Rome to Sicily
Already our last day..... :-( Today our highlight was Villa Romana del Casale in Piazza Armerina. We went out of Agrigento in direction to Favara, Canicatti and stopped for a coffee in Sommatino. On nice country roads we passed Riesi and Mazzarino. We visited Villa Romana del Casale, which was constructed in the first quarter of the 4th century AD. It contains the richest and most complex collection of Roman mosaics in the world. Very famous the Bikini girls mosaic. We had an amazing lunch near the Villa and carried on to Aidone, where dense fog was waiting for us and reached our final hotel in Catania in the afternoon. Thank you everybody for a great tour, we hope you enjoyed your trip with us and see you all again anywhere in the world. Kind regards Claudia & Pablo
We left Cefalù in direction west on the coast road before we turned into the mountains again. Caccamo was our first stop for a quick coffee. Than we headed on To Roccapaluma an into the forest of Ficuzza, where Claudia was waiting with another yummy picnic for us. And after lunch we turned into the real "Mafia" area, Corleone and Prizzi were on our way before we went backt to the coast to Agrigento. In Corleone one of the dangerous Mafia clans was founded there and a lot of Mafia bosses were born here. Agrigento is famous for the Valle dei Templi, one of the most outstanding examples of the Greater Greece art.
Another beautifull day in Sicily. We went south in direction Catania, before we than turned right directly into the mountains. We had a quick coffee in Randazzo and carried on to Cesaró. Back at the coast we stopped for a yummy lunch with huge amounts of pasta in Marina di Caronia. Some adventurers took the longer route to the mountains and stopped in Sperlinga for an amazing lunch. And over a sudden the owner of the bar gave them the key to the castle to visit it on their own.... very cool and exciting.
On the program for today was a small loop around Mount Etna. We started at 10 and took it easy on a curvy mountain road directly through the lava fíelds of the tallest active volcano in Europe. It's about 10.922 feet high and is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps. The last volcanic eruption was this year in May.
Today is the day, when we'll get to Sicily. Before we stopped at a beautifull little town Scilla, the Ruffo Castle - a fortress - is overlooking the beach. The ferry departs from Villa San Giovanni through the strait of Messina directly into Messina. We went north and had a great lunch at the beach After lunch a great mountain pass back to the coast was waiting for us. A lot of amazing curves made us happy. Finally we ended up in Taormina, where we stay for two nights.
After heavy rain in the morning, we took it easy at breakfast and started when it was nearly over. Went further south on the coastal road and than turned into the mountains in direction Altomonte. This was our lunchspot for today. But going to this spot was again a real adventure, a small tiny path, that seems to be a dead end brought us directly into that town :-) Lunch was faboulus - a lot of - never ending - different local specialities. Down in the valley we took a part on the highway to turn afterwards again on a small road through the hilly countryside back to the coast. Sometimes the shortest direct way to the hotel brings fun :-)! Thanks for that day!
A wonderful sunny day is waiting for us. We went out of Pompeii on a small mountain road in direction back to the Amalfi coast. Our sightseeing spot for today was Paestum, a old greek temple. We stopped at a buffalo mozzarella production, where we had a great picnic. And the most favorite street in the afternoon was the SS18. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed the curvy riding.
Already after the first riding day we had a restday in Pompeii, but it is worth it. In the morning we went with our guide Paulo to the ruins of Pompeii. He gave us a good impression of what happend at 79 when the Vulcan Vesuvius erupts. After the tour, the weather wasn't to bad and we went off in two groups on the restday ride to Sorrento, Positano and along the beautiful Amalfi coast. Amazing sceneries, gorgeous coastlines and beautifull light were waiting for us.
WHAT A DAY .... long, exhausting and at the end a big adventure at the arrival in Pompeii. Everybody was keen to get on the bike and ride from Rome to Pompeii. We started at 9 o'clock and got already stuck after some minutes in a traffic jam on the G.R.A around Rome. Finally we made it and took the exit to Falocgnana. Our first fotostop near Rocca di Papa was Castel Gandolfo, the summer residence of the Pope of Rome. Than we headed on to Rocca Massima, a nice little village on top of a mountain, unfortunately the last meters in fog and a little rain. But a great Cappuccino and some cornettos were waiting for us. Our lunch spot was in Sperlonga at the Thyrenian sea, where we got some delicious antipasti and pasta with seafood. After Gaeta and Formia on the coast we took the direct way to Pompeii, which was not so direct, because two toll station bothered us and at the end rain from everywhere. The streets in Pompeii where flooded and we all felt like on an adventure tour with deep river crossing. But finally and already very late we all made it safe to our hotel in Pompeii, where we have a restday tomorrow.