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Mt. Etna
Great day to see Mt. Etna! I woke up early! I was warned that several rooms would be leaving at 6 am, and they were noisy but it was ok, just part of a B & B! I got up and walked along the waterfront. Mt. Etna was postcard perfect, so I have some nice shots.
What a surprise to see a huge cruise ship pulling up to the pier!!! Ugh. Buses lined up, tour boats ready, all the restaurants and bars open, and a very friendly talkative guy cleaning up the street messes from the night before. He pointed out Etna, Castelmola, Taormina, etc. etc. in Italian, but I understood perfectly!
I returned to my "villa." Breakfast this morning was the same as yesterday except fresh mozzerella was substituted for the spinach. I decided I would picnic on the beach today, so I made a sandwich, grabbed an apple and yogurt. I showed the English-speaking member of the family my bus ticket for 10 pm tonight, and he assured that I could leave my bags here for the day. I plan to eat dinner on the beach,and then head to the bus stop on foot. I walked it yesterday and
Breakfast
What a spread!!! I am allowing 30 minutes pulling that heavy bag.
I repacked, putting stuff for the overnight bus trip in a separate bag. I was out of the room by 10:00 am. I left by “baggage” (pronounced bug-
gaj') just inside the private part of the villa, and headed to the bus stop for Taormina and the beach below it, Mazzaro and the island of Isola Bella. I took the bus up to Taormina, and walked down to the beach. It was a bit of a maze, and I became lost several times, but just kept heading downhill. The steps took me through neighborhoods, by a nice soccer field, and provided some spectacular views. It took an hour.
When I reached the bottom, I rented a beach chair, umbrella and the use of a bathroom and changing room on a private beach for 5 euros. I bought a beer and ate my sandwich and apple. I stayed under the blue and white umbrella for several hours. Isola Bella is a nice little island you can wade to, and it is a wildlife preserve of sorts. A little reading, people watching and wading (the water was FREEZING!),
Isola Bella
Beautiful Island! sun and shade, gentle breeze… a great afternoon!
This afternoon a 4 mast sailboat arrived…. It was beautiful with sails filled! It will stay around this evening and sail again after dinner.
I updated the blog at the internet store. Walking back I ran into a film crew making a movie. I stopped for ice cream so I could use the rest room, and caught the bus back to Naxos.
Dinner in Naxos on the beach at the Ristorante Royale: pasta with salmon and pastachios, YUM!
The “UNCLE” at the Villa made me pay 60 euros for my bags! We will talk. I think he thought I had not paid for the room, but I had prepaid. Uncle and I don’t communicate well at all! I will settle this via internet tomorrow.
Off to the bus, got on and tried to sleep. The bus has to ferry across to the mainland at Messina. The train also has to ferry… supposedly takes an hour to get it on and an hour to get it off the ferry. We just drove right on. It was not very
Beach Club
Private Beach Club at Mazzaro comfortable, but it is an experience!!!
More Pictures below...
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