The Fiat 500 - A Car That Moved a Nation

     Last Sunday, on the way from Milazzo to Cefalu, we visited the small Fiat 500 Museum in Acquedolci, Sicily.  It is only open on Sundays, so it was fortunate that we were passing through on the right day.  The museum is run by a passionate group of Cinquecento owners, and is dedicated to the original design of the car.  One of the men who was there showed us around, explaining things as best he could in Italian.  

   Some four million of the original Fiat Cinquecentos were built between 1957 and 1975, when production of the original version stopped.  These cars helped get Italy moving after World War II, helped people get back to work, and helped families get to the beach, mountains, and other travel.  The cars were cheap, efficient, and maneuverable, perfect to pass through the narrow streets of Italian towns that were designed for horses and donkeys.  

    You know you have reached the Museum when you see the red Cinquecento on a pedestal in Piazza Fiat 500, the only piazza in Italy named after a Fiat 500.  That's the Tyrrhenian Sea in the background.

    The two room Museum is right across the street.  There are two cars on display, a series 1 from 1959, and a later version from 1972.  The series 1 cars had suicide doors, a design that was changed in the mid 1960s.  There are various parts, pieces, and memorabilia on display throughout, and even a recreation of an old Fiat 500 workshop.  

    A nice visit to a small museum run by passionate owners.

    On the road again, from your "not driving a Cinquecento" travelers, Joe and Chris

Sicily Castle Score.... Castles 2 - Joe and Chris 1

    It seems that every hill town in Sicily has an ancient castle, and every castle is at the very top of the town.  While in Milazzo we tried to go to the castles in Santa Lucia di Mela and Montalbano Elicona, which were recommended to us.  It was easy enough to drive to the two towns.  Starting in Santa Lucia di Mela, our intention was to drive up to the castle, at least as closely as we could.  Climbing the ancient cobblestone streets, with their impossible switchbacks, was another story.  Our rental car, although fairly maneuverable, would not make the turns in one pass.  So at most of the switchbacks we were stuck with having to coast slightly backward, with cars behind us of course, to eventually make the turn.  

    As the "streets" became narrower, and the switchbacks became tighter, and the cars behind became impatient, we decided to bail.  At one intersection, frustrated and with Joe's arms sore from flailing at the steering wheel, Chris noticed that if we turned right instead of left, the "street" went downhill.  So that's what we did.  We never made it to the castle.  

    The next day, after visiting the Tindari Sanctuary, we tried to drive to the castle at the top of Montalbano Elicona.  Same situation, as we climbed through the ancient streets, armed with the experience of the day before, we realized we wouldn't make it to the top.  Bailed again!  So we have no photos of the castles at Santa Lucia and Montalbano Elicona.  

    Determined to see a castle, we we able to drive right to the castle in Milazzo.  We parked right next to it (still no sure if we were allowed to do that, but hey, this is Sicily!)  Resurrecting a theme from previous Italy trips we walked on cobblestones "Up a Hill, Through an Arch", to enter the castle proper.  The castle was very large and even had an old church within its walls.  

    Score so far.... Castles 2 - Joe and Chris 1.

    A few photos of the Milazzo castle, and from its walls....

    Your "Castles haven't defeated us yet" travelers,  Joe and Chris

    

    Click on any photo to enlarge

Second Stop on Our "Giro di Sicilia", Milazzo

    Milazzo is on the northern coast of Sicily, in the province of Messina.  We are here for four nights, at a place called B&B Upper Rooms.  This B&B is a different kind of place for us, it's a modern, seven story high rise.  Our room is on the sixth floor, although they call it the fifth, as they count the ground floor as zero.  The B&B is very sleek and modern, and has a balcony facing the harbor.  

    We've enjoyed the balcony very much, watching the comings and goings of boats and ferries.  From sunrise to twilight...

    This building is high-tech.  When you arrive, you text the manager and they send back a code to use on the code pad at the door to enter the building.  Same code is used for the elevator and to enter the room.  Once in the room, there is a card in the electric slot that powers the room.  You take the card when you leave the room and it can be swiped on all of the code pads for entry.  This works great, except when the power is off for ten hours, as it was yesterday!  Then many flights of stairs come into play.  It wasn't a big problem, as we were out most of the day.  But the power was still out when we returned, so we texted Anna, the housekeeper,  to let us in, then climbed six flights of stairs to our room, which was still dark.  The power came on soon afterward, and to compensate us for our inconvenience, the management brought us two giant, and delicious cannoli!  Some of the first one was gone before we thought to take a picture!

    And speaking of food that's good for you, the Tarocco blood oranges here are the tastiest, juiciest oranges we've ever had.  And the color is amazing....

    So long for now from your healthy eating and stair climbing travelers, Joe and Chris

    Click on any picture to enlarge.

Settling in, Getting Our Sicily Vibe Back!

   Three flights, three airports, more than 24 hours from the time we left our house until arriving at our B&B in Catania.  Even though the first class experience was excellent, it's still a difficult journey.  That said, this young lady seems to be enjoying herself...

     

     To get to the gates at Milan Malpensa airport, you are forced to walk through what seems like half a mile of upscale perfume shops, clothing stores, and food and wine stores.  We spotted this cut down Fiat 500 offering panettone....

     We finally arrived at B&B Sciara Larmisi in Catania, happily with all of our luggage!  A victory in itself!  This photo from our Juliette balcony shows the grassy piazza in front of the B&B....

    After settling in, and well, crashing for a couple of hours, we walked to the pedestrian area of Catania to join the passeggiata, and eventually have dinner.  We stopped at a cafe for a cocktail.  An Aperol Spritz and a local red wine (12 euros total for both) came with all of these complimentary snacks.  What a deal!

     A short stroll away is the fabulous Baroque Cathedral of Sant'Agata.  Just two weeks earlier was the annual festival honoring this saint.  It draws tens of thousands of people....

     Next day we'll drive about an hour and a half to Milazzo, where we'll stay at Boutique Hotel Upper Rooms for four nights.  We booked a room with a small balcony and a view of the harbor.  We have never been to Milazzo, so looking forward to it!

    Your "feet on the ground" Sicily travelers....   Joe and Chris

    Click on any photo to enlarge.

All You Need is Love....

    How appropriate that our long-awaited return to Sicily was on St. Valentine's Day!  On a day of universal love, we are back at a place that we love.  Why do we love being here...?  Who can explain it, just as who can explain love?  Maybe it's the passion, vibrance, and warmth of the people.  Maybe it's the layers of history that make it such a melting pot.  Maybe it's the mountains that soar from the sea, with stone villages that tumble down like sideways Jenga.  Maybe it's bad girl Mt. Etna, whose constant fuming reminds us that she's the boss.  Or maybe it's in little signs like this, which was stenciled on the corridor wall next to the door at our Catania B&B room....

Tomorrow we begin our Long-Awaited return to Sicily and Italy

   We are so looking forward to returning to Sicily and Italy, after almost four years away.  We leave Monday morning February 13, fly from Buffalo to JFK, then overnight from JFK to Milan.  After a short layover in Milan we fly down to Catania, Sicily.  We'll pick up a rental car at the Catania airport, and drive a short distance to a B&B in Catania for the first night.  Then our ambitious "Giro di Sicilia" begins!  We are staying in no fewer than ten places in Sicily, over six weeks.  Our first stop will be at Boutique Hotel Upper Rooms in Milazzo.  It's right above a pizzeria, Yay!

    Some highlights will be, seeing friends Carmelo and Rosaria in Palermo, returning to Agrigento for the Almond Blossom Festival, Richard and Cindy coming to stay with us at The Lemon Tree and in Siracusa, and finally three nights at upscale agriturismo Baglio Occhipinti in Vittoria.  

    We'll post photos every few days as we have time.  Here's a map of Sicily with the areas and dates of our stays.  

    Ciao for now, from your anxious travelers, Joe and Chris!

The RAID dell'Etna Classic Car Rally in September and October 2019

                     We rented this cool 1971 Alfa Romeo Giulia Super for the six-day rally.

                                                                                  

                   Lining up on Via della Liberta' in Palermo for the start of the Rally

                                The Rally Starts!

We stopped for coffee in Cerda, Sicily, which is the artichoke capital of Italy.  We parked next to a statue of a giant artichoke, and noticed our Alfa and the artichoke were the same color.  The Italian word for artichoke is carciofo, so from then on our little Alfa was our "Piccolo Carciofo".

          Some scenes from the rally....

All 75 Rally cars boarded the ferry in Messina, Sicily, for the short ferry ride to Calabria, where we toured for two days...

           We even got to drive on a race track in Sicily...

There were several other Americans on the rally, and we made friends quickly...

         The Gala Dinner the last night of the Rally...

The rally was a bucket list event for Joe, and I think Chris enjoyed it too!

Touch any photo to enlarge.