Cleared for Departure
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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 Continue …
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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 Continue …
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The Valley of the Temples
After surviving the Sicilian roads, we arrived at The Valley of the Temples, located beneath Agrigento. Continue …
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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? Continue …
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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 Continue …
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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. Continue …
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Away We Go
Tonight we fly to Rome, transfer planes, fly to Catania, and then drive to Taormina, arriving sometime in the afternoon of the 23rd. Maybe. Continue …
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The Last Hurrah
I’ve read essays suggesting the British are a country of old souls. Continue …
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Westminster
When I was 14 my parents took me to Italy. We visited St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Oddly, it had the unintended effect of turning me off to religion for life. Westminster reinforced that early lesson. Continue …
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Pubs and Pics
RBD and I have decided to open a pub here and brainstormed names on the way home from dinner. Continue …
Cleared for Departure 