Panarea & Stromboli

On thursday the girls of Sicily '07 decided to do a mini cruise to Panarea and Stromboli. It started off with a hour and a half bus ride, followed by another hour and a half boat ride to the first island, Panarea. The water was beautiful. Perfectly clear. You could see almost straight down to the bottom. We had 3 hours at Panarea, but the problem was, there wasn't much to do. We could have paid a few euro to take a taxi to the good beach, but we didn't bring our bathing suits because we didn't want to walk around all sweaty with the added bonus of the mediterranean sea salt sticking to our bodies. So we went out to eat and ordered our favorite dish of Sicily, pasta alla norma. However, they make it much better in Taormina. We basically sat in the shade eating magnums until it was time to go back on the ship. It took another 30 or more minutes to get to Stromboli, but I couldn't really tell you because I was so tired I fell asleep. Once we got there we had the same problem. Nothing to do. So we whne and got granite and Tina and Jessica took sand from the beach. The beach, I must say was really nice. Especially since the sand was black. We were hoping the ever-fathful volcano would erupt, but 3 months ago there was an earthquake and it hasn't erupted since. And we didn't get home till 1am. So much for that, but at least I saw two new beautiful islands that I never would have seen before.

Agrigento

On July 15, 2007 the whole class went to Agrigento. It was an amazing trip for me, even though I already had been there a few years before. This time I wanted to know more about the history behind all the monuments that I have seen. I had no idea the names of temples and this time I actually found out. There names are the temple of caster and pollox, Hercules, Zeus, and June. I thought the temple of June was the most interesting out the bunch, and that was due to the fact that it wasn’t destroyed as the other ones were. And Pepe our astonished tour guide told us that they were destroyed by a conquering people. If they only kept them in tack how much more knowledge we would know about them. Also while there we got to see the landscape which is breathtaking, and I understand why the Greeks built all these temples there. There is a lot more there but you need a few days to see everything. So take it from me you really need to go and see them. Even if you don’t understand history you will love this.

Scuba Diving

The first weekend here in Taormina Ben, Frank, and I all went scuba diving. It was an eye opening experience for us all. It was one of the best things I had ever done in my life, and it only cost 40 euro. We first all woke up at 8:30 in morning and was picked up in a little van that when we first looked at it we thought there was no way that it would make it to Isabella, but it thankfully did. We got there and got suited up with wet suits, but Ben and I didn’t realize that we put them on backwards but it really didn’t make much of difference in the scheme of things. We got the small boat and went away to a deeper part of Isabella, and thankfully there were no jelly fish which somewhat hurts if you get stung. But we then got our first lesson right once we got into open water which was definitely something that was pretty funny to watch if you know how to scuba dive, because we had no idea what we were doing with the weights and the button red button you press to take air and the white to loss it. But we get into the water and we learn all the signs like go down, up, and running out of air. Then we spend the next forty minutes underwater and it was definitely a top moment in my life and I hope to get certified so I can do many more times.

Reflections/Bar Life

What did I think about Sicily? Well I can tell you that it has been a great time here and that I have definitely learned a lot. From going on all the different field trips and just getting a sense of the culture that exists here is amazing. It really helps you too remember things a lot better when you are physically standing in front of the history you are learning about. What will I miss the most about this trip well? The answer to that question will become extremely obvious to you when you arrive here. I will miss the people I have met the most. Although I am with 10 others from the U.S. let’s be honest we probably won't see each other much after this, and we all live relatively close to each other. What will be even harder is leaving people behind either in Sicily that live here, or watching people leave to go to other countries where the odds of seeing them are slim. The people you will meet here will last in your mind forever, and all I can say is take lots of pictures and get emails. Now for the fun stuff. The bars in Taormina and small and quaint and there are not that many to go to. Here are the list of my favorites in order. 1st is Time Out, it is an Irish type bar that is reasonably priced and has the best hamburgers in town. 2nd is Morgana which is a really nice place to go and hang out. If you go on Friday, Saturday or Sunday night, you can probably dance which is nice because there are no clubs, or discoteches as they call them here in Taormina. 3rd is the Piliere concept bar, 4th is Déjà vu. It’s a far walk from the hotel which knocks it down on my list and sometimes you can dance too. 5th is O’sevens Irish Pub its an ok place to go sit near corso umberto and admire the people walking. This is the information that I think you will find most helpful. P.S. the roof of the hotel is amazing you must see the sunrise at least once

~that guy