The volcanic island, not the savory pastry.   Stromboli was the main reason I was drawn to the Aeolian Islands and included them as part of my visit to Sicily. As one of the most active volcanoes on the planet for the last 2,000 years, its nickname is “The Lighthouse of the Mediterranean”, and it didn’t disappoint for my visit (though the night tour I chose kind of did and I’ll explain why). For the past week, I had been looking at this cone shaped island in the distance, often with a cloud of vapor at the summit, knowing I would

Believe the hype. If you do any bit of research about the Aeolian Islands and Salina in particular, you will come across mention of this restaurant near the beach in Lingua. There is a lot of talk about how they have the best Pane Cunzato and Granite. I’ve been eating a lot of Pane Cunzato here, which is an open or closed sandwich on a focaccia type bread filled with a variety of ingredients, including eggplant, tomatoes, capers, mozzarella, ricotta salata, tuna, anchovies, basil, olive oil and other typically local produce. I have probably been eating more gelato than granite,

Milazzo is the main port with connections to the Aeolian Islands. Liberty Lines operates hydrofoil ferries to the Aeolian Islands on a daily basis. You can book tickets online, or on their app (as I did), or in person at the port. They do say that if you book online or on the app you still need to check in at the ticket office an hour before departure. To ensure you have a seat, it is probably a good idea to book in advance. The hydrofoils are very fast, sound and feel more like airplanes when you’re in them. There

During my drive around Sicily, I did my best to take the longer, more scenic route between destinations. I relied heavily on my car’s GPS, which also warned of upcoming speed cameras which are many. One of the things I quickly realized about GPS however, was that it didn’t always take into consideration whether I was supposed to be driving on a particular road. Many cities and small towns have Limited Traffic Zones ZTLs, for which your license plate needs to be registered in order to enter. I was aware of this and able to navigate around them. So rely

Taormina gets all the press for its beautiful hillside village, the public gardens (outstanding), Teatro Antico, Isola Bella and the list goes on. Unfortunately, it is long past discovered and the main pedestrian Via Umberto felt more like a subway platform at rush hour than a street turned sidewalk. As someone who likes to walk fast even if I have no idea where I’m going, this was the first place I found myself mumbling under my breath at tourists standing in the middle of the street, looking at their phones, eating ice cream, and generally looking confused. It is also

What an experience. The photos and description will not do it justice. I used Guide Vulcanologiche Etna Nord for my trek to the northeast summit crater of Mt. Etna. The guides Daniele and Marco were fantastic and I cannot recommend their service enough if you are considering treks on Mt. Etna. It was without question, the most impressive outdoor experience I have ever had. Traveling from my accommodations in Taormina (more on that later), I drove on the twisting winding mountain roads leading to the rendezvous point at Chiosco Bar Etna Nord in Linguaglossa. In the winter, there is a