Last day in Italy

Thunderstorms  on Sunday!  Lots of rain, but that was okay because we wrote off Sunday as I had a roaring cold...BUY  KMB!!  I had kleenex packed up my nostrils all day.  We went up to the rooftop and had some quiet time.  I recovered enough to go out for dinner and we ended up at the coast at a beachfront restaurant and had a fun meal.  Sardines, shrimp, an eel biting his tail and a white fish all with fries.  Pam had pasta.

We awoke on Monday and found a baggage notice on our door and decided that we were supposed to leave that day.  The lady at the desk, who could be Maria Magnuson's sister, said yes you are out of here!

So we packed up and called the guys to take our bags to the garage.  There is a light that allows only one way traffic through the main street at certain times of the day.  It's blocked after 10:10 am til noon.  We made it out in time.

Then 40 minutes of zigging and zagging. . . I actually passed a motorcycle! Feeling good until passed by a truck!  We were looking for a ceramics shop that could make a tile of our house to put under our grape arbor.   I remembered seeing a building with the name Pisapia on it and figured that would be the place as they were probably family from my grade school buddy John and his dad Chef Al-ardi!    Well they were closed and Pisapia meant something about sitting in the front row at church.  Nevermind!

We left a bunch of money with them and will send a picture of the house and get some tiles in return...yea...you  betcha!

We found Pompeii and toured the grounds in sweltering weather.  Very interesting, but I'm sure we missed a bunch.

Found our hotel in Naples and took the car to the airport and shuttle back to the hotel, sans pool, but has an ice machine!  The air conditioner has been on full blast for a couple of hours and it is about 75 degrees, F. 

Looking forward to getting up at 3:30 a.m. for our 6:30 flight to Frankfurt and hope to catch the flight to SEA!!

Hope all is well with all of you all!!!!!!!!

Boat Ride and Rooftop dinner

Had a lazy morning on Wednesday and Paul and Sharon arranged a boat tour of the coastline.  They wouldn't let me rent a boat on our own!  We were to leave at 12, but Sicily time runs a little slow at times.

We were onboard at about 12:30 and were picked up at the beach just a couple hundred yards north of us.  We had the boat to ourselves after dropping off a family of four at the next beach.

Sharon lost this classic shirt overboard.  It was meant to be.

Ricardo, our pilot, took us down the coast and tried pointing out things to us.  He showed us some caves and actually got the boat completely inside one of them.  We went south past Taormina and an interesting small island to a sheltered cove where Ricardo talked Paul and me into jumping in.

It was a bit colder than the 24 degrees he promised.  We have been setting the air conditioner to 21.5 so I figured 24 would be bath water.  When we got back in the boat he pulled out a cold bottle of wine and passed it around.

We got back in time for a quick swim in the pool and then got ready for dinner.

We were taken to dinner by one of the Jones host, a leader in the compliance department and ex-attorney.  (Not sure why there is usually a compliance person on our trips!)  Five couples total were taken by cab to Taormina where we hiked through the old city and then climbed 4 flights of stairs and ended up on a roof top that had a spectacular 360 degree view.

Very fancy restaurant with menus for men and women.  The women's did not have any prices.  Many waiters and excellent food and service.  There were a few bees interested in our appetizers and I dispatched of a half dozen with my fork to the amazement (disgust) of the other diners.  When the sun went down they disappeared, but I tried to take the credit.  Very good meal with all the trimmings! 

We got back to the hotel at about 11:30 and I had to get back to the lobby and take care of some projects with Carol as it was about 2:30 at home.  Got it all done with some help from the hotel desk to print and scan and made it to the room an hour later.

Having a great time, but feel a cold coming on, which as I am posting on Sunday is/was roaring and is starting to settle down after spending most of the day in bed.

Our Sicily Hotel

We are staying in the Hilton which is a large hotel right on the Sea facing NW.  It is in a large L shape and all rooms have a sea view.  Ours faces north, kind of the mid bottom of the L, and has a good sized deck with plenty of room for 4 people.

The room is plenty large with lots of built in storage.  We are 30 feet from a fully functioning ice machine!!  That almost makes up for the fact that they charge for in room internet.  18 Euros for 24 hours!  There is free, though slow, internet in the lobby.

The bathroom is nothing special and after taking the first shower when we arrived, I warned Pam that the shower/tub was very slippery.  It is a narrow, high tub with dual shower heads and an alarm pull at the other end of the tub.

We saw a Jones lady at the pool with her leg in a splint.  She had slipped getting out of her tub and fell breaking her ankle and fracturing her tailbone.  Her husband had an expired passport and wasn't allowed on the plane so she is here with her daughter.  She is now in a cast.

The breakfast buffet is nice and has plenty of choices: Fruit, pastry, juices, eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, meats, cheeses, and toasts.

I've been spending some evenings in the large lobby communicating with the office and checking emails, blogs, and news.  They have '60's music playing in the background.

Lots of little restaurants and a couple markets nearby.   We've been bringing in supplies on a daily basis and just noticed a sign that prohibits bringing in food or beverages to the hotel grounds.  Oh well, haven't been arrested yet!

Solo Ascent of Mt. Etna

As usual while on vacation, I was up early and at 6:30 the sky was clear.  I waited til 7 to suggest to Pam that she get ready for breakfast so we can leave for the mountain.

"No thanks," or something to that effect as she claimed her ankles were bothering her and didn't think it would be a good idea.  I dressed and found Paul at breakfast and he wanted to wait as well.

Jones had a Mt Etna tour scheduled for 8 a.m., so I signed on with them.  We had 3 busses, but each was a little more than half full.  Had a good guide that was very knowledgeable and lived on the mountain about 2 miles below where the last lava flow stopped.

It was about a 90 minute ride zig zagging up a steep grade with hairpin turns (I can't imagine that Brian and Maria rode their bikes up this mountain!). Then we loaded onto a 6 person gondola for a 15 minute ride.  It is used for skiing in the winter.  There was a building at the top with a snack bar, souvenir stand, and coat and boot rental shop.

There wasn't much wind so I braved it with my t-shirts, sweater and jacket.  From there we loaded unto big 4 wheel drive busses that held about 20 people.  I got to ride shotgun on the way up about another 15 minutes.

Looks like climbing Mt Fiji!

We were dropped off at 10,000 feet near a steaming crater.  The 'ash' was black and bigger than very coarse sand.  I walked around the crater and at places there was steam coming off of the trail.  I dug in the ash a couple inches and it was too hot to touch.

The weather was pretty clear and we could see the peak another 1,000 feet in elevation.

Came back down and were taken to a touristy spot for a buffet lunch that was okay.  Back to the hotel by 3:00 and we went down to the pool.  I decided to go for a swim in the Sea so I could claim 10,000 vertical feet for the day!

We had our 'Theme Dinner' that night at a large restaurant with traditional food and the theme was a group of loud roaming musicians.  

Got back to the hotel at about 10 and Pam went to bed I went downstairs to check up on work and emails.

Trip to Taormina

Since Ed doesn't have business meetings on Sundays, they scheduled the city tour for the morning.  We loaded on the busses and toke a 20 minute ride to the 'hill city' of Taormina.  A lot of history as they were ruled by just about everybody.  Greeks, Romans, and who ever else came along.

Multiple walls as the city grew.  Perched up high to make it rough for pirates and invaders.

The highlight is a Greek Amphitheater that the Romans converted to a coliseum with Mt Etna in the background. 

We found some fancy gelato!

We had dinner with Paul and Sharon at a small restaurant and watched a parade of people coming back from the beach. 

Off to Sicily

Not much to report!

We were stuck in thick, stop and go traffic getting to out motel at South Center on Thursday afternoon.  Almost 3 1/2 hours to find out motel, then a dinner near by and we called it a night.

Caught the 9:00 a.m. shuttle because we heard of the long delays in security at Sea-Tac.  Got to the ticket counter twenty minutes later, but they weren't open until 10.

So we were about 6th in line and had a nice conversation with a couple ahead of us about their upcoming hiking adventure in the French Alps.

Got ticketed quickly and went to security where their was NO LINE.  We soon found ourselves at the international terminal all by ourselves.

The flight was on time and smooth all the way to Frankfurt.  We did the bus ride to the terminal as is the usual with that airport.  Got hooked up with our next flight with a different carrier, back through security to the gate, then bus, then 15 minute taxi until takeoff.

We got in a little sleep on that 2 hour flight.  Then a long wait to get our bags at Catania, Sicily.  We landed at 2 and had our bags at 3:30.  I guess we are on island time.

Had a van take us to the Hotel where Paul and Sharon met us in the lobby at a little after 4.  They had some wine and beer on ice in their room so we joined them after cleaning up.

Dinner was a huge buffet out on the lawn/garden out in front of the hotel.  Nice assortment of  anti-pasta, pasta, fish, pork, and a huge dessert and gelato station.

Sat with a good group and were probably the first to leave the party and were both in bed by 9.

So after 6 hours sleep, I'm ready to go.  Went to the wifi lobby and checked email and the kid's blogs. 

We take a city tour Sunday morning and the 'business' meeting will be Monday morning.  We have a big pool and a large beach covered with pea gravel.  We walked out to check the water and it is clear and not too cold.

Some pictures from the Trek

 

 There has to be an easier way to get pictures into a blog.  But after 2 hours while Pam is at stitch 'n bitch, it appears to be done!

They come in too big, only one at a time and then completely out of order!

Enjoy

We woke in Marrakech at 6 am for a 9:15 flight.  We arrived home at 9 am Marrakech time.  A little tired!, but safe!!

 

 

The road narrows!

 

 

 

Soccer players for Jack

 

Good reason to outlaw plastic bags.

 

Lunch with spot

Spot the cat

Last civilization

 

End of the road

Oasis

 

Our camp.  We were the only occupants other than our guide and the camp guy.

 

The kitchen

 

Outhouse in the back

 

 

Tent #8

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

A little windy

 

 

 

Our camp guy called in some help for the drumming

 

sunrise

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ate lunch here with the locals