Italia Vacanza x 2

DAY 1 - Saturday - Arrive via plane in Catania, Sicily.

Gelato was nearly the first meal, if I remember correctly, after landing in Catania. My travel companion was drug to many gelaterias during the trip. If there is one thing I absolutely love in Italy, aside from the breathtaking, constantly changing landscapes, is their gelato. 

This is a panoramic shot taken from within a castle that we were touring through. It was quite funny to see a vending machine in such a place. (This was a round room, so this is actually just one vending machine.)

 Here's the castle. Just in the middle of the city.

 Also in the middle of the city was this cool Greek Amphitheater. Think lions, Christians, gladiators, the works. Not *all* that long ago. 

This is the site of their fish market in Catania. Open first thing every morning where fresh fish is sold to every good restaurant owner who drives here (often hours) early in the morning to get their pick for their dinner crowd. I found the amount of blood and live fish and heads of fish to be a bit disconcerting. 

DAY 2 - Sunday - Catania, shuttle to Caltagirone for first day of bike riding.

The warm-up ride was short (approximately 10 miles), but really gorgeous. It even had a long stretch of cobblestone road which I appreciated. It was hilly, but not bad. We took it at a pretty leg-stretch pace. I couldn't believe how good it felt to be dressed in just a jersey and shorts - not many other layers of clothes. 

After the warm-up, a small group decided to do the ride again. I *had* to do it again. It was particularly easy to do it with the aid of the Garmin which had captured the route the first time. This time, we went hard, and I couldn't totally hang with the guys, but it felt absolutely fantastic to get to push hard and breathe deeply. 

After riding and cleaning up, we shuttled into Caltagirone. Absolutely beautiful evening. One of the best parts about the trip is that I really enjoyed the peaceful night sky and sunsets on almost every night of the trip. 

Enrico was explaining about the town. All I could think about was my hunger. So I slipped away and got some really good gelato. 

Before dinner was appetizers and drinks in an old town meeting place. Something I've never been a big fan of is Italian appetizers. Anytime one orders a drink during that pre-dinner time, that drink comes out with small food. It's a nice system for keeping people content prior to the late 8-9pm dinner time. 

Dinner was the best of the tour. It featured generous amounts of a wide variety of fish (amongst all of the other courses). And this very large bottle of red wine that Paolo (one of our guides) is holding. I tried to forget the gross fish market and I did enjoy the varieties of the fresh fish and food served. 

The town was full of little alleyways and a humongous staircase where there was a row of tiles on each stair. This is looking down from the top. Exploring the town was great fun. 

DAY 3 - Monday - Bike riding Caltagirone -> Ragusa.

DAY 4 - Tuesday - Bike Riding Ragusa -> Ragusa.

DAY 5 - Wednesday - Bike Riding Ragusa -> Syracusa.

 DAY 6 - Thursday - Bike Riding Syracusa -> Brucoli, Shuttle to base of Mt. Etna.

DAY 7 - Friday - Bike Riding - Attempt at Mt. Etna. Return to Catanya via shuttle.

DAY 8 - Saturday - Up and Out Early - airport goodbyes. Train to Messina. Ferry to Italy mainland, Reggio di Calabria.

Day 9 - Sunday - Reggio di Calabria. Stuck here in a good way.

Day 10 - Monday - Rent car. Drive up the east coast to Rossano.

DAY 11 - Tuesday - Drive coast to Taranto, then up to Alberobello.

 

DAY 12 - Wednesday - Drive Alberobello to Matera, then on to Salerno. Ended up in Calvanico for refuge/place to sleep.

DAY 13- Thursday - Drive Calvanico to the Amalfi Coast -> Positano -> Salerno -> Roma.

DAY 14 - Friday - Drive to the Rome airport, 11am flight home. 

Pictures to fill in the details coming when there's a chance to post them. In the meantime, many are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23781778@N07/