Sicily 2010 Daily Itinerary
This is our travel plan to date. Weather, incredible views, and interesting things may, and often do, alter our route.
For an interactive map view, click here.
For a PDF file of the 2010 brochure Click
Here
2010 Application Form
March 12th – 21st, 2010
This is our travel plan to date. Weather, incredible views, and interesting
things may alter our route.
Friday – The tour begins at Haigis Mall, UMass, where we’ll
board the bus to JFK Airport. Our overnight flight is on Alitalia to Palermo
via Milan.
Saturday – Today we arrive in San Vito lo Capo, an small community
on the northwestern coast of Sicily. After lunch and check-in at our hotel,
we’ll take an orientation walk, shake off the jet lag and freshen
up for dinner in the hotel.
Sunday – For our first full day in Sicily, we
will explore the western side of the island, including the medieval town
of Erice with it’s commanding mountaintop views of the sea, Segesta, a beautiful Greek temple and theatre nested
in the hills south of Golfo de Castellammare. Our day ends with a suprise under the city of Palermo and a Mediterranean
seafood extravaganza in Sferracavallo, a small coastal town near Palermo.
Monday – A morning visit to the fishing village
of Castellemare del Golfo to check out the day’s catch. For lunch,
we’re in a regional vineyard tasting a potpourri of Sicily’s
finest cuisine. Then an afternoon drive, stopping at the Byzantine Cathedral
of Monreale with its stunning mosaics and peaceful cloisters, before heading
for our next hotel near the north coast town of Cefalu.
Tuesday – “Hill Town, Sea Town”. Two
stops today, one in the mountains in the town of Castelbuono (where they
collect the trash using donkey power) and one on the coast to explore
Cefalu, one of the prettiest seaside towns in Sicily.
Wednesday – We’ll head out this morning
to one in one of the many picturesque hill towns in the Madonie Mountains.
At midday we’ll find our way to a former Benedictine Abbey called
Gangivecchio. The Abbey now houses a restaurant run by Wanda and Giovanna
Tornabene, a mother and daughter who won two James Beard Awards for their
1998 and 2002 cookbooks on Sicilian country cuisine. A gourmet meal is
included with our visit. We’ll continue our explorations in the
mountains as we head for Taormina, the “Jewel of Sicily” in
its spectacular location at the base of Mt. Etna and overlooking the Straits
of Messina to Calabria.
Thursday – Today starts with a walking tour of
Taormina , its beautiful Greek theatre, and its stunning views of the
volcano and the Ionian Sea. Lunch is on your own before we head out to
explore Mt. Etna, the most active volcano in Europe. We’ll see how
the Sicilian people have, for centuries, adapted to the ever-present threat
of lava flows, earthquakes, and ash from this “lady” with
whom they share their lives.
Friday – First a visit to the outdoor fish, meat, and produce market
in Catania – a truly amazing experience for all the senses. After
a gourmet lunch at Agritourismo Casa Dama, we head south to Siracusa to
visit both the historic city center and, time permitting, one of the best
preserved Greco/Roman amphitheaters in the world.
Saturday - An open day to explore Taormina and, if you
have any money left, to shop. We have a wonderful fair-well lunch on the
schedule at one of Taormina’s best restaurants, Zamara, featuring
their famous Lemon Risotto and other Sicilian treats.
Sunday - Reality check — fly home to Amherst from Catania.
All Travel Arrangements by:
Stoneham, Massachusetts
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