ORDER NOW -
Wherever Books Are Sold!Boomer Travel. Food. Laughter. Breaking the Empty Nest Rules!
Are you stuck in a travel rut? Are you looking for ways to add some extra oomph into your experiences?
USA Today asked us and some pretty weighty folks to weigh in on how we find ways to travel with purpose to enrich our experiences.
We waxed poetic as usual! 😉 … See the full article >>
Are you stuck in a travel rut? Are you looking for ways to add some extra oomph into your experiences?
USA Today asked us and some pretty weighty folks to weigh in on how we find ways to travel with purpose to enrich our experiences.
We waxed poetic as usual! 😉 … See the full article >>
Yeah baby!We are having a blast here in Sicily – biking and eating, eating and biking.
Continue with us as we pedal through baroque cities built into hillsides, villages that depend on the sea, and orchards of olive trees.
And each place we land, we’re sampling regional food specialties… CONTINUE READING >>
A big thank you to VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations for providing this adventure where we can tour AND eat all the delicious food we want without worrying about the calorie count! As always, all opinions are our own.
Click here for part one of this adventure!
A bright Mediterranean sun greeted us this morning, which was perfect because today’s ride had a stop at the beach planned. Once again we wound our way through the agricultural fields of southern Sicily, but this time we encountered zucchini, citrus, cacti, and artichokes growing alongside the olive trees.
One thing we have noticed all across the island are towns with names that are familiar to most all Americans. Not only were many of the cities in the new world named after places here in the old country, such as Syracuse, but many towns here have famous people with the same name.
Today’s offering was, Pachino, as in Al, as in “Say hello to my little friend.”
At one point we pedaled past a group of farmers taking a break in their field, and Veronica asked if she could take their picture.
They not only happily agreed, but they generously offered her a sip of whatever homemade libation it was that they were drinking. She declined, but then lamented not tasting it for the next several miles.
Our first stop of the day washed that notion right out of her mind though, because a dip in the Ionian Sea had to be better than some questionable home brew. The beach at San Lorenzo was near perfect, with wonderfully soft sand leading into crystal clear water.
We splashed around for about an hour before heading over to Marzamemi for lunch.
The town was originally built around an old tonnara, which is a tuna processing facility.
The old factory, fisherman homes and plaza have been lovingly refurbished and Marzamemi remains a quaint fishing village with a Spanish feel.
The Restaurant Liccamuciula, on the Piazza Regina Margherita, set up a buffet of local — or as our Italian friends say, Kilometer Zero — specialties for us, naturally featuring tuna, but also including cheeses, tomatoes, salami, mackerel, and of course, red and white wine.
Because, as they proclaim in these parts, “a meal without wine is called breakfast.”
See more about the food in Sicily!
In the evening we took the bus to nearby Noto, another of the many UNESCO World Heritage Sites we have visited on the tour. According to legend, this is where Daedalus dropped in after his flight over the Ionian Sea, and Hercules after his seventh task. For many centuries the city was important enough to have a third of the island under its jurisdiction as the Valle di Noto, a name that still retains some use for the region today.
But the massive earthquake of 1693 struck and destroyed the city, so what we visited is a new version built about five miles away from the original. Massive baroque structures were constructed along a boulevard in the mid-nineteenth century in an effort to recreate the grandeur of the ancient city.
We would have to say that they were quite successful.
Explore more about the beautiful Baroque city of Noto
Today’s ride focused on Sicily’s farmlands and the wonderful food she produces; the fifty-nine kilometers we covered tops our daily distance for the entire tour. Happily, we got to start by being bussed a few miles uphill, so that gravity could have her way with us.
To keep our energy up, everyday Marco and Edoardo surprise us with tempting Sicilian treats laid out somewhere along the way. At some unexpected spot as we come around a turn(and it’s always a surprise) a table magically appears filled with cheeses, nuts, olives, cookies, and fresh local fruits.
A favorite, and something we had never seen before, is an apple and persimmon hybrid called caco mela. Mela, being the Italian word for apple, and caco for persimmon.
Watch: Our expert guide, Edoardo, shows off his energy-producing al fresco spread!
Our lunch stop was at a donkey milk farm that has also become an animal rescue sanctuary – as well as a fantastic restaurant serving organic specialties grown right on the premises.
After walking around to meet all of the critters, including the cutest baby donkey ever…
…we went inside for an amazing meal.
The idea was to let us sample a myriad of delicacies, several salamis, cheeses, peppers, panella, and assorted vegetables were served first on what we have come to recognize as a Sicilian Plate…
Next came babbaluci, snails that are similar to escargot but smaller, and prepared with celery, parsley, garlic lightly sautéed in olive oil…
and rollatini…
and fresh ricotta…
This was followed by a tasting sample of three pasta dishes…
…but the true star of the show — as far as we were concerned — were the beignets brought out for dessert.
These light, fluffy pastries were filled with the best chocolate crème ever to come anywhere near our taste buds! We were forced to double check to see if St. Peter had just let us through the pearly gates.
See more about the food in Sicily!
Here’s where Veronica bailed and didn’t come along for the afternoon’s ride. She caught the van with Edoardo, hit our hotel for the night, and opted for a massage instead.
The gang bids Veronica a big ciao! So long suckers – she didn’t regret the massage one bit! 😉
At the end of the day’s long road, we settled in for a well-deserved rest before a relaxing evening at the Hotel Borgo Pantano’s restaurant. As with all of our accommodations, the setting was stunning and the service impeccable.
At dinner we discovered another classic traditional Sicilian dish, arancino. Made with risotto filled with ragù, beef, and mozzarella, it’s shaped into a ball, then deep-fried to a golden brown.
They are thought to date back about a thousand years to when the Arabs ruled the island, and are especially popular in Palermo.
After the huge lunch we had, we had vowed to never eat again. But we discovered there is always room for arancino!
While this was not the last day of our tour, it was the last day we would be on our bikes, and seemed as if they saved the best for last. After a short ride to the coast, we spent the rest of the day riding along the shore of the Ionian Sea.
The rocky coastline was so scenic that we found ourselves stopping every few hundred meters to snap more photos. By the time we made it to our first actual scheduled stop, we had already paused at least four or five times.
When we stopped at the little park where we had a snack break, our original plan was to take one last dip in the Mediterranean, but last night’s thunderstorms had stirred up the seas to where that was not looking like such a good idea. Maybe if we kept our helmets on we could… no, never mind.
We also noticed that what was rain here on the coast fell as snow — and quite a lot of it — up on Mount Etna.
We rode on from our photo ops until we made it across the peninsula that forms the southern edge of the Gulf of Siracusa, this revealed fantastic views of the city from across the bay. The old city, located on the island of Ortigia, was stunning as it stood out against the blue water.
Along this shore Marco and Edoardo set up an outstanding picnic lunch for us and we gazed over at the city that we will be visiting tomorrow while enjoying our repast.
After lunch, we had a choice to ride about 10K to our hotel and enjoy the amenities, or ride triple that. We decided, along with most of our group, to hit Hotel Borgo Pantano’s fabulous pool.
The pool felt so miraculous, Veronica actually walked on water!
After a presentation about Syracuse before dinner, we started making our plans for tomorrow’s visit. The city has so much history and so many landmarks to see that no doubt it will be a full and memorable day.
Our last big event as a group was tonight’s farewell dinner. We were all exhilarated to have experienced so much together, but also sad to see it e1nding. Of course, the good food and company made us feel better… and we still have one more big day ahead.
See more about the food in Sicily!
No biking today, but we still had plenty to see and do – in fact so much that we could barely fit it all into just one day. The city of Siracusa, — Syracuse to us — is Sicily’s fourth largest in population, but certainly tops when it comes to incredible places to visit.
The view from our balcony at the Livingstone Hotel with waves crashing against the seawall
We started by walking (yes it sounds crazy after nearly 150 miles on bikes but we still had to get some exercise in somehow) a few kilometers from the fabulous Livingston Hotel on Ortigia island to the Neapolis Archaeological Park on the mainland. The park contains several of Sicily’s most famous historic sites.
Before reaching the park we found another important site along the way. The Temple of Apollo dates all the way back to the sixth century B.C., making it the oldest Greek temple on Sicily. Now the ruins stand surrounded by city, but with a little imagination we could almost see the toga wearing worshipers among the columns.
We walked another kilometer or so and began our exploration of Neapolis at the Roman Amphitheatre, built nearly two thousand years in the time of Nero. Although much of the stone was taken away over the years and used on other buildings, at one time this looked much like the famous colosseum in Rome. It was used in the same way, for gladiators and spectacular shows.
Next we climbed to the Greek Theatre, which was built some five centuries before the time of Christ and is one of the largest ever made by the ancient Greeks. Again much of the structure has succumbed to the ravages of time, but enough remains intact that it is still used for performances on a regular basis.
Near the theater is an ancient quarry known as the Latomia del Paradiso. As stone was cut away for construction projects, caves were cut into the rock walls. Many of these were used as prisons, with the most famous being the Ear of Dionysius.
This enormous cavern stands 76 feet high and 214 feet deep, but only 25 feet wide. The name may come from the shape but, having heard the acoustics from the inside, we think that it has more to do with the amazing sound qualities of the cave.
See more about the secrets of Syracuse!
Our trek made us ready for a nap, so we took a taxi back to our hotel, and in the evening headed back out again. Walking along the sea wall of the harbor (with huge waves crashing against the city) gave us a great view of the Castello Maniace on the tip of the island. The fortress was built in 1232 by the Emperor Frederick II, but the name comes from the original name fort that was built here in 1038 by the Greek general George Maniakes.
We walked on and passed the Fonte Aretusa, that strangely produces freshwater only a few meters from the seashore, on our way to the main plaza of Siracusa, the Piazza del Duomo.
The cathedral that dominates the square was built by bishop Zosimo in the 7th century on top of the Temple of Athena that had stood on the spot since the 5th century BC. As we walked around the left side we found columns from the original temple that have been incorporated into the walls of the church.
We couldn’t help but notice that, unlike most piazzas, this one features two churches. On the far end of the plaza stands the Church of Santa Lucìa alla Badìa.
This, as with so many structures in Sicily, was constructed in the Baroque style after the 1693 earthquake. Santa Lucia is the patron saint of Siracusa, and the church is home to the masterpiece The Burial of St. Lucy by Caravaggio.
Even though we had our farewell dinner last night, our entire group got together for an impromptu last wine and snack session in the evening, proving that none of us wanted to let this fantastic experience end.
See more about the secrets of Siracusa!
This being our first bicycle adventure, we entered into it with quite a few questions about how things worked. We also spoke with the other newbies in our group about how the experience differed from their preconceived notions.
We thought we’d write out a little Q & A (GypsyNester style) to answer some FAQs:
Loaded Q 1: I’m a casual biker. Am I going to be able to keep up?
Veronica: So are we! There were two times that I felt like I was going to fail. There was one fairly steep, but short, hill near the beginning when I wasn’t used to the bike (the ones we have strapped to the back of our RV are basically toddler’s tricycles compared to the ones that VBT provided), and I dropped gears way too frantically. Once I realized that each tick of a gear actually did something (where our home bikes seem to randomly do whatever they feel like!), I managed quite well.
The other moment of concern was a long climb out of a canyon. I could have bailed without a problem, because the van was there with me, but I soldiered through (and felt damn good about myself at the top, I must say).
Loaded Q 2: I’d like to follow up, if that’s okay Veronica. By “keeping up,” I meant that there has to be people in better shape than I on these adventures. Aren’t they going to be royally pissed off if I am constantly holding them back?
Veronica: OH, I see what you meant. There really is no “keeping up.” David and I were both under the misconception before we started that we were going to ride in a group with a bunch of sculpted-calfed, riding Adonises. Not so. Riding ability varied wildly.
There is no pack. We met up with “the pack” after breakfast every morning and our guides walked us through the route step by step, provided a map, and VERY detailed directions (they even provided highlighters so we could highlight any tricky stuff).
After that, we were free to head out on our ride whenever we wanted, with whomever we wanted, and at the pace we wanted. We stopped to take photos, lollygagged at the beautiful views, and stopped for gelato or a granita whenever we wanted. Most of the time, we’d meet up in a cool place for a tour, or lunch – or not. It’s very loose and personalized.
Loaded Q 3: But David, surely your ego prodded you to want to race, or at least not be in last place, right?
David: Yeah, I’m not gonna lie, I’m very competitive by nature, BUT we were very lucky to have a guy with us who has done many tours all over the world – and has also done some competitions. He and his wife kicked butt. So once I realized there was no way I could “win,” I relaxed and enjoyed the scenery even more… as long as I finished in front of Veronica.
Loaded Q 4: Okay, so you’re not in a pack. Then surely you got lost.
David: We were told up front that there is no such thing as lost. Our guides called it discovering new places. The directions are so detailed with landmarks, road signs and such, that we would have to work pretty hard to be lost — er, discovering — for too long. Our guides took turns — one would be biking and the other in the support van — each day and they somehow kept tabs on all of us. They seemed to magically appear out of thin air when there was a tricky turn or a flat tire. They claimed not to have secretly put tracking microchips in us, but we’re pretty sure they were lying!
Watch: Our fantastic ride!
Loaded Q 5: Please don’t take this the wrong way, but you HAD to be the oldest people in the pack.
Veronica: Nope, not by a long shot. We were kind of in the middle. We had two women treating themselves to a birthday adventure – one turned 50 and the other 70! Both very inspirational – each did the extended rides every day. I bailed out a few times, once for a massage at the resort where we were spending the night, and the other time because, well, I just didn’t feel like riding any more that day. I never was the only one opting for the van, and certainly no one ever mocked me for it (except myself – and David’s few private jabs). It worked well, David could be all gung-ho, and I could enjoy the journey on my own terms – but most of the time we stuck together.
If you have any more questions, leave them in the comment section below and we’ll be sure to answer you!
CLICK HERE FOR PART ONE OF THIS JOURNEY!
David & Veronica, GypsyNester.com
A big thank you to VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations for providing this adventure where we can tour AND eat all the delicious food we want without worrying about the calorie count! As always, all opinions are our own.
YOUR turn: Are you ready to see Sicily in all of her glory? What most would you like us to report on? Have you been on a bicycle adventure?
Join your GypsyNesters as we cycle our way though the southern coastal villages of Italy!.. SEE MORE >>
Join your GypsyNesters as we cycle our way though the southern coastal villages of Italy!.. SEE MORE >>
We love riding our trusty steeds (GypsyNester parlance for bicycles) – we feel it’s the best way to see a new place at the perfect pace.And we’re doing it in a part of Italy that we have never before visited!
Ride along with us as we pedal back in time on the Mediterranean island of Sicily… CONTINUE READING > >
A big thank you to VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations for providing this adventure where we can tour AND eat all the delicious food we want without worrying about the calorie count! As always, all opinions are our own.
Click here for part two of this adventure!
See our complete itinerary here 
We love riding our trusty steeds (GypsyNester parlance for bicycles) – we feel it’s the best way to see a new place at the perfect pace.
We carry our bikes on our RV when we’re in the States, or rent them when in far off lands, and make our own itineraries at our own pace.
But we have never experienced a real bicycle tour – until now.
And we’re doing it in a part of Italy that we have never before visited!
Ride along with us as we pedal back in time on the Mediterranean island of Sicily.
We’ll begin at Mt. Etna and work our way through the spectacular Greek, Roman and Moorish influenced villages dotting the southern coast of this unique island that was at the crossroads of ancient seafarers.
The road from Catania to Taormina is an intricate system of bridges and tunnels that works it way up the mountain
After landing in Catania, we made our way north along the coast and climbed — clinging to sheer cliffs — up to the town of Taormina.
Taormina was once one of Sicily’s most important cities, and remained so for a millennia because of its strategic position high on a hill and the nearly impenetrable Saracen Castle guarding it from above.
Loving the schedule that allowed us to see the city at our own first-travel-day pace, we hoofed it on foot to the Ancient Greek Theatre, a must see in Taomina. Originally constructed around 300 BC, the Romans rebuilt it several centuries later and we saw evidence of the marble columns of the Greeks amongst the intricate brickwork of those of Rome.
The heart of Taomina lies between two main gates inside the ancient walls. This stretch of medieval road thrives as a major destination for tourists from all over the world.
Visitors stroll along the picturesque street and intriguing alleyways, or enjoy incredible views of Mount Etna, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, from several piazzas.
The city is a blend of the old, and the very old as the ancient castle looms above the more “modern” churches
We captured the mythical volcano as the setting sun lit up the mountain’s tufts of smoke rising from her summit. No wonder Etna has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
At the end of a long day’s journey, nothing conquers jet lag like a true Italian pizza, a glass of vino, and a plush place to lay one’s head.
Hotel Villa Belvedere, with its incredible sea-and-Etna views proved the perfect place to lay it down!
See more about stunning Taormina!
Not being nearly adjusted to the time change, we awoke before sunup. The good news was that this gave us more time to spend in Taormina. Peering off of our balcony at dawn we found Etna basking in the red glow of sunrise, blowing new puffs of smoke to greet the day.
That inspired us to set out for a morning walk.
The botanical garden, only a few steps from Hotel Belvedere, was splendid in the crisp air. The overlook at the edge of the garden gave us a fantastic view of Naxos and the bay below us, as well as the Ionian Sea and the mainland “toe” of Italy’s boot about to kick us on Sicily.
See more about stunning Taormina!
Refreshed, we hit the hotel’s hearty breakfast buffet before setting out on our bus journey to the southern city of Ragusa, which will serve as our base for the next couple of days as we will begin our cycling adventure.
Before our initial shake-down run on the bikes we met our VBT expert guides and comedy team, Marco and Edoardo, for a safety check and introduction to the bicycles.
This included some handy Italian words and phrases – bicicleta means bicycle, girate a sinestra means turn left. We were a little confused by the inclusion of dove la spiaggia topless on our cheat sheet of useful phrases since, no matter where the topless beach may be, it seems a little chilly for those kind of shenanigans this time of year.
Chilly or not, we will be keeping our tops on, thank you very much.
Dry stone walls, farm villas, and cows – love it!
Just to make sure everything was in proper working order (including ourselves) we took a quick five-mile ride across the countryside.
Not only were the bikes superb, but the scenery on this little test run was molto bene. Wow, look how fast we picked up the lingo!
Watch: Veronica give a tour of her bike and its accouterments!
At dinner, Veronica had her first legitimate carbo load for tomorrow’s big ride. We can think of no better way than feasting on Italy’s fabulous bread and pasta!
See more about the food in Sicily!
We start our first full day of riding with a briefing / history and geography lesson / comedy routine from Marco and Edoardo. As entertaining and informative as they were, the meat of the matter was mostly detailing our route for the day.
David the Navigator pours through the route, pen cap in mouth. Did we make it through the day without getting lost?
And what a day it was, thirty-five miles from start to finish! Luckily, most of it was downhill.
We set out toward the sea, riding through the highland agricultural region of south Sicily. One of the main crops is olives. David decided that if cured olives that have been lying around for who knows how long are good, ones fresh from the tree must be great.
All we can say is ladies and gentlemen do not try this at home! An uncured green olive could be the most bitter thing on the entire planet, perhaps even the universe.
Our path led us through two nature preserves filled with a wide variety of plants including a dense bamboo forest.
Weaving our way through the villages as we descended to the coast, we came upon a World War II era bunker. The pillbox was used by machine gunners to guard the little road. From the lack of any signs of damage, and the remote location, it doesn’t look as though it saw any combat action.
We certainly earned our hearty lunch in the seaside town of Punta Secca.
The Spaghetti alla Siciliana, which we judged by its name to be a regional specialty, certainly lived up to expectations with rustic sausage, sun-dried tomatoes, and zucchini. The seafood ravioli was loaded with fresh fruits of the surrounding seas.
For our evening enchantments, we rode the bus from our headquarters for the next few days, the Poggio del Sole Resort, into the town of Ragusa Ibla for an architectural walking tour.
We met with our guide, Lea, and she led us up the ancient main street while explaining how the baroque city was rebuilt after the devastating earthquake of 1693.
Dominating the village is the church of San Giorgio, designed by architect Rosario Gagliardi. The cathedral was built from 1739–1775 to replace the original that had only one doorway left after the disaster. Most impressive, especially at night while bathed in blue light, was the large neoclassical dome that was added in 1820.
Whew! We’re gonna sleep tonight!
Delve deeper into remarkable Ragusa Ilba
Today’s ride is described as “a little more challenging” by our intrepid leaders, Marco & Edoardo, at our morning briefing. This prompts David to inquire as to what happens should we feel the need to wimp out at some point along the way.
Just how embarrassed should we plan on being?
Watch and see:
The van is always ready to assist should that hill up ahead might be one too many.
Marco assures us that no humiliation accompanies deciding that one might have had enough for the day.
Again, today most of our course was downhill through picturesque countryside. It happens to be olive harvest time in Sicily, so we rode through numerous groves while farmers knocked the fruit off of the trees into nets waiting on the ground.
Later in the day, we stopped in at a mill where the olives are ground and pressed into the finest olio di olive. The process is actually fairly simple, once cleaned the olives are crushed, then pressed, then run through a centrifuge to separate the oil from the pulp and water.
It all happens on one assembly line. Fresh olives go in one side and extra virgin oil comes out the other.
The mountainside cemetery of Scicli, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
There’s much more about Scicli here
There were a few shall we say challenging hills on the route, but nothing we couldn’t handle – at least until we were facing one with a flat tire. Then it became an uphill battle.
Within minutes, Marco had the inner tube replaced with the speed and precision of a Tour de France pit crew.
Oh well, there went our excuse for not climbing the hill.
Modica, yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site!
The reward at the end of our morning ride made it all worth it, a tasting and tour of Sicily’s oldest chocolate maker, Antica Dolceria Bonajuto in Modica. They have been processing cocoa beans using the methods of the Aztecs since 1880, and the rustic chocolate that results in a fantastic taste treat.
Watch: Uh, yum. A chocoholic’s paradise
The afternoon’s ride took us to the oil presses and then to our lodging for the next couple of days, Kallikoros Country Resort.
The resort features farm-to-table dining, and we got a chance to see eggplant parmigiana prepared step by step as the resort’s chef demonstrated the proper Sicilian way to make the classic Italian dish.
Then, even better, we ate it!
Watch:
See more about the food in Sicily!
AND THAT’S NOT ALL! CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE OUR JOURNEY THROUGH SICILY!
David & Veronica, GypsyNester.com
A big thank you to VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations for providing this adventure where we can tour AND eat all the delicious food we want without worrying about the calorie count! As always, all opinions are our own.
YOUR turn: Are you ready to see Sicily in all of her glory? What most would you like us to report on? Have you been on a bicycle adventure?
Sicily is famous for her chocolate and we toured her oldest dolceria!.. SEE MORE >>
Sicily is famous for her chocolate and we toured her oldest dolceria!.. SEE MORE >>
It’s impossible to fully capture the Maasai through words and photos, watch and enter their world through our eyes… SEE MORE >>
It’s impossible to fully capture the Maasai through words and photos, watch and enter their world through our eyes… SEE MORE >>
We joined Nashville’s WSMV Channel 4 More at Midday gang to discuss our life on the road, reconnecting as a couple… SEE MORE >>
We joined Nashville’s WSMV Channel 4 More at Midday gang to discuss our life on the road, reconnecting as a couple, and our appearance at the Southern Festival of Books – so much fun!