Ciao from Sicilia! After some technical difficulties with the blog, we're in business in Modica. We've had mostly beautiful weather with one drenching rain storm. It's all good... Yesterday, we tried the famous chocolate- sometimes the old ways are the best ways. Modern chocolate is heated to a point so the sugar is melted, but Modica chocolate is … [Read more...]

If you ask someone from Sicilia ("See-sheel-ya" as pronounced by natives), they might say they are still a separate country from Italy. They are only half joking! Although the people are as wonderful as their relatives to the north and the food as tasty, the culture is very different! Here are few shots I meant to get on the blog earlier, but … [Read more...]

I leave tomorrow to go back to the states... Looking forward to seeing my family, but will certainly miss Italy! Here are a couple more shots from the Mt. Etna, coastal area. Once I get over my jet lag, I'll go through my photos and find a few more! Don't forget the Villages of Sicily tour September 25 - October 2, 2013... We're taking deposits, … [Read more...]

Today we drove up Mount Etna as far as we could go... Beautiful views and a lot of fresh ash! A few days ago there was a small eruption that rained a bit of ash. They actually plowed the road up the mountain and nearby towns had small piles of ash swept from the streets. People here seem used to Etna's intermittently cranky behavior! Here's … [Read more...]

The Mediterranean is a little cold right now, but not too cold for a little fun! Who doesn't like to play in a little sea water sometimes? Nothing like a bit of geology to go with your cultural history. Mt Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and has been smoking off and on for the last couple days. Here's a seaside shot showing … [Read more...]