The Schlossers

Today we all decided to take a day off from sightseeing and stick around the villa to do some laundry and catch some rays by the pool. Dan got an early start by hiking the hills of the Parco before the hot sun came out and he got some great photos of the countryside while I putz around the villa starting to pack up for our next week of adventure. Later in the day, we decided to run into Ragusa for our final southern Sicilian supper and drove to the Centro and main piazza. We knew we were too early to eat yet as it was only 6:30 pm, and the sun was starting to set. Lissa wanted to take some photos of the sunset but we noticed that the sky was getting dark fast. A ... read more

Today we ventured off to the Donnafugata Castle which is located about 15 minutes from the Parco Cavalongo. In the mid-19th-century, the Baron of Donnafugata built the Neo-Gothic castle onto the 17th-century extant core. A half-century later, the southern facade was broken through to insert a replica of the Venetian Gothic arcade of the Palace of Popes at Viterbo. A Neoclassical temple was added in the garden. This fascinating amalgam of styles is further confused by the lush, gilded, trompe-l’oeil Baroque interior. The four of us wandered around the castle and grounds for quite some time enjoying the warm sunshine and fresh smells of the country air. The grounds definitely need some TLC but it looks like they’re working on it. Ron & Dan decided to enter the stone maze in the garden, only to find ... read more

Today our agenda is to visit another Baroque town called Noto. After having a quick breakfast and heading out the door, we drove the one hour drive to Noto through small winding towns and crazy morning traffic. Driving in Italy is crazy! You have to be very aggressive otherwise you wouldn’t get anywhere at all. No one seems to stop at signs or lights, and if you do do the speed limit, you’re going too slow. Cars fly by us as if we’re standing still which makes you wonder when you see all the roadside memorials. Noto is the queen of southern Sicily’s Baroque cities. The earthquake of 1693 also destroyed much of this town as well and had to be re-built in the valley below. The old town is abandoned to its lonely hilltop. All ... read more

Ciao from Sicily! The journey to get to Sicily was quite the adventure. In Florence, we woke up early, packed up and went for a quick breakfast while we waited for Ron & Lissa. At 10:00 am we checked out of our hotel and asked reception if they could call us a taxi so we could get to the airport to catch our flight out to Sicily. The fellow at reception called a taxi company and was informed that no taxis were running in the area due to a marathon that morning. Yikes! What to do? So reception told us we could walk a few blocks down this tiny alleyway ... read more

Hello! Welcome to our blog. Today we are leaving on our trip to Italy, in particular the island of Sicily. We'll be heading for Amsterdam direct from Calgary with a quick layover, then off we fly to Florence. Florence is such a magical place and we can't wait to explore it more. We are staying in Florence for 3 days and then we fly to Sicily for 2 weeks. Please check back often to see where we go in our travels. You can always write in the guest book on this site or drop us an email. We look forward to your comments. Ciao for now.... read more