Blogs from Messina, Sicily, Italy, Europe
April 23rd 2011
Wow! What a hotel, after a very sweet brekfast with croissants wich had chocolate inside and a espresso the staff drove us back to the harbour where we went up to the old castle. There we saw theese cute green lizzards and a big amphitheater. The wiew was stunning, but the ferry would depart in a coupple of minutes so... When we got back to Milazzo we were late to the car rental, so we had to run there to get the car - a tiny Fiat Panda. The car was only two weeks old and really nice haha :) That will be our home for the next three days! We drove out of Milazzo and headed for Messina. On our way we saw this beautiful beach, so we stopped and Karl took a bath i ... read more
February 26th 2010
With great difficulty, on the 26th of February, I said goodbye to my family in Calabria. I had no idea what adventures and difficulties lay in the road ahead. With the unknowable time between my next visit, it felt like I was ending a life. Watch me get scammed Desperate to make myself feel better, I decided to celebrate arriving in Sicily by purchasing myself a “hot” new watch at the Reggio Calabria harbor port as I waited to load the Vespa onto the ferry. I liked the weathered face of the old black man selling the watches, and I decided to put a few nickels in his pocket. I inquired of the price and he said €50. I told him thanks, but no thanks, and he could forget it. He asked how much I had ... read more
May 5th 2009
It was our second day and we were ready to try out the restaurants and explore the quiet village. There is no early bird in Sicilly. Restaurants do not generally open until 8:30pm and there is a big siesta during the day. Nice life. We chose this village thinking there might be ancestors still in the village of Piraino. The pizza was delicious. Of course dining was one of my favorite things about the trip!... read more
May 4th 2009
We arrived with good hopes. As I was stepping on board our transfer flight from Milan, I received a call for a job interview to be held when I got back. The weather was perfect the whole time and after a nearly fruitless search, we found the bed and breakfast which overlooked the ocean. We stayed in a small village of Piraino! ... read more
Sicily: the good, the bad, and the ugly (Part One)
Published: August 19th 2008Europe » Italy » Sicily » Messina
August 19th 2008
Saturday (Sabato) Agosto 16 After a relatively painless two short flights (Venice to Rome, Rome to Catania), I arrived in Catania on a warm sunny day, although my clothes were still a little damp from Venice. I was becoming more nervous as I grew closer to my destination, as I had not been able to get a hold of my friends in Sicily, and the dialect in Sicily was strong, and the amount of people who spoke English was slim indeed.I managed to get out of the airport, get onto a bus, get the train station, and get on a train for Gioiosa Marea. In my exhaustion, it was quite the feat, particularly with that 50lb luggage in tow. Even though I was hungry, tired, and dirty, the beauty of the train ride did not ... read more
Sicily: the good, the bad, and the ugly (Part Two)
Published: August 19th 2008Europe » Italy » Sicily » Messina
August 19th 2008
Domenica (Sunday) 17 Agosto When I awoke on Sunday morning, I went to the kitchen, rested and refreshed, to find only Nonna- no aunt or uncle (Tonietta and Franco). She spent some talking with me, or at me, rather, as I could not understand one out of fifty words she spoke. Despite the fact that she punctuated her paragraph long sentences with "Capisce?", I learned quickly that it didn't matter, and she was just happy to have someone new to speak with. She told me stories, we laughed, she cried, I mirrored her expressions and let her talk her heart out. She was a sweet woman. After awhile, I excused myself to go to the beach, as it was a beautiful day, and I had no idea when the boys would be returning. The beach was ... read more
June 26th 2008
After the police let us go....or after we ran away from the them we found the train station to be totally vacated. The old man behind the ticket counter felt sorry for us because we were literally stranded due to it being a Sunday. He called his personal friend taxi driver away from his family on a Sunday to come rescue us. He took us 90 minutes up the mountain to our destination a beautful mountain lake view location. We squeezed in his car with window open and hair blowing all over the place like mister toad wild ride. The mountains were covered with beautiful yellow flowers and a cow walking down the road. Leonardo was filled with stories to share with us including the story of Dona Kika and the water spouts found along the ... read more
May 8th 2008
Day 10 Messina Messina is on the northeastern Sicilian coast. It's on the western shore of the Strait of Messina between Sicily and the Italian mainland - Calabria Province. Our guide took us around the town with a highlight at 12 noon. In a number of niches of a large bell tower was presented a tableau of metal sculptures with religious motifs.... read more
