Mt. Etna and BARONE DI VILI-AGRANDE

We met our guide, Irina, at nine this morning (Wednesday) in the plaza adjacent to our apartment. Our day was another, write home about event, but Irina was a perfect bonus. She is Russian and is married to a Sicilian. Her grandmother lives in Ukraine and her father lives in Russia. She believes her grandmother is in a safer area but has been advised to evacuate, she is resisting. Take a minute and thank the Lord for our country, and our freedoms.

Irina drove us about an hour to Mt. Etna and up the mountain as far as one can travel in a car,  Pam and I then walked about a half mile or so up into some beautiful tree lines to get better pictures.  

The Fall colors were not something we were expecting.  Another bonus.

The landscapes were something I would expect to see on a far away planet.  Volcanic rocks, some small, some massive were strewn about and stacked into heaps with no particular pattern.  

I’m guessing distributed when the mountain exploded,  The flows on the other hand were noticeably contained within the valleys of the terrain as water would be in a flash flood.  We couldn’t help but click a lot of digitals, that now as we revisit, all look pretty much the same.  This absolutely was a, “write home about experience”. 

Irina then negotiated the one-lane, high speed Sicilian byways with F1 driving skills to the Barone Di Villagrande vineyard and winery.  

Our hostess at the winery was knowledgeable (and really good looking) and led us through the historic and present workings of the family winery. She then deposited us in a beautifully appointed dining room, that would be suitable for any visiting dignitaries, even those from the Magnolia State for a four course, exquisitely prepared lunch accompanied by perfectly paired wines.  

Irina accompanied us through the tour and lunch and provided language issue support and personal touches to help us understand more about the Ukraine war from an unwilling participant. No way to express appreciation for the experience of today. 

Our day was capped with a short hill climb, not unusual for Taormina, to an ancient Greek Ampitheatre, another reminder of Greece’s common history with Sicily. 

Last night balcony dinner was so appealing we decided to have a rerun.  We’ve been trying as much of the Sicilian street food as possible. Our favorite is Arancini, a ball of rice, of varying sizes and shapes that can be held in one's hand and eaten en route. Doesn’t sound pleasant right, well the rice is cooked with any number of different ingredients, we like the spinach and Sicilian seasoning.  The rice, and all, is formed into a ball and a layer of your favorite cheese is added, mozzarella can’t be beat, which is then generously breaded and fried to southern perfection. Be sure and finish with a ricotta cannoli. 

Great day great trip. Tomorrow we fly to Pisa, catch a train to Florence and chill for awhile before joining our friend, Robert St. John for a week of fun in Tuscany. Jim