Exploring Taormina

It’s another amazing day outside! As I munch on my giant chocolate croissant that I bought at the gelato store. I’d better get some steps in or I may need to buy some new clothes and not because it’s cold outside, but because I don’t fit into them!

Locating houses is a mystery. How anyone can know where each place is just baffles me. This is the gate outside the small courtyard to our apartment. There is a mailbox outside the gate with a name on it, but not a name that we are familiar with. 

The entrance to the courtyard where we are staying

Upon opening the gate and entering the courtyard, there is a shuttered door. OK—- strange for us, but practical to keep the sun and heat out. 

The shuttered doors to the apartment

This is the tiny white sign on the door that indicates we are at the correct place. 

The sign for the apartment

Opening the shutters we get this door, which has a funny locking system, but we have figured it out!! 

The doors to the apartment

And this is the walkway beside the green fence marking the courtyard. A very busy street is just in front of that walkway. 

The walkway beside the apartment

So different from back home where each house would be clearly identified with an address or the name of the building, etc. I’m not complaining - just showing you how different it is here. We will suggest that she have the name of the apartment OUTSIDE the courtyard because in our polite Canadian way, we would never walk into a courtyard to check if we are in the correct place!!!!

We did some walking around and we are pretty comfortable (more or less) with our surroundings. Let’s just say we didn’t get lost once! There is no way I would drive a car here —- it’s totally crazy. 

I was so cold in the morning - I just wanted a big sweatshirt, but after we had lunch in the sunshine, I came back to get shorts and I was fine for the remainder of the day. 

There is a wall around part of the city. Well, maybe there was at some point, but the two main gates remain and between those gates no cars are allowed. Everything is delivered on a hand cart. But somehow this little car got in. I don’t understand all the workings of these places. 

A tiny car

There is one main street (more or less) in Taormina and if you look to the left, you go up and if you look to the right you go down or vice versa depending on which direction you are walking. There is a restaurant on the steps part way up that hill. 

Looking up the mountain

That’s where we decided to eat. Here’s a closer view. 

There is a restaurant on these steps

This is our view looking down to the street. 

My view from my seat

And yes —- those chairs sit on two steps. Yikes. They gave me that chair to sit on and if you slip, then you fall down the stairs! But since heights aren’t an issue, I’m good with that!!!

Unique chairs to fit on the steps

This was the view from one of the look out points which are all along the street. There are some beautiful hotels in the area which I’m sure aren’t cheap! 

Beautiful view

We have walked up and down the street several times and each time we see something different. There is such a mix of shops —- high end brands selling watches, clothing, etc, and then the shops that sell hand made items. We spotted a shop that sells hand carved items with the Pinocchio theme. 

The Pinocchio store

And shops where you can buy hand made items with your name stitched on them. Or anything else you want stitched on. They were handing out cards with Sicilia on them. 

Sicilia stitched on the card

And of course, there are the shops with souvenirs - we have seen T-shirts, magnets, ceramics, socks, and so much more. We will need to settle on one magnet before we leave. It has to be a magnet that has some meaning to us - like the gelato or at least something ceramic. We’ll see. 

I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but traveling with four people can be challenging. Not in a bad way- but it just takes a lot more coordination to get everyone ready on time or to figure out what we want to do etc. But all is good and lots of good bonding time with M and Dillon. I wouldn’t trade it for the world!

As per European architecture, thee are balconies galore and some of them are so beautifully adorned, while others remain a blank canvas. 

Beautiful balconies

We took the furnicular down to the beach and when we arrived, I realized that it was NOT the beach that had the geocaches that I wanted to find. But no worries - I might have some time myself to do that today. 

Heading down to the beach

We were lucky on the way down and the way up that we didn’t need to wait for the cable car at all. And it only took a few minutes to get up and down. I’m not a fan of cable cars as they tend to swing when it goes over the support, but these were pretty stable. 

The beach is pretty pebbly and a lot of large rocks in the water. So we didn’t really go in, but at least put our feet in the water. I believe that is called the Ionian Sea. In the far distance you would find Greece. 

Standing in the Ionian Sea

We watched a couple jump off the small rock just behind my head. He seemed to have no problem to dive off, she was a bit hesitant and it took quite a while before she got the courage to jump! I wouldn’t be up there to begin with!!!!

OH — I found the picture with my HUGE chocolate croissant. It was yummy, but I much prefer the flat ones we found in Spain. They are much easier to eat!!!

The chocolate croissants

I’m getting the hang of blogging on the iPad and moving pictures, etc. around. OK — so perhaps I’m glad I didn’t find that little keyboard. I would NOT hike with the iPad, but I would certainly bring it on a trip like this in the future. 

This is how small some of the walkways are between buildings!! Yep —- there are steps behind me that lead to somewhere!!! No wasted space!!!!

A tight walkway

When I was in Europe some years ago, I discovered these Ritter chocolate bars. YES — I know we have them in North America, but I had never seen them at that point in time. Now, they are my favourite and I happened to bring one along with me. I like to have snacks and don’t typically bring chocolate because of the melting factor, but I brought one. When we were at the grocery store the other night, I discovered them. The same flavors as what we have at home. Can you tell which one came from which country?

Ritter bars - my favourite chocolate bar

Maybe by the end of the trip, I will have figured out to rotate pictures on the iPad. It’s OK —- you can see pretty well which is which. 

After our visit to the beach, we came back to the apartment to have a nap. And then I read for a bit while the others had longer naps. I will say that this morning I’m feeling pretty good after a good sleep. I think we are now set to the new time and so should be good for the rest of the trip. 

Then it was time to head back to the pizza restaurant that we ate in the night before for the welcome dinner to the wedding festivities. I’m glad we went on two different occasions because the experience was totally different. First there were about 50 or 60 of us last night and we were tucked into the perfect spot. 

If you look close, you can spot me in pink!!! Yep — my travel fleece is pink. I’m like the Queen (god rest her soul and happy 100th birthday!!!). She always wore bright colors so she would stand out. I agree!!! 

The welcome dinner last night

We sat with some of my SIL’s hiking friends and that made for an interesting visit. They are going on some short hikes later this week and I had the opportunity to join them, but I’m glad I didn’t. While they all seem like vey nice people, I would feel like the odd man out and hiking with 14 people and getting ready with 14 people? Not my thing. I’ll be happy to be on my own and do what I want, when I want. 

My goodness, you would almost think I’m anti-social. Nope —- not at all - I just like total freedom. 

Anyway — the food experience from one night and the next was totally different. We got to try five different appertizers, and if I had to choose my favorite, I wouldn’t be able to do that. They were all amazing. Then we got five different pizzas. I will say that the first three were fabulous and the last two not so much. I’m not sure if we were all getting full by then, but it was an amazing dinner. And we got to meet more family members on both sides and of course the friends. 

By the way — we didn’t each get five pizzas. They were passed around and you took a slice if you wanted. 

This is how we are progressing in our familiarity with the neighborhood. On the first night, we needed Google Maps to get to that restaurant. Last night, between the four of us we managed to get there in a shorter manner than Google had done the night before. And on the way home, I walked by myself and it’s like a one-minute walk through the back street. Yep —- a “seasoned” tourist. Hardly, but it just seemed so far away on the first night. 

There is this massive tree in that restaurant and I meant to take a picture of the trunk before we left. But I got a picture of the tree top. It’s huge —- I”ve no idea how old or what kind of tree this is, but it’s huge! 

The tree in the restaurant

I think I got the phone thing figured out. I had done all the typical steps - turned on roaming, installed the eSIM, but nothing worked. So support told me to ensure the APN was working. It was not and I struggled the first day to install it. Then I tried again yesterday - NOTHING. So I asked DH to spell it and OH — I spelt it PHONE, not FONE and it worked. Hopefully all will continue to work while I’m here. I had to type that in - it didn’t come up automatically. 

But I will say that the support people were on the ball and responded to my messages very quickly. So while I was very frustrated, all was good. 

I took loads more pictures, but that gives you a good overview of what happened throughout the day. I’m up early and I think I’ll get dressed and go for a walk this morning. That will help me to warm up!! 

So much to see and so much to do!!! The wedding is today so I’ll switch my pink fleece for the pink jacket!!!

On one of my trips to North Battleford, I spotted a very long charging cord with three different connectors. I really only need the one, but I am so glad to have it. The plugs are not always close to where you want them and this way, I can lay on the couch and read my book and charge my phone at the same time!! Long charge cords are good!!!

On that note, I'm out of here!!!! Have a wonderful day!!!

Ciao!!!!!

Again —- no grammar checker or spell checker —- take it for what it’s worth!!!!!

The Road to Hana

I lied—there is a post today. I have some time this morning before we have to vacate the condo, and well, I might as well write now!

First, here are a couple of comments about where we stayed. I HATE hotel rooms. Wait -- I'm OK if I'm alone, but if I had to share one room with DH, that would be bad. I get up early, and it's hard to be quiet in one room or to do anything with the lights off. But you have multiple rooms in a condo, so I vote for condos for future vacations. Besides, the condo was way cheaper than a hotel would have been. 

We purchased supplies for breakfast, so all is good. It's better to save a bit of money on breakfast, as the meals are NOT cheap around here! But we're good! I so wanted a cinnamon bun from the place down the street, but they were closed when we returned from our adventure yesterday. Darn!!! But I had fried banana cheesecake for dessert at the restaurant, so that was a close second!!

I must admit that I didn't do much research before we came here. The goal was to get here and then figure it out. I HATE planning—I love spontaneity!! So, it took a bit for me to realize that the Virtual Challenge called Road to Hana was in Hawaii!! Since I will do that virtual challenge at some point, I NEEDED to drive the Road to Hana, and we did that yesterday!!

OH MY GOSH—has anyone else driven that road? It's insane—that's all I can say. Because I was driving, I don't have the best pictures, as DH is NOT a picture taker, but I stopped a couple of times to get some. 

We stopped for banana bread at Aunty Sandy's in Ke'anae. It was amazing!!!!! And then we went down to the beach. Wow -- the waves were spectacular!!! It's probably NOT a place where you want to go swimming. 

Crashing waves

If you're not familiar with the Road to Hana, it's a curvy (that's an understatement) road that goes from Kahului to Hana. The distance is nothing—about 52 miles—but it takes hours because of all the hairpin curves and one-lane bridges. 

The road has been cut into the side of the mountain (crater), and it's epic. WOW!!!! If you look closely, you can see the cut line of the road on that hillside. 

The Road to Hana cut into the side of the mountain

DH was checking out statistics, and there is a total elevation gain of almost 8,000 feet!!! Yes - we could have taken a tour bus, but it was way more fun to drive. I drove all the way there and all the way back, and it was a LONG drive. 

And I loved the YIELD signs—they said, "Yield to oncoming traffic." The problem was you could NOT see the oncoming traffic. So, with a wing and a prayer, I forged ahead! We did have the top down, but we had to stop and close it due to rain. 

Yielding to traffic

The climate on that side of the island is completely different from this side! We had rain on and off—mostly sprinkles, but enough to get wet. The temperature was also much cooler, and when we ate lunch on the open patio, which was a distance from the ocean, I was freezing!!! Technically, you're driving through a rainforest, and I wanted pictures of the massive bamboo growing, but I did not find a place to pull over. 

We didn't stop at all the places as parking was at a premium, and I hate to say this, but once you see one waterfall, it starts to look the same. The same thing happened with me and the cathedrals in Spain!! You see one cathedral? You've seen them all. 

One of the many waterfalls

Those bridges were crazy and looked like they had been there forever. They are moss-covered and old, single-lane affairs. 

One of the bridges

Here are some "fun" facts about the road. Let's say I drove that Camaro, which was NOT the appropriate car to drive on that road. It was big, low, and had tons of blind spots, which, with the blind spots on the road, made it a challenge. But no scraps, no fender benders—all was OK. My heart pounded only once! I think an average of 68 people die on that road each year, but it wasn't us!

If there were people on my back, the moment I could pull over, I did. I hate having someone on my bumper!!! There were lots of pickup trucks and jeeps, but lots of cars as well. 

I think this was a bathroom break, where the water was much calmer, but still not the shores for swimming. 

More Hawaiian coast

OH -- here's a wall of ukuleles at our lunch stop!!! 

Ukelele collection

While we were there and had some time to spare before we headed back, I decided we should do an Earthcache (part of geocaching). You find a specific geological spot, take a picture or two, and answer some questions. 

This was the RED SAND BEACH - the only one of its kind in Hawaii. Or at least Maui. The beach is on the left of the photo, and it was cool. The "sand" was more of a gravel texture, and there's no way we would have found it or even known about it except for geocaching!!! It's well hidden, and there was nudity on this beach, but that's OK. And as we arrived, a whole pile of people came behind us. We didn't climb down to the beach but got our information and the picture from here. 

Cinder cones behind me act as a breakwater

  

It was very cool. This rock formation is called a cinder cone, a common formation created by an erupting volcano!!! The remains of the cinder cone made for a very protected beach, but the waves crashing onto the cinder cones were wicked! 

Looking out to the ocean

The Road to Hana is dubbed "the road to divorce," assuming the non-driving spouse is a backseat driver. Thankfully, DH said nothing. It's not that driving was stressful, but it required all your attention, and I didn't need comments from someone. Thank you, DH!!!!

We got back to the condo and headed out for dinner. Alas, the cinnamon bun place was closed, so I had a salad and cheesecake instead. Then we went to the park and watched the sunset!!!

Our last sunset 

We've got one last adventure today before we head to the airport at 5 PM for our two flights home. DH is trying to get us checked in and is unhappy that he cannot do so. I'll let him deal with that. 

Have a super day!

Ciao!!!

Did you see the sign?

 It's time for another adventure. How could I not enjoy my vacation to the max without attempting a hike! 

I researched and found a decent hike—Lahaina Pali Trail on the west side. It's hard to get a good count on the distance, but the section I was going to do was about 4 KM. 

So, I violated the first rule of hiking and went alone. I was cautious! And DH knew where I was. 

OK—so this trail is not very well marked. I got to the top of the initial climb and spotted this old road. So I continued on the road, and within a half hour, I knew I had missed something. But it took me a half hour to realize that. When I checked back on the map, I saw that I was near the trail but not on it. 

However, I did get to see how they secured these giant nets on the cliffs to prevent rocks from falling. There are massive cables attached to the rocks, which were holding the nets in place. 

Cables to secure the nets

The view was spectacular from up there. 

The view from above

OK—I spotted these markers when I finally got back on the correct trail. Which was good, except when I spotted 4, number 5 was nearby. I checked it out, and the trail seemed to disappear. So, I went back to that intersection and tried what looked like a more passable trail. I didn't get far, so I thought I should call it a day!!

A trail marker

I have always wanted to just stop by the side of the road and walk up those big hills! Well, this was my chance. The terrain was challenging because it was very rocky (lava rock) and somewhat steep in places, but it was very doable. I had my hat, water, food, and cell phone with service. 

It was very windy up there in spots, and here's a tip when hiking: If you need to make a pit stop, try to find a place that isn't so windy. That's all I'll say about that! But I had a good laugh about it!!

There were a few trees on this crater, but they were rare. Lots of grasses and a few flowers. 

Flowers on the trail

That view was so worth the climb!! As far as the total distance goes, I didn't get very far, but it was far enough to make me happy, and that's all that counts!! 

Happy trails to me

The descent was better than I thought, and my new trail shoes (non-Hokas) worked amazingly. They have a smaller footprint than the Hokas, are sturdy but flexible, and are perfect for clambering over rocks. 

As I was getting nearer the trailhead, I spotted this. Are you KIDDING ME?? The first time, I walked right past that yellow arrow and past the dead branch. I was so focused on the road that I missed this. I spotted the trailer marker on the side of the hill the second time, but again, I completely missed the yellow arrow. I only spotted it as I descended!!!

This way!!!!

Yet, I did not get lost on the Camino, where it was "easy" to spot small arrows on the sidewalk's edge or a signpost. I was definitely not in hiking mode yesterday! But everything worked out, and I was good and happy with my efforts. 

It just means that I have to come back another time to hike the entire distance. That would be amazing!!! 

Once I was back in the car, I headed off to the quilt store. I managed to find the license plates from the Row by Row experience from the previous years. I don't think I had one from Hawaii, so I got one. How could I leave that behind? 

Then we went down to Charley Beach for a bit. I'm not a huge fan of the beach, so I could take it or leave it, but I went down for a bit. I walked to the end of the beach and back and then hung out with DH for a bit. The beaches are relatively quiet, so it was perfect. It was so windy that my hat blew off!! I had to run to catch it - I didn't want to lose that! 

On the beach

I LOVE that all the armchairs have backpack straps, which make them super easy to take to and from the beach. It leaves your hands free to carry other stuff. Who invented those? 

Backpack chairs

Then, we were off to a family dinner with both families. We had to walk down this tree-lined drive to get there, which was an excellent and quiet way to end the day. We watched the sunset at dinner. 

I'm finally getting my hours shifted, and it's time to leave!!! There likely will not be a blog tomorrow as we have to check out at 10 AM. Then we're off to do some more exploring and need to be at the airport around 5 PM. 

That means you'll have to wait until the next day to hear about today's adventure, which was harrowing at times!! But we survived!

As sad as it is that the vacation is almost over, I'm looking forward to going home. I miss the girls and the boy. I don't have much on my calendar for the next few weeks, and I'm looking forward to getting some work done!! 

On that note, I'm out of here!!

Have a super day11!

Ciao!!!!

Do something every day that scares you!

 Have you ever heard that quote in the title? Yep --- I've seen it many times. While I don't do something scary every day, I do attempt to learn things, and sometimes that can be scary. I also take on tasks that might scare me, but I embrace those things. 

So when we arrived in Hawaii and decided to book some excursions, we booked easy ones. The bus trip up a crater to see the sunrise wasn't scary. The whale watching trip on the catamaran, that wasn't scary, although I'm not a fan of water stuff as I'm not a swimmer. So, it was "somewhat" scary for me. 

However, when we seriously considered a helicopter tour, that was scary. And then we threw all caution to the wind and decided to go on a DOORS OPEN helicopter tour!! My gosh—what were we thinking? OK—I suggested it!!

We made our way to the airport, or should I say the heliport, which was close to the airport. We had arrived a bit early, which was OK with me. And then we saw the safety video, which wasn't much—how to buckle that seat belt, and so on. 

Then, it was time to get on the helicopter. 

Our ride

Yes—it was little, and yes --- all the doors were off the helicopter!!! There were five of us tourists on the helicopter and the pilot. We paid a bit extra so we could sit in front. Hey, if you're going to do it, do it right! And I got to sit on the outside! OH MY GOSH—what have I got myself into! I'm not happy when there's turbulence on the plane! As you can imagine, weight is an issue; the combined weight of the two front passengers must be less than 400 pounds to sit in the front. We passed with flying colors. 

We were off once we got our seat belts fastened and donned our goggles and headsets. 

And yes, there was the OPEN side of the helicopter on my left. ACK!!!!! It was a little unsettling at first, and it took a LOT of "skill" to let the feeling of not being in control go. 

OH --- there's nothing to hold onto!!!

And then we were up and flying over the water as we followed the coastline of Maui's western side. 

It was the most exciting thing I've done in a long time and worth every penny! The views were spectacular, and it wasn't that scary after all. 

Spectacular open-air views

There was literally nothing to hang onto, so I went with it and enjoyed it 1000%. We did have a "few" moments when I felt out of control. There was a lot of wind, and there were times when you could feel it buffeting the helicopter, but the pilot (Drew) was amazing and very skillful, or at least he appeared to be. 

Then, we scooted over the channel to the sparsely populated island (7,345) of Molokai. This island is stunning and has some of the tallest sea cliffs in the world (between 3,600 and 3,900 feet). Yes -- we flew from the backside of those cliffs over the water!! Yikes! That always freaked me out when I saw it in the movies, and here I was, experiencing it with no doors on my helicopter!! I even looked down!!!! 

The coast of Molokai

Thankfully, I sat on the outside because I took a ton of pictures and videos. Yes, it was spectacular, but those pictures do NOT do justice to what we saw or how it felt. There were a few other "moments" when Drew banked the helicopter to turn around to show the passengers the same thing that we were seeing. Yikes! And we hovered for a long time at one of the spectacular waterfalls. This is the Oloupena Falls (2,953 feet).

Oloupena Falls

Yes --- you could see those waterfalls from a boat, but you could NOT look down into the bottom like we were able to. Yep -- I got over that fear pretty quickly! Who knows - I might decide to ride a roller coaster!! 

This was my view from the front of the helicopter. It was just stunning!!!! 

Looking through the window of the helicopter

And there's me!!! Yep --- why not take a selfie while I take all these pictures? We were not allowed to take anything in our pockets, and our cameras were in lanyards that kept them securely attached to us. I want one of those lanyards—they were awesome. 

Me in the helicopter!

We wore an athletic jacket, but I was wearing shorts, and it wasn't cold. We could feel the wind, but probably less than we would feel on the beach. But the second I accidentally put my finger out of the "door," the force of the wind was incredible. Hence, it is frowned upon to put any part of your body outside the "door."  

It gives you a great appreciation for any helicopter scene in a movie!!! 

Before we knew it, we were flying back to the heliport over the water, which was spectacular. 

The ocean

The waves were long at one beach and broke far from the shore. 

Breaking waves

And then it was time to land. WOW --- it was an amazing experience, and I'd opt for a helicopter ride again anywhere!! It was amazing, and if the doors could be off, I'd go for that option!!! 

The other stuff we've done here has been amazing. Of course, the proposal was fantastic, and we're so glad we could be here for that. The helicopter ride was spectacular!! It's been a great trip, and we're not done yet!

I had another adventure today, which I'll tell you about tomorrow, and another adventure planned for tomorrow. 

On that note, I'm out of here!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!