Caccamo, Sicily. Medieval italian city with the Norman Castle.
The landscape with a lateral crater, Mount Etna, Sicily.
People eating in open air cafes in Palermo, Italy.
Fancy, narrow street in Ortygia old town of Syracuse in Sicily, Italy.
FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD Here, our host was Alfredo. He was a great character. He had lived on Sicily all his life, and we learned so much about Sicily from him. Diners spilled out onto the pavements, musicians played, and friendly cats greeted us as we enjoyed countless regional dishes, which included cold meats and cheeses, swordfish, blue sardines, gratin mussels, and seafood risotto. We topped it off with five desserts and plenty of fine wines. I must admit, I was a little worried about the waistline! It is difficult to separate Sicily from its abundance of glorious food. Whether it was the fish and chips in Ortygia, where the fish came as a gourmet assortment in a small wooden box, to freshly made pizza cooked in traditional ovens. Every meal seemed to extol local ingredients and highlight one of the reasons why we love Italian cuisine so much. When visiting local restaurants where the menu was in Italian, we found a phone app which proved invaluable, as it translated the text when held above it
Should I venture into the realm of booze, the wine tastings and my enjoyment would fill a book, but when a good local wine is cheaper than a lemon soda, and when one suitcase on our return was filled with bottles...I say no more! MOUNT ETNA This is the largest active volcano in Europe, and one of the world’s most frequently erupting volcanoes. It is 10,900 feet (3,329 meters) tall, with a base circumference of about 93 miles (150 kilometres). On the southern side, cruise boats gorge thousands of visitors into a vast over-commercialized area to experience Etna. A cable car and a specialized vehicle take you toward the main crater, but I am sure these visitors miss so much. We explored on our own, due in part to bad visibility at a higher level. The landscape is eerie. Black dust is everywhere, and the giant black lava flows from past eruptions abound.
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