Justin bought European breakdown insurance for our trip - Turns out they signed him up for national insurance (for the UK) only. Justin told them he was misled and the lady listened to the prior phone call and agreed that it was their fault. To make a long, fairly frustrating story short, they figured it all out for us and towed it to a wrecker.
Sferracavallo was a strange dirty little town to be stuck in while we dealt with all of that. There was a festival going on and that certainly livened up the city. If you were out and about during siesta things looked downright depressing. We tried arancini for the first time there (a sicilian specialty- meat sauce stuffed rice balls) and they are just so yummy.
We made our first official train trip with all our belongings on our backs from Sferracavallo to another little Sicilan town called Taromina with the hopes of trekking up Mt. Etna; an active volcano. As soon as we arrived here I think we knew that wasn't going to happen. The town is just so beautiful - 2 crystal clear bays surrounded by houses all built up on the cliffs above it. There is an amazing Greek theatre here and a cable car takes you down to the sea. Our hostle is really great, not only because simply having a bed for the first time in a few weeks is such a treat, but it has a terrace that overlooks the city and water where everyone hangs out and socializes. We went out last night with a group of people and it was really fun.
It's been super hot here in Sicily and we have taken full advantage of it here in Taormina. We went snorkeling for a few hours today and found a huge grotto that I found really scary, and we saw so many amazing fish. My favorite was a long needle nose one that I have never seen before.
We leave tomorrow on a long train ride for Naples. I've been told its absolutely filthy and dangerous, so that should be fun.
Thanks for reading my little update.
Gen
Well, at least you got to gaze upon Mt Etna... incredible, in my books! What an amazing place. You must have rented snorkeling gear? Fun :) Scary fun. You both look very fit and sun kissed. Happy journeys, you two. Thinking of you always. Be careful out there!
ReplyDeleteWhen we were in Naples we stayed here and really loved it: http://www.fabrichostel.com/en.html
ReplyDeleteIt's just outside Naples proper, so it felt a bit safer and it was a bit quicker to get to places like Pompeii and Herculcneum (which is just a short walk away and so much more amazing than Pompeii!).
We booked through hostelworld, so you could probably get a better rate than is on the hostel's website, but it really was a great place with lots of things going on, nice rooms, markets nearby and a really useful way-finding booklet for guests.
Have fun!