Cleared for Departure

Category: Europe

  • Hello From Gatwick

    Hello From Gatwick

    As I soared over the ocean on an Airbus A340, its massive four engines churning cold air through them, the contrasts of my life and my Latvian great-grandmother juxtaposed in my Ambien drugged head.  

  • Hello, Again! Now Where?

    Hello everyone!  We meet again, and so soon after Costa Rica.  (BTW additional pics are up of Costa Rica, viewable on lancedarcy.com.)  It’s time once more to head out into the wide world.     In about a week mom and I depart for Riga, Latvia, transiting through London.  Originally, Brexit promised to create difficulty, as…

  • Goodbye, Taormina. Hello, 2019!

    Should you ever find yourself wanting a massive New Years Eve party, might I suggest Taormina? These people take welcoming the new year seriously.

  • Siracusa

    Siracusa

    We ventured into the car once more to drive to Siracusa.  With a better handle on the speed limits and road rules, or lack thereof, I am getting better at driving here.

  • A Castle in the Sky

    You can walk from Taormina to Castelmola.  They are only half a mile apart.  However, the walk will last about ninety minutes; it’s a 1000’ vertical climb.  We decided to cab it for 15 Euro.   Roads here are very circuitous, a gauntlet for those prone to car sickness.  Around and around we drove until…

  • Mt. Etna

    Mt. Etna

    Mt Etna dominates life here.  The locals refer to the volcano as a she.  I find it odd assigning a gender to a volcano.  Furthermore, a volcano in my opinion has more masculine characteristics.  Most women in my life don’t spew fiery gases and viciously erupt, killing scores of people.  That said, I don’t know…

  • The Valley of the Temples

    After surviving the Sicilian roads, we arrived at The Valley of the Temples, located beneath Agrigento.  

  • Driving Is Dangerous

    Driving Is Dangerous

    I rarely drive, since I live in Manhattan.  So when I do get into a car, the absurd danger of this activity shifts fully into focus for a few minutes.  Like, seriously, how do we let humans do this?

  • Taormina

    Welcome to Taormina, population around 10,000.  Roughly 5 million call Sicily home, almost all of them are Italians.  The only minorities I’ve seen here are fellow tourists.  Mt. Etna and farms dominate the landscape, while cities adorn steep and uninviting cliffs not suitable for growing anything.    Farming here has been a thing forever.  I…

  • The City So Nice

    Before our flight, we tripped out into NYC as tourists.  We planned to run around town before flying in hopes of tiring ourselves out.