Villa Daphne Sicily Giardini Naxos

... it was a bit cloudy and overcast and we couldn't see the peak - probably a good decision to not do the tour as well...
Catania is a nice quaint quiet town and wouldbe lovely in summer.


Caught the 10pm overnight train to Rome with Laura.
Overnight trains in Italy are definitely a lot more sketchy than in Germany.

Sometimes I let myself wonder, not always a good thing but regardless an effort I must make. I wonder if things are going to feel different when I get home, if I will view things in a different way. I have already made some discoveries about the differences between Italy and Canada that I love, and like, and don't feel all that warm and fuzzy about, and no matter what it leads me towards, I always seem to come back to the same ...

I just checked out my 'stats' section and I'm quite pleased with my little blog and how much people are enjoying reading about my travels. I have over 20 5-star ratings and over 2,000 viewings. That is so incredibly awesome!

Apparently my photos are also not so bad. Travelpod has selected almost a dozen of them to be included in the daily ...

... kind of think I've perfected it. Anyway, in Italy, it does niente! An old man at the railway station stared at me the entire way I walked toward him and I could feel his eyes on me the entire time I walked away. When I realized that I couldn't get out where I thought I could (this trip really is exposing my unknown flaw of a horrible sense of direction) he watched me walk the entire way back. And he wasn't a dirty, old man. He was just a grampa. Just an old guy. But that's the Italian way ...

... condizionata, tutte le comoditā per
trascorrere durante la permanenza gradevoli e rilassanti momenti,
all'interno del cuore di Catania, le nostre stanze, curate nei minimi
particolari, rendono perfettamente il nostro concetto di ospitalitā,
dove pulizia e accuratezza permettono una piacevole permanenza, ed č
questo a renderci tra i migliori B&B di questa stupenda cittā.

... Yes Man, playing on deck 15 around the Calypso Pool. The movie starring Jim Carey appeared to be quite funny, something we'd likely rent upon our return home.

The afternoon had us resting on our balcony, enjoying a bottle of vino, watching the Mediterranean pass by us at 20 knots per hour.

We made reservations at Michelangelo's Dining Room where, Rick dressed in a tux and Elsie ...

... might start having to get used to again) before heading to the park to try and get a view of Mount Etna through the clouds and to eat our purchases from the market. From there we made our way down to the Piazza Del Duomo, a UNESCO World Heritage site. We tried to go to the botanic gardens but this was shut and then sadly for us so was our favourite pastry shop, yes that's right we have been here a day and we already have a favourite pastry shop. With ...

... probably have shortened stays at a couple of them. I loved the look of this port but we were only there for one hour and weren't allowed off the ship. You will have to look on the map to find out where we have just been. Weather is absolutely fabulous, sea is calm and the drinks are still flowing. Keep the emails and messages coming, we love them. Bye for now.

... rijen zien we de scheepsvaart voorbij trekken door de straat van Messina, even is het een angstig moment als vissers plotseling om onze boot met grote zoeklichten aan het vissen zijn, geen kwade bedoeling alleen maar op jacht naar vis. Als het tegen 6.00 uur is, halen we het anker op en gaan we voor Roccella Ionica, de eerst volgende haven 45 mijl verder, vluchthavens hebben ze hier niet ...

... amazing town with fantastic views. We saw 4 weddings. The father and the bride walk through the streets and meet the guest who are waiting outside the church and then they all proceed into the church together. We saw the amphitheater where the Taormina film festival was taking place.

Beautiful views and fun places to shop.