I never really wanted to visit Italy. Sure, I’d seen pictures of the Trevi Fountain and the Colosseum, but it seemed so overdone. I mean, who’s been to Italy and hasn’t seen those things? (Answer: Me.) I guess I’ve always been more of the road-less-traveled type. Oh, you’ve already done that? That’s cool, but I’d rather do something different. Something less common.
The fact that we decided to stay in Sicily, rather than mainland Italy, was a big help. One of the first things I came across while planning things to do there was Mt. Etna, an active volcano not far from our lodgings. The more I researched it (and you know I hate research, right?) the more excited I became. You mean I can climb an actual volcano?! Sign me up!!
The view of Mt. Etna from our rooftop balcony
So, on our last day in Italy (which was also the last day of our vacation), Hubster, Little Man, and I set out to do some light hiking. (Saba and Oma were having a well-deserved rest day and stayed home.) If you recall from my previous post, A Warm Welcome to Greece, I had to do the driving as Hubster had left his license at home. I was more worried about this in Italy than on Crete; the roads were narrower and the drivers much more aggressive. Luckily, the drive up the mountain was an easy one, with wide lanes and hardly any traffic. (Turns out those wide roads are there to accommodate tour buses, many of which were already taking up places at the base of Mt. Etna.) As this is a photographers dream, the multiple pull-outs came in very handy when we wanted to stop and take some pictures. Little Man had fallen asleep on the curvy roads, so Hubster and I took our time getting to the parking lot.
Wide, easy roads up to Mt. Etna, lined with volcanic rock and ash
I may have grown up around volcanic mountains (Mt Saint Helen in Oregon last erupted in June, 1980 during my parents honeymoon, causing them to evacuate), but I’d never actually seen lasting evidence of an eruption. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t the black rock we saw lining the road. This gave off a sort of surreal feel. Everything was black. It was pretty cool to see in person. It made me feel small because it just kept going. Kind of like the ocean, but at the same time, completely opposite. Apparently it’s difficult to explain. Let’s move on.
When we arrived at the base of Etna, we discovered all of the tourists. I knew before going that this was a tourist destination, but it felt like all the tourists on Sicily had converged here. Multiple coach buses, along with endless cars, were taking up the parking spaces. There were pay-to-park spaces, but we hadn’t figured them out and, luckily, managed to find a free parking space along the road. At this point, we had to wake up LM, who was not happy about that, and protested the idea that we should attempt to make him walk. Eventually, we made it to one of the two craters you can trek around for free and began walking. However, we quickly realized that this would take longer than expected, and the going was more difficult than we’d anticipated as we were walking on lava rock. So we decided to turn back (leading to a meltdown from LM) and head instead toward the cable car that would take us to the mountain station.
View of the craters from the cable car
It was a bit of a wait as there were so many people, but the cable car runs continually which helped move the line along. We payed 30€ per person (LM was free) and thoroughly enjoyed the ten minute ride to the mountain station. Here you will find a large gift shop, a cafe, and a rental place offering coats, boots, and hiking and climbing gear for those brave souls trekking to the summit. The coats are definitely a necessity since the temperature drops drastically at the summit. There was still snow on the ground at the mountain station and the summit is another couple hundred kilometers up! (We were told the summit was -2C when we were there in April.) We had decided before getting there not to go any further since the shortest trek you can do is about 40 minutes and requires a drive up in a jeep. The cost of the jeep didn’t seem worth it with a toddler, so we enjoyed the views from here, grabbed a snack at the cafe, then took the cable car back down.
For all the information to plan a trek around Mt. Etna, check out this super detailed website. They made it incredibly easy for me, and I hate planning. Prices, opening times, and how to get there are all in one place.
There was exactly one other thing on Sicily that I had honed in on and was determined to see: Aci Castello. It was a castle on the sea. That’s all I really knew about it, but it was a short drive from Etna, so off we went, yet again not really knowing what to expect. It was perfect. One of those gems you find that you could easily skip but are so glad you didn’t.
It’s actually a museum. With a reasonable entrance fee of 3€ per person (again, LM went for free), we enjoyed looking at the interesting architecture and lovely sea views. As far as museums go, this one is not very good. They do have some interesting archaeological finds from the sea surrounding the castle, and what was boasted as botanical gardens (which is really just a small garden area), but LM had the best time running up and down through a tunnel, climbing stairs, and looking for birds. It was a great way to spend an hour, and, if you know me, you know I’m a sucker for a castle, so I was happy.
The only way we were able to tear our little adventurer away from his tunnel was to tempt him with chocolate. (He’s definitely my child.) We had yet to try gelato on this trip, so we stopped by a place called Slurp and gave it a taste. Yes, it really is as good as it’s made out to be. Little Man adored it.
A small cup was just the right size, especially when served with a waffle cookie.
After a day of sun, snow, castles, and chocolate, we went home on a sugar high for a relaxing final evening in Italy. LM gifted us an early night, falling asleep by 8:30pm which allowed me to pack. This really was an excellent end to a long, at times exhausting, and fun-filled holiday.
Question: What hidden gems have you found while on vacation? What made them so great?
Adventures Abroad 