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| Castelmola |
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| Savoca |
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| Savoca |
March 22, 2014
Finding Our Way
We slept well & woke a bit before our wake up call. That was a good thing because it came a half hour late. That's better than yesterday when it didn't come at all. We do have a back-up alarm.
Our first lesson of the day was that the hotel WiFi is secure. The bad news is that if Judi uses the password of the day, we can't. We each have to get our own personal password. We've been knocking each other off line until we figured this out. WiFi is only intermittently available in the lobby so last night I wrote until midnight but didn't want to go down to send. Sorry for the delay.
We were lost most of the day, but now we are found. Maybe I'll write lyrics along those lines :) This was our first day navigating the small towns & skinny roads of the area. We headed to the shuttle that would take us to the car park on the outskirts of town & noticed lots of bike racers on the road. That's all David needed while still learning his way around this car. Luckily, we only came upon a few.
We retrieved the car & got immediately & totally turned around. The Garmin as well as the Google Maps I'd printed in advance used long Italian street names, which I'm sure included all the surnames of ancestors long gone. It never used highway numbers. We intended to go to Savoca first since it was farthest then backtrack to Castelmola. The worst of it was when we ended up on a dead end & David had to turn around in what amounted to a lane as wide as a single driveway with parking on one side. Of course it was on a hill. Getting into reverse in this car is a trick. At one point he was so close to a wall that the alert beep warning the car was too close to an object was screaming like a banshee. The nose of the car did "kiss" the wall of the building, but, miraculously, neither was damaged. A mere tap with a hand on the slight gap between the fender & car body popped everything right back into place with no dents.
We decided to go the old fashioned way. We asked directions & followed city signs & got to Castelmola. It only took an hour & a half to make a twenty-minute drive. We found public parking & I had to rescue our credit card from the machine using my “tiny” fingers. Evidently it wanted coins or an official parking pass instead of our VISA.
I won't even mention that Castelmola was all uphill & steps. I know, things do eventually go down but up is killer. The town is all about the view & almond wine. The latter is tasty (Judi bought a small bottle) & the former was spectacular despite a haze. We were even able to see the Greek theater in Taormina from there.
We descended on foot to the church which had Stars of David in the exterior walls. No explanation. We ascended to the Castelo to find it closed. Time to head for Savoca.
We'd found Savoca on a map & knew it was North of where we were so chose to follow the highway leading there. I don't have to rehash the details of the odyssey but will say they were similar our earlier foray. We eventually entered the town where The Godfather was filmed & came upon everything Marlon Brando. A woman in a building marked for tourist information gave us a map, directions, & use of a toilet. Bless her. She also told us of a nearby restaurant. It was 3PM. The restaurant was up a winding stairway & was closed.
Off to the crypts we went. The building was closed, but a sign on the door said to call. Oh, no. Not closed out again! Oh, yes. Someone from next door at the Convent of the Cappuchine, keepers of the catacombs, came right over. We'd come so far, well, not far but long in time, to see mummified remains of noblemen & clerics ensconced in their coffins. Following Egyptian technique, these distinguished gentlemen were laid out in their silk frock coats & clerical robes in the early 1600's so we could come & gawk.
We were really hungry & were directed to another restaurant. It was down a long hill & it too was closed. David walked back to get the car & pick us up. We saw him start down a street & back up. Then we heard the sound of glass breaking. We started walking toward him fearing the worst. All was well. He'd backed into a signpost but neither was damaged.
We had a speedy trip back to our parking garage since the Garmin had recovered, & we were getting a bit savvy. We dumped our gear at the hotel & took a relaxing walk in the public gardens. It overlooked the bay & was dedicated to fallen soldiers of WW I & II. Yes, they were on the other side.
Dinner was at the same place as last night. They remembered us. We ordered the same fare we'd eaten but switched around who ate what. We watched some break-dancers in the square & caught a glimpse of the erupting Etna through clouds & dark.
As a tribute to Judi, I must say, she was calm throughout our adventures. I, however, had to exercise restraint to control my gasps. They startled David. For his part, he deserves a medal of valor.
Tomorrow we head for Mt. Etna. Hopefully it will take as long as it should.
Toby
We slept well & woke a bit before our wake up call. That was a good thing because it came a half hour late. That's better than yesterday when it didn't come at all. We do have a back-up alarm.
Our first lesson of the day was that the hotel WiFi is secure. The bad news is that if Judi uses the password of the day, we can't. We each have to get our own personal password. We've been knocking each other off line until we figured this out. WiFi is only intermittently available in the lobby so last night I wrote until midnight but didn't want to go down to send. Sorry for the delay.
We were lost most of the day, but now we are found. Maybe I'll write lyrics along those lines :) This was our first day navigating the small towns & skinny roads of the area. We headed to the shuttle that would take us to the car park on the outskirts of town & noticed lots of bike racers on the road. That's all David needed while still learning his way around this car. Luckily, we only came upon a few.
We retrieved the car & got immediately & totally turned around. The Garmin as well as the Google Maps I'd printed in advance used long Italian street names, which I'm sure included all the surnames of ancestors long gone. It never used highway numbers. We intended to go to Savoca first since it was farthest then backtrack to Castelmola. The worst of it was when we ended up on a dead end & David had to turn around in what amounted to a lane as wide as a single driveway with parking on one side. Of course it was on a hill. Getting into reverse in this car is a trick. At one point he was so close to a wall that the alert beep warning the car was too close to an object was screaming like a banshee. The nose of the car did "kiss" the wall of the building, but, miraculously, neither was damaged. A mere tap with a hand on the slight gap between the fender & car body popped everything right back into place with no dents.
We decided to go the old fashioned way. We asked directions & followed city signs & got to Castelmola. It only took an hour & a half to make a twenty-minute drive. We found public parking & I had to rescue our credit card from the machine using my “tiny” fingers. Evidently it wanted coins or an official parking pass instead of our VISA.
I won't even mention that Castelmola was all uphill & steps. I know, things do eventually go down but up is killer. The town is all about the view & almond wine. The latter is tasty (Judi bought a small bottle) & the former was spectacular despite a haze. We were even able to see the Greek theater in Taormina from there.
We descended on foot to the church which had Stars of David in the exterior walls. No explanation. We ascended to the Castelo to find it closed. Time to head for Savoca.
We'd found Savoca on a map & knew it was North of where we were so chose to follow the highway leading there. I don't have to rehash the details of the odyssey but will say they were similar our earlier foray. We eventually entered the town where The Godfather was filmed & came upon everything Marlon Brando. A woman in a building marked for tourist information gave us a map, directions, & use of a toilet. Bless her. She also told us of a nearby restaurant. It was 3PM. The restaurant was up a winding stairway & was closed.
Off to the crypts we went. The building was closed, but a sign on the door said to call. Oh, no. Not closed out again! Oh, yes. Someone from next door at the Convent of the Cappuchine, keepers of the catacombs, came right over. We'd come so far, well, not far but long in time, to see mummified remains of noblemen & clerics ensconced in their coffins. Following Egyptian technique, these distinguished gentlemen were laid out in their silk frock coats & clerical robes in the early 1600's so we could come & gawk.
We were really hungry & were directed to another restaurant. It was down a long hill & it too was closed. David walked back to get the car & pick us up. We saw him start down a street & back up. Then we heard the sound of glass breaking. We started walking toward him fearing the worst. All was well. He'd backed into a signpost but neither was damaged.
We had a speedy trip back to our parking garage since the Garmin had recovered, & we were getting a bit savvy. We dumped our gear at the hotel & took a relaxing walk in the public gardens. It overlooked the bay & was dedicated to fallen soldiers of WW I & II. Yes, they were on the other side.
Dinner was at the same place as last night. They remembered us. We ordered the same fare we'd eaten but switched around who ate what. We watched some break-dancers in the square & caught a glimpse of the erupting Etna through clouds & dark.
As a tribute to Judi, I must say, she was calm throughout our adventures. I, however, had to exercise restraint to control my gasps. They startled David. For his part, he deserves a medal of valor.
Tomorrow we head for Mt. Etna. Hopefully it will take as long as it should.
Toby
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