Catania, Italy – Apr 8

Catania, Italy – Apr 8

We have been to Sicily before, but not to the port of Catania. Greg used to come often when he was in the Navy.

Here we had another issue with the tour company that I originally booked the tour with when they wanted to charge €66 more per couple. info@sicilychoice.com I sent an email to them saying I’d need to check with the group to see if they were OK with that. Next thing we knew, Greg saw a credit on the credit card for a refund from them. Guess they made the decision for us. So, I emailed about a dozen guides to see if they were available and I chose one with ToursByLocals. ToursByLocals - Private Tours By Local Guides Ignazio was fantastic.

Mt Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe. It has an elliptical base (38 x 47 km) and a maximum elevation of about 3350 m.

The volcano dominates the landscape of NE Sicily, Italy. The first eruptions at Etna occurred 500,000 years ago. Mt Etna has the longest period of documented eruptions in the world.

We were joined today by Heather & Matt, and Roberta & John.

We headed to Mt Etna first. We were lucky to see it on a clear day before the clouds rolled in. We drove up to 2.500 meters to La Cantoniera, and then went to Silvestri Crater where we climbed up and walked around it.

from the balcony on the sail in

Mt Etna in the distance

volcanic landscape

La Cantoniera

our ship in the distance from Etna

Silvestri Crater

we walked around the rim

at the bottom of the crater

Matt at the bottom of the crater

me

it was steaming/smoking

We drove all around Etna before leaving to go to Taormina. Ignazio made a stop at Oro d Etna for some local foods, wine and honey tasting. We tasted many kinds of olive oils and a pesto of garlic & spices. We bought some of that and one of the olive oils. The wine didn’t wow us, so we didn’t get any. We tasted olives, capers, cheeses & more. We bought a few of those too.

food & wine tasting in the town of Zafferana Etna, Italy

beehive

removing the honey from the comb

various olive oils

olives, capers & more!

various pesto's & dips

olive oils

the wines weren't impressive

honey tasting

Then we made another unscheduled stop at the town of Giardini Naxos for some wonderful views and a walk about the water and some shops.

walking tour of Naxos

It was now time to drive to Taormina which is idyllically perched on a rocky promontory high above the sea. Here we all had about 2.5 hours of free time, so we all split up to have some lunch and walk the small town. The town has beautifully restored mediaeval buildings, breathtaking views around every corner and winding street with shops, bars and restaurants. We chose a quick meal of typical street food. We split a ham and cheese rice ball and a slice of pizza. Both were delish! Later we had cannoli and then later came back for gelato and 2 different cannoli to bring back to the ship.

We wandered the main thoroughfare, Corso Umberto (pedestrian only) and stopped at a few shops along the way. We finally made it to the Archaeological Park that highlights the Greek Theatre, the Roman Amphitheatre and the Paradise Quarry. Greg found the location of the bar they used to visit in the navy and remembered the fantastic view from there. Of course, it’s all so commercial now. There are two main gates: Porta Messina (Messina Gate) & Porta Catania (Catania Gate). There are two main squares and many churches that we popped into one or two. Heather and Matt found an interesting one that we would have liked to have seen. The decorations inside were all made out of pasta. They dubbed it “Our Lady of Perfect Pasta”.

viewpoint before we drove up the hill to Taormina

arrival in Taormina - clothing store

lunch stop for street food

pizza & ham & cheese rice ball

cannoli stop - I'm on the steps on the right

yum!

I'm taking a photo

We found the bar Greg used to go to when in the Navy - very different now, but the view of course was the same

back in Catania

from the ship

sail away

we picked up some cannoli for dessert on the ship

magnets

We would have loved more time here, but we got to see most of it. It was now time to head back to the ship.

We had dinner at the buffet and went to the evening entertainment, which was a vocal impressionist, Tricia Kelly. She was very funny, and she put on a great show. We have seen her on past cruises, but it had been a long time.

Tomorrow, we are visiting the port of Naples.

Catania, Sicily https://photos.app.goo.gl/M68tp8ov6ocDw6sH7

Birds Seen:

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Great Spotted Woodpecker - NEW

Italian Sparrow