Sicily 2023

[SeaPic]

A few things before we head out to Mt Etna tomorrow. My husband wears sandals everywhere but the guides told him they may not let him wear them on the hike. I’ll let you know how that goes.

There are 39 on this trip which is OK for the most part. We have some very slow walkers. Sometimes you get far enough away from the local guide the audio starts cutting out. The ABD guides pointed out the various taxis and golf cart options but then actively started having the carts wait instead of leaving it to the guests. They had taxis meet the bus by the second day.

The rain is no joke. We got stuck in a market in Palermo the afternoon of the welcome dinner. Totally soaked. It took two days for my “water resistant” tennis shoes to dry. Luckily I had another pair.

You will never be hungry. It has been 8ish for dinner each night.

We had about three hours between lunch and the sunset cruise which was at 5 and ended 7ish. The apps are plentiful and, if you are still full from lunch like us, enough for dinner. We ended up just shopping and stopping for a cocktail afterwards. Ortigia comes alive at night and it was really wonderful just strolling the alleys. I found a wonderful leather shopper/backpack and another guest had a couple of pairs of sandals made for her.

Let me know if you are curious about anything else.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Can’t wait to do this ABD next year. Love everyone’s comments.

 

[Grifdog22]

A few things before we head out to Mt Etna tomorrow. My husband wears sandals everywhere but the guides told him they may not let him wear them on the hike. I’ll let you know how that goes.

There are 39 on this trip which is OK for the most part. We have some very slow walkers. Sometimes you get far enough away from the local guide the audio starts cutting out. The ABD guides pointed out the various taxis and golf cart options but then actively started having the carts wait instead of leaving it to the guests. They had taxis meet the bus by the second day.

The rain is no joke. We got stuck in a market in Palermo the afternoon of the welcome dinner. Totally soaked. It took two days for my “water resistant” tennis shoes to dry. Luckily I had another pair.

You will never be hungry. It has been 8ish for dinner each night.

We had about three hours between lunch and the sunset cruise which was at 5 and ended 7ish. The apps are plentiful and, if you are still full from lunch like us, enough for dinner. We ended up just shopping and stopping for a cocktail afterwards. Ortigia comes alive at night and it was really wonderful just strolling the alleys. I found a wonderful leather shopper/backpack and another guest had a couple of pairs of sandals made for her.

Let me know if you are curious about anything else.

This is very very helpful! Thank you. Terrific feedback and fills in our concern gaps. We are fairly light eaters (except for breakfast) so this information is most helpful. Our only regret, for which we had no real way to foresee or handle, is that there are no shows on the dates we are in the various cities. We usually pack nice clothes and catch a live opera or show...and there is nothing at Teatro Massimo the whole time we are in Palermo. Thanks again for the posting!

 

[SeaPic]

They were taking down rigging when we toured Teatro Massimo, seeing a show there would have been fantastic!

Mt Etna was fascinating and the winery was the best food of the trip so far! Might have been because we were more active and hungry than other days lol. No one had hiking shoes. We all had tennis shoes of one sort or another. There were only a couple of steep parts which were more tricky coming down due to the gravel like consistency of the lava rocks.

I really loved hearing and seeing the history of all the people and cultures that have converged here through out the millenniums.

As expected, we are sad tomorrow is the last day. But we will be glad to get back home to rest from our ”vacation”. Guess that’s why it’s called an Adventure!

You will have a great time!
Bon Viaggio!

 

[Grifdog22]

They were taking down rigging when we toured Teatro Massimo, seeing a show there would have been fantastic!

Mt Etna was fascinating and the winery was the best food of the trip so far! Might have been because we were more active and hungry than other days lol. No one had hiking shoes. We all had tennis shoes of one sort or another. There were only a couple of steep parts which were more tricky coming down due to the gravel like consistency of the lava rocks.

I really loved hearing and seeing the history of all the people and cultures that have converged here through out the millenniums.

As expected, we are sad tomorrow is the last day. But we will be glad to get back home to rest from our ”vacation”. Guess that’s why it’s called an Adventure!

You will have a great time!
Bon Viaggio!

Thank you again for the insights. I'll save (a little) appetite for that winery. We started setting money aside for travel when we were married 36 years ago, and took all the kids on our first real adventure with our twins were 8 and son was 17, shortly after ABD first started. For us it has always been about the history and stories of the people and cultures; we also really like getting to know some of the fellow travelers. Safe travels home!