Higher and higher…,

There is always more in Sicily, Sunday began with a coffee in Taomina….as the cruise ship people began to fill the (already) full streets….

Coffee addiction satisfied, it was off to catch a bus up to the village of Castelmola, which is famous for the Bar Turrisi (more about that later) Down the hill to the bus stop where we could get no sense from the ticket office man, who was determined to sell us an all day pass on a hop on hop off tour, rather than a one way ticket up the hill, telling us the next bus was full and we would need to wait an hour for the next one! That one drove off with 10 empty seats! So we hailed a taxi! And a very nice driver “Christian” took us with no fuss up the zigzagging mountain road to Castelmola!

The higher you go the better the view! A wander through the town , some retail therapy, and (Yes) a climb up to the castle ruins on the top of the peak.

Everywhere, there is cobbled steps, and up or down a test to our aging knees!

The ruins of the castle fort, dating back to the 1800s….And the view from the top…

The long and winding road and Mount Etna(in the distance) which two weeks ago was erupting and threatening to put our side trip to this amazing place in doubt!

A rest on the wall, in the shade before the climb down hill to the famous (or infamous) Bar Turrisi…but first a visit to the church

Sharing the space next to the Bar! Now you will see why this is a clash of morals….the Bar Turrisi is a den of inequity…

Everything inside, is a monument to the male phallic symbol…..the door handles, the tap in the restroom, the bottles, the wall hangings and even the menu…

While the food and drinks also follow the theme…

While I enjoyed a very conservative Pina Colada, the girls chose otherwise (and Claire got to keep her (in)appropriate shot glass! Anna ate her ice cream Hamburger (brioche)!

Sated and entertained, we returned to the piazza (this time to try for the bus down) which was a lot less stressful (to get on) – not so much the ride down, as full speed around the snaking mountain road had us gasping for breath!

By now (nearing 5.00pm) a trip to the beach for a cold swim was easy to forgo, and we headed back to the apartment for some R&R (and packing) before our last evening out for dinner! Three nights in a row I have donned makeup to try and keep up with my gorgeous cousins!

We have eaten pasta, pizza, seafood, ice cream, and I have sampled the local beers! And also had three late nights for me! After midnight!

A last late night stroll (walking off our dinner) in a town bustling with tourists and music (yes third night in a row there was yet another concert in the open air theatre – Italian GIGI)

This morning I actually slept in, life catching up with me, luckily we had packed before dinner, and booked our taxi (Christian) to collect us for our trip to the airport, which turned out to be a little stressful, as there had been a five car crash in Catania this morning and traffic was bumper to bumper! He was more worried than us! If we missed the plane and had to stay another night we would have been happy!

However, we made it and now back in Malta in our respective houses, my washing done, and terrace swept…and for me (at least) a very early night and some fruit for dinner!!!!

Less than a week before the Rugby World Cup starts and I leave Malta, for my next adventures….