing could have stopped them. The last eruption was on April 11th, just two weeks ago. It made us wonder when the next one would be...

We arrived at the Town of Nicolosi and from there you have to take a cable car to get to the base camp. This is where Winter kicks in, you can actually rent boots, jackets and hats from the lodge. At this point you hire a driver and guide to deliver you up to the craters at the top. This unworldly ride is in an indestructible looking Mercedes truck called the "Unimog". The front seat was open, and the driver motioned to Becky to climb to the front for an unmatched view and photo op.

On the way, you pass though 15-foot, white snow banks that give way to the black lava near the steaming craters. It's an incredibly strange atmosphere, surrounded by clouds, steam, wind and the smell of sulfur in the air.

We asked our guide if there is any warning before eruptions. He told us that there is usually "seismic activity about an hour before an eruption". Seeing that it took about two hours to get where we were, we did the math and tried not to panic. He assured us that the lava only flows at about two kilometers per hour (again, this metric thing confused us and we hoped we could run faster than that). He then said, "you should be able to run faster than that". We looked at him with raised eyebrows.

We hiked from the truck though what is known as the "button" craters since they lined up during explosions like the buttons on a shirt. Note the people on the other side of the crater to get an idea of it's size.

You could feel the heat right through your boots, and by sliding your foot you could move the surface of the crumbled lava and see the steam rise from beneath - how scary is that? The sun broke through occasionally to give you a glimpse of what a 10,900-foot view from the top of a volcano out to the ocean looks like. That's not something you see every day.


We spent about an hour hiking at the top, and after tempting fate long enough, regrettably loaded back into the Unimog for the bumpy ride back to the cable car. The cable car line had become completely engulfed in white clouds making for an eerie decent back to the base camp. Our little Fiat was the only car left parked in the street, and there were just a few cars left in the parking lot. Where there were hundreds of people when we started, there were only a few left at this point. We started to wonder if we missed the memo, or maybe the siren...

We stopped on the ride down to take some photos of beautiful yellow flowers that somehow grow right out of the jet black lava - it just does not seem possible for this to happen. We also had a "safari" moment as a fox-like animal wondered onto the side of the road. It had the body of a bobcat and the face of a fox, incredible looking animal. We wondered how anything could survive and it reminded of us the Jurassic Park quote "Life finds a way".













The Fiat was really enjoying the downhill part of the ride, gliding through the switchbacks with the heart of a Ferrari. But here's where is gets a little scary. During one of the photo stops, there was a rumbling that was growing louder and louder. Kind of like when you're really hungry and your stomach is growling, but much scarier coming from almost 11,000 feet of volcano. "Did you hear that?", was quickly replaced by, "Is that thunder?". This guessing seemed to only make Etna angry. We (half) jokingly yelled, "Get in the car, it's about to blow!". It was not until the next day that we were asked, "You were on Etna yesterday? Did you see the eruption?" WOW!

Here's a photo and a link to a home video shot on that day posted by someone who was lucky enough to see it and film it: http://video.nbc4.tv/player/?id=98361. Look for a speeding Fiat in the background!

There's another volcano coming up in our trip itinerary - the infamous Mount Vesuvius that devastated Pompeii. Italians like to warn, "it's much smaller than Etna, but much more dangerous". Can't wait.

Castelmola

Castelmola is a small medieval town seen on the peak in the upper left of the photo. The bus ride from Taormina (seen as the lower peaks in the picture) is not for the faint of heart, as the cliffs drop off right beside the street that is wide enough for about two Vespas to pass safely. The way the driver swung through the hairpin turns he might as well have been blindfolded. By the time we reached the top, we half expected to see some guy dressed up as Saint Peter in front of a set of Pearly Gates.

A stroll through this mountain top town is breathtaking, with coastal views to the north towards Messina and to the south towards Catania. Blue sparkling ocean as far as you can see to the east, and huge Mount Etna to the southwest keep you spinning and debating which is more beautiful.

The walk through the streets is quiet and peaceful, discovering churches, little shops, bars and restaurants along the way. One of the local products the area is known for is almond-flavored wine (Vino Di Mandorla); it is absolutely delicious. The offering of this wine is a symbol of hospitality by many of the local restaurants. This all started to make sense since it was showing up at our table, unordered, at the end of dinners. We originally thought we scored with some other table's order ending up at our table. We then thought, after a few repeat occurrences, that the restaurant owners really liked us and we were special. Finally, we realized, that everyone is special in this community.

The ride back down was just as crazy as the ascent. The driver double beeps through the blind curves to alert oncoming traffic. Seems archaic, and a little overly hopeful since we are sure that nothing can be heard over the noise of the scooters. Somehow it all works, with small cars and Vespas scattering from the path of the small bus like the Spaniards during the "Running of the Bulls". It's an incredible way to spend a few hours, and we are sure that is the same story you would get from someone who successfully outruns the bulls!

Isola Bella (Beautiful Island)

This is an island off the coast of Sicily, connected to Taormina by a small sandbar about 30 feet long. The waves come around both sides of the island and meet "face-to-face" as they crash over the small strip of land. The only way onto the island is a well-timed burst across the sandbar, or by boat.

Isola Bella, also known as "The Pearl of the Ionean Sea ", was private property until about 15 years ago. The official story is that the last owner went bankrupt. But, we got the real story from the locals...

Legend has it, the island was owned by a member of the mafia. A member of the mafia is known here as "mafioso", which must be whispered when in public - we didn't ask why, we just went with it.

The island was bought by the Region of Sicily and became a nature preserve in 1990. You can visit, but by reservation only. This was probably the same procedure as the previous owner had - "by reservation only"!

Mangiare (eating) at Nino's

Nino's is quickly becoming our favorite restaurant, it's like a Sicilian version of "Cheers". Not only is the food excellent, but the people who work here are classic. They are part of the experience and make you feel like part of their family. They are patient with our complete mis-pronunciation of every Italian word and are happy to help with the English translations. We think that we are entertaining them as much as they are entertaining us!

Within minutes, everyone in the restaurant has a distinct personality and you feel like you have known them all of your life. Here's the cast of characters as we see them:

Nino - owner, uncle to Gian Luca and Francesco. Very serious about the food, clearly a perfectionist since everything we have had to eat is "perfecto".

Gian Luca (pronounced "John Luca") - waiter (on the right), hand is in a cast and the only story we could get was that "something happened upstairs". He claims he only knows enough English to get by in the restaurant, but he knows a lot more English than we do Italian. We knew we had a friend when we saw the Red Sox hat in the back room. He explained that he has a friend in Boston and he also has a Celtics hat. We told him he has to visit Boston, and tried to explain Boston has a "Little Italy" known as the North End. We got a curious look from him, and not sure we lost him or not, but he got the gist of it that we were pretty excited to have a little taste of Italy close to home.

Francesco - waiter (on the left), from the Milano area. He models for a high end Italian clothing store but is the most down to earth model you will ever meet. He claims to know no English, but he throws a few words out every now and then and has us on the floor laughing! He did the double cheek kisses for Becky, and then said something in Italian to our friend Danielle whom we were having dinner with. She translated "the men too", and Steve got the double cheek kisses too. It's amazing to be part of a culture that is so different than our own. The men are very comfortable showing affection with friends. It is easy to transition from the high-fives and belly bumps to the cheek kisses with such passionate people.

Sebastiano - waiter, all business until the door closes. Then you can see the personality rise to the top and know he is one of the main characters of this show.

Rocco - friend of the family, always smiling and ready to break into dance with any song.

Giovanni - from Savoca, and was actually in the movie "The Godfather". He showed us a picture of him riding a bike with a red shirt on (see below). His father was also in the movie, with a few key scenes filmed in Savoca. In the movie they are set in Corleone, but the small town character of Savoca could not be matched. Giovanni has "Italian Hollywood" in his blood, playing the role with a red scarf around his neck and white hat. He even posed in a picture with us!
Our new friend Danielle has been going to Nino's for the last 11 years that she has been traveling to and living in Taormina; she has become family there. We have met her at the restaurant for dinner a few nights and she helps translate our conversations with the group so they know we are not completely crazy (as they would say "patso"). Danielle has been our link to really getting to know the people of Nino's, not to mention a great source of information on fun things to do and see.

Every time we walk past Nino's now we get a warm "Ciao! Buon giorno! Come sta?!". It's incredible how quickly they have made us feel so welcomed into their wonderful town! Grazie Nino's!

Walking the Corso Umberto

Our first full day in Taormina was a national holiday, Italy's "Liberation Day" on April 25th (sort of like our July 4th Independence Day). It is a celebration of when Italy was freed from the Nazis during WWII. This holiday is followed by Italy's "Labour Day" the following week, so many Italians take the week off in between these two holidays. We were warned that it would be a crowded day in Taormina, but had no idea what we were about to experience.

We decided to jump right in, heading to the Corso Umberto shopping district which is about two miles long and 20 feet wide. Every square inch was covered with people strolling, window shopping and sipping cappuccinos as they people watch. It's amazing how many people look at your shoes.

People cook on grills from their rooftop decks, the smell is indescribable. They also flood to the streets to pass the time with the friends, there are many "Ciaos!" and a lot of the double cheek kisses, one of our favorite European traditions. We bumped into our friend Danielle again, giving us that small town feel that gives Taormina it's quaintness.

This road has many colorfully lively piazzas, live music playing, people singing, dancing, eating gelato, and looking in awe at the ominous Mt. Etna steaming in the not so far distance - it is truly an incredible site. We think that is why the Sicilians in this area live life to the fullest every day, knowing that there would be no way out if Etna decided to fully erupt!

Taormina

We could barely wait to start exploring this part of Sicily. Taormina has Mount Etna as a back drop, and it's on the side of a cliff over looking blue-green ocean with islands dotting the coastline. If that's not enough for you, it has a 2,400 year old Greek Theater, numerous piazzas with breathtaking views, and one of the most famous shopping streets in Europe. No wonder it has long been the seaside vacation town for the rich and famous Italians from the mainland.

Our first night we went to a restaurant called Nino's, just down the street from our hotel. The food was excellent - veal marsala and insalada mista (mixed salad). We think that they think we are crazy since we are not eating four course meals every night. We sat next to a gentleman who was eating when we first sat down, and was still eating when we left. It was one of the most impressive efforts we have ever seen! It's no wonder with the food as good as it is, we are finding it increasingly hard to stop.

A girl that was eating in the back of the restaurant noticed that we were speaking English on her way out. That shows you how few English speaking visitors there are in Sicily. We are noticing that people hear us speaking and are very curious what we are all about.

She introduced herself as Danielle, from Toronto, Canada. We learned that she is an artist and painted the wall at Nino's Restaurant in this photo. Seeing that the Canadians are just as friendly as the Sicilians, after dinner she gave us a tour down the main shopping street, Corso Umberto, pointing out the spots the tourists may not find. We were quite excited to "cheat" and get acclimated in English!

Great first night in Taormina.

Train Journey from Palermo to Taormina

The train rides are always interesting, all walks of life well represented. We sat across for a man and his wife, probably in their 60s. He, at first sight, looked like the poster man for the Mafia. Amazing what a smile and an awkwardly pronounced "Buon giorno!" (good day!) can do. He did not speak a word of English but for the rest of the journey was pointing things out for us to look at out the window. He was really fired up when we were passing through the town of Cefalù (see photo). Although we passed it at 100 miles per hour, we put it on the "must see next time" list. This was impossible to explain to him, so we stuck with the smiles. At their stop, we helped them with their bags from the overhead bin, and added two more friends 7,000 miles from home. We yelled, "Arrivederci! Grazie!" (good bye, thank you!) and by their smiles back to us knew they appreciated our efforts in speaking Italiano.

Five hours after leaving Palermo, we arrived at night in a dark covered Taormina, with no idea of the actual beauty we would discover in the morning.