November 13 - A detour on the way to the airport - Aci Castello

 This is the day we head home.  The trip will take 50 hours - a ridiculous amount of time - to get to Albuquerque.  This is because Turkish Airlines canceled the flight between Catania and Istanbul on our original schedule and we had to leave Catania a day earlier leaving us with a long-long layover in Istanbul.  We decided to pay for a hotel in the Istanbul airport, even though we wouldn't get there until around 1:30am and they kicked you out at 8am the next morning.  

We left Taormina around 10 - 11am and decided to take the toll road.  But to get to the toll road we had many windy roads.  We had a lot of time to kill so decided on one last adventure - a stop at Aci Castello.

We had a bit of driving adventure getting to this spot - but we did find a good parking spot near this scene.  You can see the Norman castle off in the distance.  We didn't notice at first how many cats there were playing around these boats.  See the cat in the first boat at the bottom of the photo?

The queen of the harbor!

This fishing village is quite close to Mount Aetna and has been destroyed many times by the volcano - leaving behind mounds of volcanic basalt.

To the right of this scene were the supports for a road as shown below and steps up to the upper town area.

You cannot escape the heads anywhere in Sicily!

Scenes from the village.

There was a large plaza to the left of the castle and a walkway along the cliffs leading away from the castle.

The plaza is in back of Michael.  We had set the GPS to take us to the center of the town.  This is where it took us.  Since most of the roads in the village are about this wide - they are usually one way.  Our route took us in a zig-zag pattern through town to this spot.  We drove right up to the plaza before we realized that it was a dead end.  There was another car right behind us.  Finally that car backed up - and we did too.  Michael kept hitting the curb in his efforts to not damage the cars!  So we got out of there in fits and starts.  About a block back there was a wider area where we were able to turn around.  I though Michael was handling the whole thing very calmly, but later he declared that this was the most stressful driving experience of the trip.  

We stopped at a restaurant for lunch and enjoyed these views.

There was a misunderstanding when we ordered lunch.  I thought I was asking if the potatoes that came with my fish were French fries - it turns out the waiter thought we wanted a big plate of fries.  My fish was the best of the trip to Sicily.

November 12 - The Last Day!

 This is our last full day in Sicily.  Tomorrow we check out of our apartment and head for Catania and the airport.  Tomorrow night around 6;30pm we will fly off to Istanbul.  And from there on to Chicago and then to Albuquerque, arriving on Monday midday.

The morning arrived grey-white and then the floods started.  We were thinking we would have to drive back to Taormina to the lab because we have herd nothing from them. But them Michael had a brain storm and said lets ask our hotel manager to help us.  And he did.  He called the lab and was able to get our info and then print it out!!!!! We would not have to drive up the steep hill to Taormina, park, and then walk to the lab and try to communicate what was needed.  He did it all and printed out our negative covid results so we were all set!  

So around 1pm the skies finally lightened a little.  We decided we wanted pizza one more time.  Our hotel manager had recommended Pizza Regina to us so we decided to drive there.  Finding parking was a little iffy - but we did find some close to the restaurant.  Only to find out the small seating area was closed.  They were only doing take-out.  Michael eats an Arancini the rice ball thing while we wait.  Back at the apartment, we enjoy the pizza.  Then the skies lighten and the sun comes out!  Will it last?  Do we want to go out once again?  Michael decides to take a nap and I am trying to catch up on accounting.  

We both managed to get some photos before the sun disappeared and the clouds took over again.  And the rains started again.

This last photo shows my setup for powering up my devises.  Here is Sicily they do not use the European plugs, but there own.  So it gets a little complicated.

November 11 - Castiglione di Sicilia

 Today we are heading towards Castiglione di Sicilia which is one of the most beautiful mountain towns in Sicily, according to our guide book.  But, again it is a grey/white sky day.  And it will most likely rain.  But we want to see this - so off we go.  It is about 40 minutes away.  At first it is just gentle ups and downs and very slow drives through towns.  Then I look up and see the village - way, way above us.  So - you know what the roads will look like!  I wanted to take a video, but I have not done it with my phone before.  And before I can figure it out - we are there - and we find parking, just as it starts to rain.  We sit in the car, and Michael tells me stories of some drama that is going on in Ghana.

The rain lets up and we head up the hill.  but it is cold.  This is the first time I have gotten out my winter coat.  This high up - when you are in an open area - the winds can be nasty.  

I believe these are blood oranges.  This area is known for growing them.

Then we head up to the castle and take many village views.  We are both having a lot of fun.  It has not rained yet.

I think this is the first time I have taken a picture of laundry from above - it is different!

Small villages have many picturesque churches.  This could be Chiesa Madre, or San Pietro or Chiesa delle Benedettine - there were a lot of churches.

We were taking photos here when the bells in the bell tower on the right startled us by ringing very loudly.  It was 1pm.

So maybe that is what it was!

This village is very much built into the mountain.  The castle is at the top, but some buildings along the way seemed to be built into the rocks as well.

Then - on to the castle.  

You had to climb up these steep stairs/slope not sure what it was, but on loose rocks.  I did not feel safe.

The steps leading into the castle itself.

They had an exhibition of Medieval clothing.

Views from the castle down to the town.

I am very nervous about getting down those steps!

After we made it back down to the parking area we found a restaurant that was rated OK for the area.  It was very mediocre - but at least we were fed.  We then headed home.

I have figured out how to do videos on my phone so will try it on the way down the hill from Castiglione di Sicilia.

Here are some videos of us driving down the hill from the city.

Here is another link to a video.

We were following a big semi truck for a good ways.  I have no idea how he made that big truck turn around those tiny curves.  Later we went through a town where we had to stop behind him many times because he could not make the corners - and then another truck came towards us.

So now all the videos are working - but the narrative is not quite attached to the right vidio.  Sorry I am a newbie at this.