CSI160A - Special Tour - Dr. Frist and his girls

Hello J. and J. a last good bye from both of us and from the Etna in the background. Thank you for beeing with us, thank you for a beautiful week. We wish you all the best (specially for Jan. 14th) and we looking forward to Spain. Ursula & Vicky   Hello J. and J. a last good bye from both of us and from the Etna in the background. Thank you for beeing with us, thank you for a beautiful week. We wish you all the best (specially for Jan. 14th) and we looking forward to Spain. Ursula & Vicky   Sicily has been at the crossroads of cultures for thousands of years. Phoenicians and Carthaginians, Greeks and Romans, they all left their mark and they knew exactly why they loved it here. The landscape of the Mediterranean’s largest island is varied and ranges from rugged coastline to sandy beaches, from rolling green hills to the snow cap on Mount Etna, from bustling cities to tiny villages where time stands still. Come and see....   Day 5: Taormina - Catania last day - but an exiting one. First we had to visit the Theatro Greco in Taormina. Than a little detour to Forza d`Agro and last not least Mount Etna is waiting - so let`s go The Naumachia in Taormina - a mysterious relict from Roman times the Greek started in the 3rd century BC, the Romans enlarged it and replace theatre plays by gladiator fights Goethe said: it is the most beautiful theatre in the world - this old man was right built by the Greek, enlarged by the Romans, the Etna in the background and the sea - what a spot Forza d`Agro was next on the list.  Yes all these curves - she made it the little Ducati pilot everybody knows the church from the movie "Godfather" every day at 12 o`clock they are playing the Ave Maria - of course we waited Refugio Bruneck - we met Michele  the lava fields at Etna North up Etna south the colours and the atmosphere were just amazing. Indian summer in the black lava fields, a little bit fog and the Etna above and below the blue sea - surreal John and Jillian had to go on top. We arrived at the hotel in dark - we all made it!!! 5 minutes later a thunderstorm started. Thank you all for a gorgeous day! Day 4: Cefalu - Taormina We started out at a clear morning along the coast of Cefalu. We could even see the Lipari Islands.We are crossing the island again today, towards Taormina. Curvy roads only over the Madonie and Nebrodi mountains. Castelbuono We went on parts of the famous Targa Florio the Norman castle of Sperlinga Cerami Coffee in Cesaro, all low fat and here it is - Mount Etna - snowcovered. Tomorrow we will go up Cenere vulcanica - watch out, it could be slippery after a little excitement we ended up in Taormina in the Excelsior Palace Hotel We will do the Greek Theater tomorrow morning. Just some impressions the Odeon Slow Food - Tischi Toschi downtown Taormina Day 3: Agrigento - Cefalu We have to leave the beautiful southern shore of Sicily, but don’t feel sad, we are headed for the northern shore instead. In between, we find beautiful, lonely, twisty mountain roads that take us back in time. The small villages in Sicily’s centre seem to have been unchanged for decades. Some names will certainly ring a bell, for example Prizzi and Corleone.  Approaching the coastline, you can expect the usual mixture of twisty mountain roads, beautiful ocean views and pristine beaches morning coffee in Alessandria della Rocca the garbage waits to be collected by the way... do you want to see my dogs?? The guy worked 10 years in New York and spoke English like an American some impressions from Sicilian landscape Prizzi Corleone and Prizzi became famous thanks to Hollywood. The movies “The Godfather” and “Prizzis Honour” showed some of the Mafia heritage, which is quite common in these regions. Corleone has a museum, which tells about the history of the Mafia and of those trying to fight it. Viky is taking riding pictures  :-) Ficuzza - the hunting castle of Roger II Awesome lunch... Sicily has more to offer than Greek and Roman remnants: there is even a Norman castle, found in 1093. It is possible to visit and explore the castle, but the views of the surrounding landscape are also worth the trip. a Cinquecento  guided city tour in Cefalu. The Norman cathedral the famous mosaic from Byzantine artists il lavatoio Romano Cheers!!! What a day! Day 2: Agrigento - Sciacca Sunshine, 25 C, perfect riding weather. Let`s go along the coast direction Sciacca, the old thermal spa. Jullian ready to go a worth visiting natural monument - the Turkish Staircase.  A shining white chalk formation, often used by the great Italian fashion designers for foto shooting. one of the most beautiful beaches of Sicily we also did some photo shooting The healthy thermal waters were already popular during the Greek period and even nowadays people come here for that reason. There is also a very beautiful historic center that waits for us with cappuccino and gelato! The guy with the flute was amazing. What he got out of his self-made little instrument, unbelieveable. a coffee, a gelato.... ... a hair cut. Yes lot of things to do John is ready to marry :-) Siculiana  on the way home, we decided to do a little detour into the mountains. Our Ducati Scrambler pilot needs a little bit preparation for tomorrow`s ride. We didn`t expect soo many tunrs and tight switchbacks, but brave Jillian made them all. and the amazing temple of Agrigento in the afternoon - what a day! We met the other group in the hotel. The terrace is overlooking the illuminated temples. And we had a serenade... ... and here is the Cologne fraction playing - Alaaf Day 1: Catania - Agrigento Mount Etna in the morning from the breakfast room on top of "Villa Paradiso del Etna" Morning briefing in the garden First picture stop was Raddusa - a typical Italian cementary. All are busy preparing the tombs for  All Saints.  It is not a village, these are the mausoleums of the rich families Coffe stop in Raddusa Huch whats that?? the left one is a cannolo, but the right one??? Are we in Naples?? A typical Italian sunday. All men!!! I got a question! Where are the women??? Ahhh, I forgot, of course, cooking, taking care of the kids, doing household. Yes, its Italy A stunning Romman villa - built by a Bill Gates of the 4th century - one of the few remaining sights of Roman Siciliy - buried under mud in a 12th century flood, it remained hidden fpr 700 years before the magnificent floor was discovered in th1 1950th. This Roman villa from the 4th century AD is famous for its 3,500 square meters of floor-mosaics. Several mosaic-pictures show us scenes from ancient living. Among the beautiful artwork is the very special picture of 10 young Roman girls in bikinis. La Trinakria, was the name of our lunch place, where we had the famous pasta alla norma. Norma was the most famous opera from Bellini, born in Catania. "Alla Norma" is still today a superlative in Sicily for something outstanding. She made it. Her first day riding by her own! Bravissima Jillian :-) Today Agrigento has about 50,000 inhabitants, in earlier times the Greeks called it Akagras, the Romans Agrigentum, and there were about 800,000 people living there! The Valle dei Templi was founded about 2,600 years ago, and about 100 years later the Greeks started to build everything what we can still see today.