Quattro Passi Restaurant

Another visit this year, this time with owner and chef Antonio Mellino just home from his relatively new restaurant in London. As always, we received excellent service and amazing food, presented in creative fashion.  Our degustazione menu was more than most of us could eat, but luckily one member of our group would happily taste "leftovers".  I know of no other restaurant with such attention to detail with their dessert offerings..... delicate, scrumptious and moreish! Situated in a tiny seaside town of Nerano, Massa Lubrense.

The best cemetery in Italy ?

Along the Amalfi Coast near Massa Lubrense, not far from Sorrento, is a beautiful small  cemetery with brilliant views of the blue Bay of Napoli.

Gagini Restaurant Palermo Sicily

A new restaurant for us in Palermo.... tons of atmosphere, fabulous food and good service.

ETNA

Etna is Europe's most active volcano: her last major eruption was November 2013, but she's almost continually doing something! Yesterday she had decided to Fire Up.  Literally.  So the smoke could be seen many kilometres from Catania.  On the previous day when we went up the mountain to walk down into extinct Crateri Silvestri the wind was blowing but the sun shining.

Walking around the top of the extinct crater



The beautiful colours covering much of the lava



The house almost covered by lava flow many years ago

Water Features

How about these two for a change of smiling or ferocious lions as a water feature? (Found in the Cathedral of Cagliari)

NORA, Sardinia Sardegna, Roman Theatre

Nora, the earliest  town in Sardegna, was a prosperous town for 1500 years.  Originally founded by the Fenice, 9 and 7centuries BC.... then the Punics, later the Romans.  It was a major trading post around the Mediterrean . You'll find Nora in Pula, south west of the island and around 30km from the capital city of Sardegna, Cagliari.   Here's the Teatro Romano, which held 1200 spectators.

MIlking the goats in the mountains of Sardinia

High up on the mountains of the tough central part of the island of Sardegna, the shepherds attend to their goats and sheep.  At Scala e Pradu we watched as the shepherd and his dog put their goats that run free into a small pen, and the shepherd began his back-breaking work of milking his flock. A twice a day effort.