Spring break week is almost over, but what a time we've had.

We've had a great week going here and there all over the island. I wrote about Cefalu on one day but here I'm going to talk about the rest of the week. I know it will be long but blogging about each day would be too short.

On Monday Bob and I decided to drive to a little town called Nicolosi. We didn't have any special reason, we just hadn't been there before. It's a pretty little town and we walked around awhile. While we were walking we saw a sign that said "Etna" with an arrow. So we decided to get in the car and follow the signs. We drove and drove up the mountain watching the elevation on the GPS (translating km to mph as we went). 1000 feet, 2000 feet, up and up, 3000, 4000 and on.

Etna is about 9000 feet above sea level and we started at 1200. There are scenic views all along the way and we could see all the way to the sea. All the little towns flowing down the mountain. What a wonderful view. The day was hazy so we're definitely going back sometime on a clear day to take some amazing photos.

About 5000 feet we came to the snow line. Sometimes the snow line is much lower--we have rain or sprinkles and look up the mountain and it's filled with snow. But it's springtime and the weather was warm so we had to go quite a way to get to the snow. We stopped and took some photos then got back in and drove until we came to a little resort area. At 6000 feet there are hotels, souvenoir shops and a cable car that will (for $75) take you to the top, provide a guide and a jeep to go right up to the mouth of the volcano where you can see the lava. Bob and I were neither one interested in doing that on Monday but we might some other day.

We decided to go back to Nicolosi for lunch but couldn't find the right road for any of the restaurants we had seen earlier so we went to the mall in Motta instead (they have a McDonalds). We didn't plan to buy anything but one of the kitchen stores was having most of their stock on sale for half price and we found some really unique dishes and glasses that we "just had to have". It was fun finding all the bargains.

Tuesday was pretty much a bust for seeing the "beautiful" sights of Sicily. We went to Bronte, which is the pistacchio capital of Italy. Do you know what pistacchio trees look like at this time of year? U-G-L-Y!! Very much like a tree you would draw in a Halloween picture. And the town really has nothing else to boast of. It is, though, on the other side of the mountain and we got another view. The land on that side of the mountain is rough, rocky with lava and sparse. Almost desolate. Some vegetation but it looks like it has to work really hard to grow.

The town is straight up and down the mountain and each street is too narrow for comfortable driving (coffee table streets). We parked the car and walked down to the center of town and found nothing worthy of photos except this of CDs hanging out to...dry? Sometime walking down the streets of the town, the thought flitted through each of our minds (but didn't stay long enough to effect our actions) that if we were walking down we would eventually have to walk back up. Ouch!! It was about a mile of really steep walking and we really got our exercise.

Thursday we shopped for ceramics in Santo Stefano di Camastra and in Patti. Didn't need much but had some things we were especially looking for. On the way to San Stefano, though, Bob mentioned a restaurant we had eaten at when last we were there. We had gotten lost wandering through the town on foot and found a really great restaurant. Thursday we looked and looked for the restaurant and didn't find it until........we got lost again and there it was right in front of us. So now, we know how to find that wonderful place to eat. All we have to do is get lost.

Today we went south to the Mediterranean coast and found a town that Bob said if he ever runs away that's where I can find him. It's all that he pictured when he thought of us living in Sicily. A little fishing village nestled up against the sea. Lava stone surrounding the sea, sharply pitted and hollowed out like it has been washed for hundreds of years (oh yea, it has). Little beaches nestled in among the rock ledges just waiting for footprints and sand castles. We ate lunch at a tavola calda (literally translated, table hot, loosely translated, hot food at a little, family owned restauranty type place) looking out over the little boats docked for the season. The boats will be in the water soon for the fishing season but for now they sit in the sand waiting.

It's been a great week and there are still two days. Tomorrow we may go to the outdoor market in Misterbianco or we may just relax. Sunday will be church and getting ready to go back to work. I could continue with spring break forever---especially if the paychecks would keep coming.

Forget Taormina, It's Cefalu for me

People told us from the first months we got here that Cefalu (pronounced chay'-falu) is a beautiful little town and we just had to see it. But we thought, we're in Sicily, everything is beautiful so we weren't in any particular hurry to see it. Besides, how could it compare to Taormina, world-reknown as THE town to visit when in Sicily---all the notable people come to Taormina.

But, here we are on spring break and have some time so yesterday we went with some friends to Cefalu. It was a long trip....three hours. Not so bad since we were with friends and they have a big SUV...Still, over the day we drove about 8 hours total. It will take us a couple of days to be ready for another big trip.

The first look at Cefalu was of the lighthouse and the sea. I don't think I've ever seen water as blue. Now I understand the Crayola crayon called Mediterranean (although this in on the Tyrranean Sea). Deep beckoning, blue. You just want to walk out in to the sea and become a part of it. I didn't get a good photo of the lighthouse but here is the water. Out on that little penninsula is the remains of an old (maybe 12th century) fortress/watchtower. You can walk out there but it's private property. There are two small houses on the little penninsula and, of course, a hotel at the place where it leaves the rest of the land.

As we walked through the town there were many beautiful walkways. On our little pathway was this 'tunnel'. We were enjoying the blend of materials and finishes (very, very old and very new) when a car came through making us realize it was not a pathway but one of the roads of the town. When Trace was here she called them "coffee table roads" because that's about the width of them. The kind you have to pull in your side mirrors to get through----and don't try to stop and get out, the doors wouldn't open in that tight space. There are many, many roads like that in small towns in Sicily. Always an adventure to drive.

We went to eat right near a marina and, of course, had seafood. The north side of the island is mostly fishing villages and up there it's hard to find a restaurant with something other than seafood. And they all seem to know how to cook it very well. On very full stomachs we walked down by the mariana and looked at the boats and the water and the sights. I found a little stream emptying fresh water into the sea (I know, I tasted it). I was like a little kid, following the stream backward as far as I could.

We walked by all the boats at the marina......not at all like marinas in the States. Nor were the boats like those in the states. I really liked this one that had windows in the front that looked like eyes. All it needed was a mouth painted on it to be perfect.

There were "photo ops" all over the place and Bob and I took almost a hundred photos. I'll have to put them on flickr so you can see more of this little town. Just had to put this one on, though because he was so.....picturesque.

Cefalu, itself, is a small resort town with nice beaches and lava cliff(ettes) and stone walls that open right out to the sea. We were constantly saying, "Ooh, look at this!!" We couldn't get enough of the views.

There are lots of little shops in the town some with tourist-y things and some with unusual things and one that just had stuff...I loved that shop. Vintage hats and baby clothes, old pottery and metalware, books, helmets from old and all just stuffed here and there. Since I was the only one of the group interested in such an old musty shop I looked for a short bit then moved on. I want to go back. There's got to be some treasure there that I "just can't live without."

We walked around for a couple of hours and never got enough of the town and the beach and the sea. But, Harrison----their gelato is definitely not as good as in Misterbianco. We tried it, just for you.