Magrilless

We made sure our Sicily trip included an excursion to the gargantuan mother volcano, Mt Etna. We popped ourselves down in Acitrezza, a small fishing village with a basaltic shore and a mythic past.

For instance, here are the boulders the Cyclops threw at Odysseus (the isole dei Ciclopi).

Now a protected park, we spent several afternoons along the waterfront simply looking at weird sea creatures.

And then we hired an environmental guide to drive us up to Etna’s south side and march us around. We started at the 2001 flow and Silvestri Craters, which were so windy it felt like sky diving! We made a chain to keep our feet on the ground, and squinted hard to keep all that black dust out of our eyes.

He took us up a trail (which felt like a secret he shared with us–we only saw a few people all day) to overlook a massive crater. He told us about different kinds of lava (his favorite is stretchy like mozzarella) and assured us it is not an active volcano. “Just smoke now.”

We definitely felt like we were standing on massive power. And also a little like we were at home: low grasses, cacti, bumble bees, delicate blooms with one spring-time show. And our happy family hiking and singing and laughing. I’d like to think we’ve been Ernesto’s most cheerful clients.

And now we’re bound for the southern tip of Sicily. One more sandy Italian beach before we ship off to rocky Malta!

Oh, this was such a better idea! Last time we spoke, we were packing up on our plans to spend a week in Palermo, deciding where to relocate. We landed on the well-touristed town of Cefalù, and are so glad we did!

Besides being just nice on the eyes, it has a super beach. Sandy, clean, hermit–crab-ful, artistically inspiring (and sparsely populated the closer you get to our apartment).

We spent several days in a lovely rhythm of breakfast, beach, picnic lunch, apartment pool, dinner, sunset, bed.

Except for the day we decided to hike up to the top of the mountain towering over the town. 260 m above sea level are ruins of a fortress and battlements and a castle. And great views, despite the sweat in our eyes.

We continue on our journey now, to the eastern side of the island. Onward, to Etna! Ciao, Cefalù!

No matter how much I research before we leave home, not every place we go is going to be a fan favorite. And so much goes into an individual experience that sometimes you never can tell.

Case in point: Palermo, Sicily. We left Cagliari on an overnight ferry. To much excitement, I might add. It was more boat than we expected, with several restaurants, a cafeteria, a few bars, plenty of hang-out space, a deck-top pool (which was still closed for the season), and our very own 4-bunk cabin with private bathroom.

Everything began quite successfully. (Even the sea-sickers kept discomfort at bay.) Sleeping was a little difficult, though, as we were not in charge of our own cabin temperature. Some folks were chilly. And there was hall noise. And the breakfast announcements started at 3:00. Since we docked at 5:00.

Let me tell you when and where a port city looks its least glamorous: Sunday, 5:30 AM, along the docks. Seriously, it felt nearly post-apocalyptic. This city (which is optimistically advertised as “elegantly gritty”) can easily feel simply gritty. Add an Airbnb in an “up and coming” neighborhood with a (humid sea air assisted) scuzzy shower with pre-church Hair Rock blasting from the neighbors and bombed building remnants around the corner. And we said “no thank you.” Along with “I’m just so tired.”

So we checked on out of there, found a little hotel with the word “clean” in multiple reviews, and prepared to make a new plan.

We allowed ourselves a day off. Showers. Books. Movies. Video games. An easy stroll for easy groceries. And train tickets purchased for a new beachy town.

For our (now) one day in Palermo, we took off wandering. Saw the opera house where that critical scene of The Godfather III was filmed. Wended through a crowded and serpentine marketplace where we counted 3 completely unknown vegetables and lost count of the number of octopus vendors. Picked a path through a park of trash pile shoppers. Refused to pay to use the bathrooms at the palace (where we’d already paid 36€ to enter) where the chapel was mosaic-ed in gold. And stopped for an indulgent aperol spritz and French fries, because all the cool kids were doing it.

Had some good moments here. But all in all, not sad to be moving on. We figure life’s too short to be uncomfortable if’n you don’t have to. Cheers to scratching Plan A!

Here we are on the island of Sardinia! If you’ve ever heard of Blue Zones, then you know we were here to learn the secrets to happy longevity. Which is, if we learned correctly, sunbathing with friends, drinking wine and eating cheese, and walking up hills and down and up. (No, we weren’t in the exact right blue spot. We were only in Cagliari, a southern port town, the biggest city on the island, and a transportation hub. But maybe it was close enough for us to learn a few tips?)

We took it fairly easy here. Wandering streets abundant with flowers (holy jacarandas!) and marble.

Sheltering from rain storms within the grottoes and tree canopies of the botanic gardens. (And watching turtles belly flop off ledges into ponds!)

Sea and sun bathing on a huge, pristine, crowd-free (nearly person-free), sandy, clear-watered beach. (And no one got sunburned, thanks to the abundant umbrellas. With no one to sit underneath them except for us!)

And indulging in a guided tour of candle-lit underground bunkers and ruins. (Cagliari was one of the most bombed Italian cities during WWII. Much was destroyed and rebuilt. And that means artifacts from the Carthaginians to the Romans became discovered.)

We may not live to be centenarians based on a few days here. But it was quite a lovely (unpretentious and easily navigable) place to put up our feet for a moment!

Florence (or Firenze, in Italian) is a big fancy city chock full of big amazing things to do. A lifetime’s worth. Maybe centuries’. With only 3 days to explore, we had to exclude many things, we know. But we chose a handful of spectacular things!

Our first stop, the Ufizzi Museum, was stuffed to the brim with marble and canvases and tourists galore. There are a handful of works by the masters (think the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), which were definite stand-outs. And lots of other pieces too. And looooots of people.

Mostly, our visit simply underscored the superiority of our next stop: the Galleria di Academia. Most notably, The David.  Michaelangelo produced simply exquisite work. Detailed. Thoughtful. Perfection. Especially knowing the odds he was up against: a flawed and veiny block of stone, already chipped at by other artists, with a narrow profile that left no room for error. Grateful we saw him with our own eyes.

And then everything else we did in Florence just seemed like play! We went into shops, fancy and fun. Like Fabriano, centuries-old paper fabricators (on whose product Beethoven wrote symphonies, Turner sketched paintings, and Michaelangelo penned some angry letters). And a novelty rubber duck store (yes, just ducks). Plus, we took advantage of the metropolis for an all you can eat sushi restaurant, and a different gelateria every day.

We also partook in a scavenger hunt that focused on lesser-seen points of interest and little legends of the city. (Like a petrified witch’s head in a church wall and a carved graffiti silhouette attributed to Michaelangelo.)

And I love me a formal gardens! So we sauntered through the Giardini di Boboli for a morning. Grottos with statuary and ponds with islands and paths with arched canopies and we definitely did not steal a lemon off a potted tree in a grove of potted lemon trees. (If we had, it would have been the most deliciously lemon-y lemon of all delicious lemons we have ever eaten.)

You know we did a fair deal of simply walking and sitting on benches to sketch and people-watching (Florentines are fancy!). And I guess we left plenty for a next visit too (we’ll come back for you, Galileo!).

Now on to the islands portion of our adventure. First up: Sardinia!