Wednesday morning we woke to the steady drone of rain on the roof. The rain was relentless and we had no choice but to slog our bags to the car after breakfast and hope that our travels would take us out of the downpour. This day we were to travel to Taormina on the west coast of the island. The guidebooks glowed about the town, calling it “the pearl of Sicily”. It was also just an hour or so from Mt. Etna, Sicily’s active volcano, so two nights in Taormina were to be our tour’s “Grande Finale”.

Did I mention that the rain was relentless? It never let up as we made our way east, forcing us to scrap a planned stop at the ruin Villa Casale, a sumptuous Roman villa with beautifully preserved mosaics. Instead, we slogged onward to Taormina, arriving gratefully to the Hotel Timeo where everything suddenly became OK again, regardless of the weather.

Hotel Timeo is housed in a 19^th century villa, perched on a bluff over the Mediterranean, with a direct view of the smoking peak of Mt. Etna to the southwest. This hotel is truly the most beautiful hotel, in the most beautiful setting that I have ever seen, much less stayed in. We are here during the very last week of the season, so the rates are almost reasonable, the staff is gracious and relaxed, and they upgraded our rooms to junior suites…tutto bene!!

Taormina is charming, if admittedly touristy, and we had a great excursion up to Etna. The rain had stopped overnight so by morning, the sun was shining.  On Mt. Etna, the wind blew like crazy and was seriously bitter, so we opted to see the volcano in a time efficient manner: skipped the guided walking tour, ran down to see the crater (all smoking and steaming), took pictures, then ran back up to the warming hut. The profundity of the experience, however, was not lost on any of us. To stand on a massive example of nature’s power and potential was truly awesome, especially to a couple of geo-types! The day continued to be wonderful (it happened to be my birthday!) with lunch at a winery on the slopes of Etna, and later Prosecco and dessert on the terrace of the hotel.

Taormina also is home to a wonderful Greek Theater ruin with more fantastic views east over the sea. It was just next to our hotel, so day two was spent seeing the theater and shopping and exploring around the town. Like all great Greek tragedy’s, this story had a sad ending, as Karen and Scotty had to leave us Saturday morning. We returned to Cefalu, had a farewell dinner (home cooked by Michael), and then dropped them at the airport in the wee hours on Saturday. We also said arrivederci to our Cefalu home, Casa Pineta, and again, we thank Jerry from the bottom of our hearts for providing us a base from which to explore the delights of Sicily.

We had arrived in Taoromina the day before in the pouring rain and could not see anything but grey, rain filled skies. Fast forward to the following morning. Open the drapes and window shutters in our unbelievable room and “Oh yeah that snow covered peak over there, 13 miles away, is the Mt Etna standing 10,000 feet and with a bit of steam off the top. Geologists, get your boots on. It’s going to be a great day!

It was damn cold at the top of Mt Etna and the wind was blowing about 35 mph. It sure would have been nice to have some cool weather clothing for the day.

You can’t actually gut up to the active vent on the mountain but we are pretty darn close. Less than a half mile. It is easy to see the bit of steam still venting through the rock at the top.

There is a series of more than a dozen smaller cones that run from just below the summit and down the east side marking past eruption points. The ground is covered in ejected pumice, ash, and solidified lava. This is definitely some of the newest rock on the planet!

A well traveled baby stroller. Yikes.

The views around the volcano were fantastic.  Just to the right of the center are two 40 person buses that transport you across the cinder fields to the top.  This is a BIG place!!

These are gas vent holes in the highest non-active cone.

Cable car ride back down.

Back down in town for dinner and street cruising with “the usual suspects”

Piazza scene in Taormina

Happy travelers.

The old folks.

Shopping in town.

Gelato in a bun. This girls will do almost anything!!

Dancing in the dark while celebrating Aunt Laura’s birthday at the Hotel Timeo.

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Happy Birthday Laura. Love you!

It is a little out of focus but don’t blame the camera…..

A small bit of the Greek theater which is located immediately behind the hotel.

Karen spotted the light coming in through the windows in a church as we walked past.

Shopping till they dropped.

This is a public drinking fountain in one of the piazzas in Taoromina.

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Some of the terraced gardens at the hotel.