27 April 2007
Dear Sicily, I am looking forward to meeting you...
Everything is under control! Well, at least the flights and the accommodation have been booked and confirmed. Is there anything else to be done??? Ah, yes, we will pay for the car tonight and the diving trip will depend on the weather, but we have all the contact details for Giuseppe, who after exchanging four or five emails with us, he sends a ver funny one that starts with "I don't know English..." Anyway, I am sure we will understand each other, especially underwater anyway! He seems very nice guy though. How do we know? Well, we just know. The same with the managers of the B&Bs and hotels we have booked. Their English is basic but they are extremely helpful and nice. Gerino, Giovanni, Carlo... Cannot wait to use our "phrase-book Italian" with them!
On 5 May we land in Palermo and we will stay there for two nights. This means we'll celebrate Isabel's birthday there (but of course! Birthday with style!)
On Monday 7 May we'll drive to Milazzo, stopping wherever we feel like on the way (no planning, no planning, we love this!!!) We'll just spend one night there. Apparently Milazzo is the perfect gateway to the Aeolian Islands... And that's our next destination.
On Tuesday 8 May we will take a ferry to Lipari. The idea is to explore the island, enjoy the beach and, if the conditions are right (Giuseppe is confident it'll be OK), we will dive! It's been a long time since Sipadan! Eight months!
On Thursday 10 May we will take the ferry back to Milazzo and from there we'll drive to Taormina, our base to enjoy the "resort style" vacation and visit Mount Etna. This is very exciting! We've never visited a vulcano before.
On Saturday 12 we'll drive to Palermo, to spend one more night at Gerino's B&B and take the late evening flight back to London on Sunday.
As you can see, apart from a list of places, this trip is quite open to improvisation. That's exactly what we want.
One more week of work and... Bella Sicilia!
25 April 2007
Should we try again?
Let's see... From 31 January 2006 to 25 April 2007 it is... Bah, forget it! This is too much, we know. And we don't want to put ypu to sleep with all the excuses, so we'll focus on the future, which is always brighter, isn't it?
Still in London, yes. Still in that tiny place, yes. But with sofa and internet connection. And now, looking for the next home. One that lasts more than six months (PLEASE!!!) Area of focus is Wimbledon. The area looks so nice, it's got that "village atmosphere" we like so much (a bit like Mosman Village in Sydney, yes!) Still no sea, but... one thing at a time. Also, Wimbledon is slightly closer to Guildford, where Angel and Maria are, which means it would be easier to catch up with them end enjoy the English countryside together more often. Let's see... We've seen a nice house yesterday but we won't make an offer yet; we'll wait and see a few more to compare with.
Our future plans, apart from moving houses as soon as we find one, don't go too far. In fact, not further than 13 May. That's the last day of our "9-day spring holiday". We are really looking forward to it. We'll go to the beach, we'll spend two nights in an island suitable for diving (warm waters, yeah!), we'll drive through tiny villages filled with fruit trees, we'll see a vulcano... Oh, haven't we told you about this? Haven't we? Then, check our blog tomorrow to get more details!
Have a lovely day and, if you follow our blog, let us know by leaving comments. Last time we were not very motivated to write because nobody left comments and we thought nobody was reading it. Only after we stopped people started complaining!
Have a wonderful day!
