Sicily's interior has so many treasures both natural and historic that it should be a perfect destination for a cycling tour. The roads are magnificent and largely free of traffic. The terrain is mountainous, but the distances between towns are good. Gord and I...
One of the real pleasures of travelling in Italy is the food, especially after a day of cycling. Within Italy Sicily is reknowned for it's unique cuisine, which mixes elements from the various groups that have occupied this land.In Cefalu we tried a Margherita pasta...
The best part of cycling in Sicily other than the scenery is the fuel. And not just any fuel, we are talking Cannoli! These little sweeties are my new reason for living. Mamma Mia. When we asked about gelatto our host in Corleone suggested Cannoli. I had heard the...
We cycled up from Palermo into Sicily's beautiful interior. It was lovely to finally get beyond the traffic and burbs of the big city. The interior of the island is surprisingly green, with areas of deep forests and impressive mountains and ridges. It is also heavily...
After one night in the charming seaside city of Cefalu we cycled along the coast to Palermo. We have spent the last two days exploring this diverse city. Palermo is simultaneously gritty and magnificent, and the transitions between can be shockingly quick. Some...
Gord: Another item ticked off the bucket list: climb an active volcano and watch it erupt at night. Last night we went up Stromboli as part of a small guided group (guides are required to go to the summit). It’s about a 3,000 foot climb which we did at a leisurely...
Warning: The contents of this blog could inspire feelings of jealousy and even anger. Proceed with caution.Ruth: I love islands. Even though I grew up far away from the ocean, as an adult I have become an island woman, living on a large island and spending lots of...
We have broken our uninterrupted bicycle route with a train and ferry so that we can explore Sicily for our last three weeks in Europe.We crossed over to Sicily today and then biked up and over the north end to Milazzo, the departure port for ferries to the...
Matera is a place to see! The cave cut homes and rock buildings melt into one another and it is hard to determine where the natural rock ends and the stone structures begin. The tufa grottos have been cut and modified into homes since the Neolithic age, making...
We left the beautiful Adriatic today and climbed up to Alberobello. it was a short day and we stopped halfway along our route to see the Grotte de Castellana. I do not like small spaces so this type of spelunking was perfect for me because the caves were airy...
We had a beautiful ride through the Puglian countryside today. The majority of grapes and olives produced in Italy are grown in Puglia, and it is harvest time. On one quiet country road we could hear the staccato snipping of grape harvesters as they quickly cut the...
Ruth: “If God exists; there is only one,” said a local fellow who volunteered to show us all the heretical sculptures in the Troia Cathedral.When someone just begins to act as an unsolicited guide I am generally wary, but in this case we were delighted by our tour of...