Me, being a bit more timid, chose another local specialty of spaghetti bolognese... Just couldn't do the rabbit! The pasta was perfectly al dente and the sauce was a light tomato & minced beef with chunks of carrots. The side salad came with French fries! The tax rate in Malta is 18%! Though I searched the island, I saw no Maltese dogs while in Malta; but I did see dogs that reside in Malta! I miss my little Maltese dog Zoey!
We returned to our lovely home away from home to enjoy some iced fruit tea, zumba class, cocktails in sky lounge for sail away, and another yummy dinner in Blu with four friends. Prime rib was on the menu..prime rib, lobster, pheasant, pizza, pasta,.. How spoiled am I?
A highlight of this trip was Sicily! Sicily has been on my dream list and it did not disappoint! In fact, it surpassed my expectations. We had pre-arranged a tour for our group of 25 with "Sicily with Mario". This company is owned by brothers Mario and Ignazio. Ignazio, who must be a twin brother to my friend Bob, was an excellent guide. He picked us up pier side at 8:15 and we were on our way to Taormina! Taormina (village of the bull) is 35 miles from Messina where we docked. It was founded in 358 BC and is a breathtakingly beautiful town perched on high cliffs. My camera almost gave up on me because of over use! Every which way I looked was a stunning view and photo-op! We entered through one of the ancient city gates, visited S.Nicolas Cathedral, the Teatro Greco, Roman wall, ancient gardens, shopped along Corso Umberto, and savored a glass of local wine at a ristorante in Piazza 9 Aprile.
Do you want to know about my shopping finds? To be honest, I was so busy snapping photos, that shopping took a back seat. However, I did find a fun shirt in a boutique.. It complements by black Capri tights so well.. Adorned with swarovski crystals that decorate a puppy dog sitting on a motorcycle, this shirt had my name written all over it! Though I really wanted a pair of Geox shoes, I will have to order them from Zappo's when I get home as they would put me overweight on luggage! I also purchased a few small ceramic pieces and a special chef apron that was embroidered before my eyes!
Following our visit to Taormina, we boarded our bus to head high up the mountain to Castelmola. Castelmola translates to castle on rock.
My palms got a bit sweaty as our bus traveled along the winding road up and up and up to the little village. From here we got a superb view of the smoking Mt. Etna! Mt. Etna is the highest point on Sicily and is an active volcano, which erupted a week before this cruise. The smoke billowing out was white. Ignazio told us that it becomes darker, turning to almost black before an eruption. He offers tours up to Etna on big four wheelers so when we return we shall do this!... Unless I chicken out...it would be an adventure for sure. Lunch at La Taverna dell' Etna was delightful. We were seated on a terrace overlooking Mt. Etna. Being a pizza connoisseur, I chose pizza and tomato salad both of which were simply divine.
With very little time for shopping, I did manage to purchase some jewelry made from Etna's lava rocks. Upon Ignazio's suggestion, we went into Turrisi Bar to see the unique works of art that decorate the restaurant...I must admit that I've never seen such decorative pieces...phallic symbols everywhere from door pulls, to ceramic jars, lamps, chandeliers, and paintings. Our friendly shop keeper gave us a menu or such that describes these art works.. I don't know if I have an appropriate place to display this at home!
Before our trek back to Messina, Ignazio gave us a sample of the local almond wine, which you can evidently only get in Castelmola. I was quite pleasantly surprised..it was light and fruity with an almond flavor but not too sweet at all. Nicky from our group poured a taste of limoncello for each of us and some of our group slept all the way back to Messina! Following a quick tour of Messina, we boarded the Silhouette with an hour to spare before 6 pm sail away.
Fortunately we were seated at a window seat in Blu for dinner so our table of 4 had an up close view of the majestic active volcano Stromboli which rises out of the ocean! A bit of Sicilian trivia now: swordfish are prevalent in the seas around Sicily so there are many swordfish boats. These are small boats that accommodate 6 to 8 fishermen and are usually owned jointly by the families. Singing by the fishermen attracts the fish! Perhaps my voice is more suited to fishing than to karaoke! This journey is coming to an end but the friendships and memories will last a life time. I'll probably do one more blog entry before we depart for home sweet home! Loving and missing you, Me
No comments:
Post a Comment