Europe Trip #1 – April 18, 2022 – Mount Etna!!

Buds and I used the little espresso machine in our apartment to kick off the day, then out we went for a morning jaunt.

It was a beautiful morning.

Sebastiano, our guide from Mount Etna tours picked us up right on time. It was great to be driven around, especially the further up the mountain we went. He’s a geologist and very willing to share stories and information.

There were quite a few people on the mountain despite the foggy, snowy day. And lots of food trucks selling honey, which was surprising.

We decided the dads and Sebastiano wanted to hike to the rim. The rest of us were interested in sticking closer to the non-snowy parts of the mountain.

We found some gift shops to explore, though they were very crowded…but interesting.

Buds was able to call us from the rim to let us know how things were going. It was cold and they couldn’t see much due to the hazy snow, but it was a cool experience.

Sebastiano had picked up an assortment of rocks to show lava of different types and amounts of metals. We found a cafe to relax, refuel, and learn some more.

On the drive home we stopped at another spot for Sebastiano to show us where folks would collect snow in the winter (before refrigeration) and come up to be able to have ice and gelato in the summer. It was neat to see the snow falling down through the lava-formed gaps.

Sebastiano stopped at another roadside shrine to show us how the lava had stopped before taking out a house, but we mutinied slightly and wouldn’t get out of the van. And, some of us were asleep.

We were very grateful to him when he dropped us off safe and sound at home.

We still had a fair amount of time until dinner, so Yessa suggested we play “subjective” Guess Who. Rather than asking, “Does the person have blond hair?” you would pose a question like, “Would this person run over a puppy? Would this person lie to the person they were dating? Would this person have birds and mice as pets?”

Eventually the adults meandered down to do a little wine tasting, then we headed to the dining room for dinner.

And here’s a cute picture of Jenny just because I love her.