Le Botti Di Pietra Ragusa

... who spoke very little English took it as their duty to get me back to where I needed to be safely. They started calling friends of friends to confirm bus schedules and stopping the bus at a pay phone so I could call Anna, but then there were no pay phones in the tiny, little bus stop towns, so then the girl used her cell phone to call Anna, and the whole time she was trying to explain to Anna who she was and why she was calling, the bus driver was -- 2 inches from the phone, saying "Tell ...

... s an example:

Josie: The shower is open.
Talker: I can't wait to get back to my own shower.
Josie: Yes, that will be nice.
Talker: Because I won''t need to wear flip flops in the shower.
Josie: (polite) Haha, yes.
Talker: Or carry a bag with me back and forth to the shower.
Josie: (polite) Yep.
Talker: I mean the bag has everything I need in the bathroom.
Josie: (polite) Exactly.
Talker: It has my shampoo, my ...

... op de support van de chauffeur rekenen, op de achterkant van mijn vervoersbewijs schrijft hij dat ik mag worden meegenomen door een andere busonderneming. Als we uiteindelijk meer dan een uur later in Licata aankomen moet ik nog 1.5 uur wachten op de volgende bus die mij naar Gela brengt. Uiteindelijk kom ik aan bij het treinstation en moet weer een andere bus nemen om nog twee kilometer van onze haven te worden afgezet. Zo stap ...

... and lots to see.

We found the gelati bar and set to work especially as it was a warm day. Mandy agrees with me we would be hard pressed to find a nicer gelati. I had Pistachio & Nero (dark chocolate with orange) and Mandy had Pistachio & Bacio Chocolate- real nuts in both & very good.

That done we headed to the Beach with tom tom set for Marzamemi on the coast about 20 minutes away. It found the town ok but do you think it could find the beach? No much to ...

... about half an acre. Aparently the castle flooded at one point, and the mosaics were covered up for a number of centuries. When they found the mosaics again, the colors were still vivid, and the floors were still beautiful. The castle was incredibly roomy, the accomodations must have been quite luxurious -- much more comfortable than castles we saw in England, for example. These had indoor baths and latrines (with effective plumbing) --- 1700 years ago! We wandered the ...

... had set up a map of Sicily out of volcanic rock and the Medusa flags flying high. I tried limoncello, which unbeknownst to me at the time, is an extremely strong lemon flavored liqueur. Blech. It was pretty intense. There was also the tasting of honeys and jams from the area. Those were way better than the limoncello. After our stop, we continued up to the top of Mt. Etna. On our way, we watched the landscape change from brown and red to an Oreo ...

... and Giuliana had her first experience of walking on lava and standing in a fumarole. On the way back I had climbed down into one of Etna's many craters (this one was letting off a lot of steam), with Giuliana telling me not to go down as it was slippery and dangerous, and to act my age, etc and of course that only spurred me on, and of course I slipped and fell over and sustained a lot of scratches from the sharp lava rocks. I climbed out of the crater sheepish and bloodied. We ...

... with incredible and absolutely fantastic meals they had prepared. I ate sooooo much! We spent about 10 days in Floridia and while it was wonderful meeting everyone I was exhausted by the end of it, so many new faces of relatives that I knew I had but had never met before. Of course we spent most of the time getting to know each other and I learnt alot about my family and got to see many photos that I'd never seen ...

saw some very cool stuff today. we left early and headed to a city with lots of Greek Ruins. I got to see the ancient greek amphitheatre and learned about a lots of cool places. it will be easier to explain when i get to show you all the pics. my uncle got me a hat and now i look like a real tourist! haha after we saw all of that we went to Noto which they kept referring to as a Barosque (?) town. I am going to assume that ...

... is considered the most beautiful and extensive baroque area of Italy, and possibly Europe.
Before I start describing my trip I will just mention that I rang Australia and spoke to my daughter Giuliana and wished her happy birthday yesterday (it was on the the 26th May). She was gathered with my sisters and their families and my son at my youngest sister Flora's cafe in Eltham where they were celebrating both her birthday and my brother-in-law Dino's.
Flora opened a cafe ...