Thursday, August 30, 2007

Mini-Trip

We're off to see the wizard, I mean, Barcelona & Amsterdam for the next week & a half. Funny how I think of a week and a half as a "mini-trip" but I do... will post if I can but otherwise catch you guys in mid-September.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

'Grottaglie' ... now how in the world do you pronounce that?

Looks like a combination of "grotty" & "ugly", doesn't it? I end up saying 'Grottalia' (like Italia) every time, but it's actually Grow-ta-l-ee-ay ('ay' as in 'way') with a little r-rolling action.

Night out in Naples


Our Venezuelan-Italian friends.


Our Evil Twins


We had our portrait drawn at the top of the Spanish steps in Rome back in January. Creepy.
They're definitely our evil twins. No doubt about it.


Sicily in review

Overall...

I absolutely fell in love with Sicily. As you'll notice from all of my pictures, the sky is almost always a gorgeous blue -- it never rained during our 6 weeks there or was even remotely cloudy. Yes, it can be hot, especially when the 'shiroku', the hot winds from Africa blow, but it's bearable. The mix of cultures is refreshing after mainland Italy (Arabs, Normans, & Spanish all ruled the island) & you can see it in the art, the architecture, the food (it's spicier, yum) & even the people (for example, my red-headed Sicilian friend, Santo). The landscape is enchanting, from mountains to white beaches, cliffs & black beaches, volcanic islands, vineyards & orchards, Greek temples & Norman churches, & of course, the bluest water I've ever seen. If you ever get the chance, go to Sicily. It's now my favorite place in Italy.

Mt. Etna


Our 4WD Land Rover.
One day we did a guided tour around Mt. Etna in a 4WD.



This chapel was still standing after this lava flow.


Black path of destruction.


View down to the sea.


Etna herself, with one of her cones emitting sulphurous gas.


Top of a hotel, smothered by the most recent lava flow.




Acquaterra: our tour company.

More Taormina


Our Fiat in our B&B garage.


View from our B&B room.


By day.


By night.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Taormina: the "town in the sky"


Mt. Etna hiding.


The Greek Theater of Taormina.


Etna at night.


Our B&B.

Siracusa


Greek Theater.
Supposedly one of the most perfect examples of theater architecture & one of the biggest.



Dionysus's ear, an artificial grotto (used to be an aqueduct) where the tyrant at the time kept thousands of prisoners (survivors of the Athenian army defeated by the Syracusa army in 413 B.C.) who were forced to do labor.


Inside sound is amplified.
Legend has it the tyrant used to listen to every word the prisoners whispered from a crack at the top.



A pile of rocks, I mean, Jeron's arena.
200 meter long altar for public sacrifices.



Roman amphitheater dating back to 3rd-4th century A.D.


The Cathedral in Piazza Duomo at night.

Noto: kinda like Ragusa but not.








Ragusa: nestled in between 2 steep valleys & noted for its Baroque architecture






Sunday, August 26, 2007

Road Trippin' Sicily

As our 5 weeks in Palermo drew to a close, we decided to do a quick road trip 'round Sicily on the way back ("the long way home" as I like to say). So instead of driving straight back across the top of Sicily to catch the ferry to mainland Italy, we drove round the bottom: Palermo -- Agrigento -- Ragusa -- Noto -- Siracusa -- Taormina -- then back to Grottaglie. Check out this map. While we would've loved to have seen & done more, given the outrageous cost of gas & limited funds, we did just the highlights.

Agrigento


Modern day Agrigento in the distance.


Temple of Concord.
The best preserved of all the Greek temples here.










Temple of Juno in the distance.




Looking back at Concord.


Juno's Temple.


I think the Flintstones used to live here.


All you need in life: the toilet & the bar.


Embracing what's left of the Temple of Hercules.


Temple of Hercules.


Fallen Telamon.


Dioscuri Temple.

Milazzo


Milazzo, jumping off point for the Isole Eolie (Aeolian Islands).

The Aeolian Islands

When I found out Marco & Elaine were having a week's holiday in the Aeolian Islands while Harry & I were in Palermo, I figured we had to meet up. We went to Milazzo & caught the fast ferry to Lipari on Saturday, July 7. Harry & I climbed Vulcano for some ridiculous views & took a dip in the stinky sulpher baths, meant to be good for your skin, on our own before meeting up with Elaine & Marco for dinner in Lipari. Sunday we took a boat tour around Lipari & Salina & spent the day lounging on the boat & snorkeling.

Here's a great article about the history of the Aeolian Islands, a group of 7 volcanic islands off the coast of NE Sicily. Because they're not heavily touristed yet (most of the tourists are Italians), these islands are *fantastic*.

Lipari


Lipari