On Monday, March 31st, we drove 2 hours to Milazzo.  Five minutes before departure, we hopped on board this ferry to the Aeolian Islands.

Our first stop was Lipari, the largest of the 8 Aeolian islands both in size and population (about 11,000). We walked through the old walled city (built 1556) as well as other parts of Lipari (town and island have the same name!).

Lots of charm in Lipari – no wonder the town nearly doubles in size in the summer!

We had fun finding pieces of obsidian along this little beach. Pumice rocks are also found around the island, and there are mines that extract and sell pumice around the world.

We had a great lunch – a meat and cheese tray with locally cured meats and delicious cheeses. We sampled some local Liparian wine, Malvasia, and some awesome cured caper fruits.  We bought a whole bag of them!  Of course, gelato for dessert.

We took a small boat from Lipari to the island of Vulcano which has one of Sicily’s three active volcanoes. The boat ride was awesome! The weather was beautiful and the cruise around the islands was so fun!

The island of Vulcano – you can see the steam coming from the active vent in one of the volcanoes.

Vulcano has a sulfur hot spring bath which is said to help improve problems with arthritis, skin problems and asthma.  We had to walk past a sulfurous rock face that had such a putrid smell, Lily and I were sick to our stomachs.

We walked to a black sand beach – I’ve never seen anything like it!

The girls had fun playing in the sand. We had to bring a bunch home…along with lots of obsidian and pumice rocks.  Lily and I are total rock collectors.

On Tuesday, April 1st, we flew back to Malta, but not until 10:30 pm.  That left plenty of time to hike around Mt. Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe and one of the most active volcanoes in the world. You can see the cooled lava from the 1992 eruption in the foreground.  The road was cut and built right through it!

Our main hike was to this huge crater, Valle del Bove. Our guide Andrea was great. He was full of information about the history and geology of the volcano.

The landscape was so different than other mountains I’ve hiked. The soil was black and kind of sandy, and the vegetation was so unique.

We stopped for lunch at a restaurant at 2000 m (6500 feet) and then walked around these three craters: the Silvestri Crateri, formed in 1893.

After our mountain hike, Andrea took us to a nature reserve on a cliff above the sea. In less than an hour, we went from over 2000 meters to almost sea level! The reserve was very lush and warm – a stark contrast to where we’d just been.  The whole day was just super!  Our whole trip to Sicily was fantastic and many of us are planning to return before we leave Malta.

We left so early on Saturday that even with our 30 minute flight and 2 hour drive to the hotel, we still arrived in time for breakfast! We took time to relax a bit in our room before going out to explore. We stayed in a lovely hotel with beautiful grounds and a great view of La Rocca, behind Sylvia.

First stop, the beach! We stayed in the town of Cefalu, on the northern coast. The beach here was expansive and sandy – quite different from the rocky beaches in Sliema. The Tyrrhenian Sea was so beautiful!

We strolled around the old part of Cefalu eating gelato of course, and enjoying the old narrow streets lined with balconies.

Later in the afternoon, we met up with our tour guide, Saro (the man on the right in front). He took us to his friend’s house to learn about agriculture in Sicily.  The tour was a highlight – the farmer was so excited to show us around and tell us all about his gardens.  He didn’t speak English so Saro translated everything for us.  We saw lemons, tangerines, fig, pomegranates, kumquat, olive trees and more.  The farmer gave us a huge crate of his lemons and tangerines to take home.

Saro then took us on a drive through the Medonie Mountain Range. The whole drive was spectacular! This little mountain town was so beautiful in the afternoon sun.

Our last stop was Castelbuono – one of my favorite spots. It is a sweet little mountain town (about the size of Decorah). The town was very active this evening, with people coming out to meet in the piazza, lots of kids out playing and church bells ringing.  It was a very charming time of day.

A view of Cefalu (pop. 15, 000) as you approach from the west. This area was probably first inhabited in the late 5th century BC. The name comes from the Greek word ‘Kefaloidion’ which translates to ‘head’ – the Greeks thought the rock looked like a giant head.

On Sunday, we hiked up La Rocca, the huge rock in Cefalu. At the top are the remains of an old castle built in the 13-14th centuries.

The view of Cefalu from the hike up La Rocca. How beautiful! Mountains, sea, beaches, history and culture – Sicily rocks!  🙂

Sunday afternoon, we played on the beach. Lily dug a hole all the way down to water!

We ate gelato and visited this duomo, or cathedral, in the old city. It was built between 1131 and 1240. It’s quite unique and different from other churches we’ve seen because it has Norman style architecture, reflecting the ruler at that time, and Arabic influences in other parts of the structure.

On our way home, we took this great trail that went along the waterfront over the rocks.

Old town Cefalu. I strongly encourage anyone who’s ever thought of going to Sicily (and even those who haven’t!) to go. And visit Cefalu – you will love it! I even have a great recommendation for a guide and hotel.  🙂  More information on the city here: http://www.cefalu.net/cefalu.php?lingua=en