Hired car and driver (who did not speak much English, but enough we understood what each other needed). Went to Syracuse the most beautiful church, SantuariobMaDonna Dille LaCrime, then to the Archimedes Park Museum lots of old rocks and caves.

Visited: Nov 23, 2018

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Great weather, wine tour and visit to Mount Etna . Had a lunch that tied with the lunch at Corinth, made me wonder if the Italians and the Greeks weren't trying to outdo each other in the way of cuisine at lunch for cruise ship guests. Excellent ship excursion.

Visited: Nov 23, 2018

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This was somewhat emotional for me as my Grandfather lived in Cefalu, Sicily. I attempted to see if I could drive there, but it was 3 hours from Catania. Oh well, I’ll have to make it for another trip. We went in the Taormina tour. This is a town built way up in the mountains of Sicily. Did I mention Sicily is very mountainous. My Etna is the tallest active volcano/mountain in Europe, again, or so I’m told! Taormina was beautiful, but be prepared to take a bus ride going up switchbacks. Make sure your camera is ready! Loy of good photo opps as you head up the mountain. Bring a hat! The weather in April can be hot on a clear day like we had. The bus actually parked in a garage and you took an elevator up 7 floors to get to the town level. What a cool little town. All of the people in our ports of call are/were terrific for putting up with the cruise tours that descended upon them, but the Italian people stood out in Heart. They just make you feel so much at home. However, don’t drive there. I’ve never seen driving like this.....ever! 😱.

A total slum apart from the town square

We booked a "Godfather" tour through Sicily Shore Excursions with another couple and thoroughly enjoyed visiting the small towns, church, cafe and train station where parts of the movies were shot. It was also nice to get into the small towns of Sicily.

Visited: May 25, 2018

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