2018 Adventures of Chris and Joe in Italy

   Just a few miles up the east coast of Sicily from where we are staying is the magical hill town of Forza d'Agro.  Perched in a fine defensive position high above the Ionian Sea, Forza d'Agro never fails to enchant.  Scenes from all three Godfather films were shot in this stunning village, which seems to be frozen in time.  We like to park at the entrance to the village, then walk along the via Belvedere with it's incredible views of the Sicilian coastline and beyond to Calabria on the Italian mainland.  At the northern end of via Belvedere we turn and walk down through the heart of the village, marveling at the ancient doorways and tiny alleyways.    The walk along via Belvedere always offers up some stunning views..... and some surprises, like this man standing on the walls of an old stone ruin, trimming a tree... ....and this truck that they obviously didn't want to roll... ...

One of our favorite places to visit when we come to Sicily is the beautiful Gambino winery.  High on the slopes of Mount Etna, the drive up the twisting, turning, narrow road is an adventure in and of itself...the villages and walls along the way are built of lava rock..amazing to see.  They all, of course, have a view of "the Etna".   the charming town of Linguaglossa... On the road to Gambino... terraces made of lava rock... the cantina at Gambino      We went on Friday in order to make a reservation for Sunday lunch...why call when you can drive there ?  We were met by our favorite sommelier, Manuela, who remembered us from previous visits and greeted us with hugs and kisses.  After making a date for Sunday, Manuela asked if we would like a taste of white wine as long as we were there..of course !  Seating us at a table overlooking the beautiful vineyards, she brought us a bottle of lovely, crisp white...a few minu...

   They can take a reservation, they just can't keep a reservation... famous words, but true.  We always reserve an economy size car here in Sicily.  The roads and parking spaces are narrow, a Range Rover just wouldn't work.  So this time we reserved a VW Polo.  The EuropeAuto clerk at Catania airport informed us that the VW Polo wasn't available.  My next question is always... "Is there an Alfa Romeo Giulietta or Mito available?"  The clerk always says "I will check"...   click clack on the keyboard...  "Sorry Mr. Kovacs, there is no Alfa Romeo available.  I have a Renault Clio for you".  So be it.    Funny thing is, we had a black cat named Cleo for almost 20 years.  Now we have a black car named Clio.   Coincidence... ?  Conspiracy... ?  Who knows, different spelling anyway.     So how is  the Clio?  Not horrible, but near the bottom of the cars I've driv...

   We've been here in Sicily at The Lemon Tree for four days, and we are fully recovered from the trip over.  Although the weather Friday was decent, it was a total rest and recovery day for us.  Saturday was a total wash-out... cold, windy and rainy.  As Paola the housekeeper says, it was brutto tempo, ugly weather.  So Saturday was another r&r day for us.  Yesterday was beautiful, sunny and 60ish, with light breezes.  We took a pleasant drive through some of the Mt. Etna villages and along the coast, then had a long Sunday seafood lunch at a seaside restaurant in Giardini Naxos.  Today we arose to an sparkling sunrise.....    ...then an hour later snapped this photo of Mt. Etna with a puff of smoke at the top.  Both photos were taken from our terraces at The Lemon Tree.    Mid-morning today we drove over to Taormina and spent several hours walking the pedestrian Corso Umberto and the community garden...