Today... A Taste of Sicily and Mount Etna. As the sun began to rise this morning, we passed through the Strait of Messina with Sicily starboard side and the Boot of Italy visable on the port. We slept last night with the balcony door open as we sailed from Malta. It was a bit cool but the sound of the waves and the sweet ocean breeze felt so good. With the white curtains blowing gently it kind of felt like we were in a movie. Speaking of movies.... What can I say about a day spent in the area that inspired one of the greatest movies EVER..... forget about it! Yes Sicily, the "ancestrial home" of Vito, Sonny, Michael and of course, Fredo Corleone. Though today's tour did not take us into the exact village where many of the scenes from The Godfather movies were filmed, we did get pictures from the highway.
The entire structure of this island nation seems to be built right into the side of the steep cliffs of the many mountain ranges that cover it. It is obvious from first glance that this is the home of strong, determined and resilient people. Not only are the natural conditions harsh, but Sicily has sustained numerous military and political occupations, bombings, and most notably extreme natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions and tsunamies. There are three active volcanos on this island with Mt Etna being the most well known. Though it remains contantly active, the last eruption of significant distruction was in 2003. It was during this eruption that local experts and scientists were first successfully able to divert the flow of lava to the uninhabited side of the mountain and save the population from devastation. Check out how close the lava flow actually came to this house which was saved by the diversion. The tour guide who is a resident of Messina, said that it is often asked why people continue to live here. Her answer is that although Mt Etna can be distructive, it is also "generous" with her bounty, supplying the raw materials (volcanic rock) to build with, ash to make the concrete strong and the fertile ground in which to grow lemons, oranges and of course olives.
It was a fun yet "white-knuckled" ride up and down the narrow winding roads, especially in an extra large bus. But Peppe, our driver, has been doing this for twenty years so no problem, eh. We will post a video of the ride down Mt. Etna later after we get home, when the connection is not so tempermental (or expensive). Even though the the weather was cold and rainy when we first headed out this morning, by the time we got to our first destination, Touramino, it had cleared and we even had some sunshine. This is a shoppers delight! The beautiful Italian pottery shops were calling my name! and I answered. The panoramic view was breath-taking. The photographer side of Jim was in full gear and he got some fantastic shots from this vantage point. We had time for a little lunch break so we enjoyed a traditional antipasta of salamis, cheeses, olives and marinated veggies served with crusty bread. YUM. A cup of nice hot espresso just seemed the thing to do so... we did. No matter where I go, I always manage to find a little feline friend to make me happy. This cat was one of the most uniquely colored cats I have ever seen and he became my buddy. Wish I could have snuck him in my suitcase but I think the customs officer may have noticed him wiggling. The most popular Christmas decoration for children here as it was in Malta, is a Santa Clause on a rope ladder hanging from the balconies. Apparently this is the method of entry for St. Nick here instead of the chimney.
Another stop on our tour today was at a hill-top restaurant where we sampled some of the typical pastries of Sicily. There were cookies and cakes and cream puffs, but.. no canollis! Oh well, guess we will have to come back another time :) The last stop was the Cathrdal in the center of Messina. Again, the architecture was amazing. The clock tower of this cathedral is the most mechanically complex clock tower in the world. Everyday at noon, each of dozens of figurines move independently and in unison, as if acting out a scene from a play.
Back on the ship for our afternoon nap and then to the dining room for dinner. As sunset is very early here, approximately 4:37 pm, we pulled out of the harbor in the dark. This is the statue that stands at the mouth of the harbor. We just happened to catch this post-card view from our balcony as we were getting ready to leave for dinner. Tonight Jim had a mushroom ravioli appetizer, grilled talapia entree and a chocolate trio dessert. I had the Chicken Consumme, Ceasar Salad and Beef Tenderloin. My dessert was a Banana Foster Brulle. The evening main theater entertainment was an illusionist named Jamie Allan. Not too bad but pretty standard parlor tricks for most of the act. So, tomorrow Jim will be exploring the ruins of Pompeii as I sleep in in the morning, then we will be heading into Naples in search of an original, traditional Napolitano Pizza. Areviderci pisans.
We slept last night with the balcony door open as we sailed from Malta. It was a bit cool but the sound of the waves and the sweet ocean breeze felt so good. With the white curtains blowing gently it kind of felt like we were in a movie. Speaking of movies.... What can I say about a day spent in the area that inspired one of the greatest movies EVER..... forget about it! Yes Sicily, the "ancestrial home" of Vito, Sonny, Michael and of course, Fredo Corleone. Though today's tour did not take us into the exact village where many of the scenes from The Godfather movies were filmed, we did get pictures from the highway.
