Mount Etna. The volcano my kid wished would erupt. Yet the most tired and attitude challenged day we had. But I digress.
At the southern entrance of Mt. Etna was the area of Sicily we found most geared for tourists. There was a whole little village in the parking area where you could eat, shop, and find merchandise with “Sicilia” on it. I didn’t find that anywhere else I visited.
After a hefty fee to go on the cable cars, we happily rode up to see a section of Mt.Etna.
You can’t go all the way up, especially since it’s still an active volcano. It erupted 3 weeks before we arrived and continued smoking the entire time of our stay.
It was neat to walk among the lava rock and point things out to the bambino. Before our trip, we took a volcano class in hopes that he understood what he was seeing.
Really, I geeked out more than the kiddo. I wanted to go higher, see a crater, and even lava.
Surprisingly, my son enjoyed flies landing on his pants most on this excursion. So we had 15 minutes of quiet and calm.
In order to get back to the cable cars to get to your car, you are required to go through shops. The way my kid was screaming…. I tried one or two of their Etna liquors, hoping it would keep me from losing my mind before getting out of there…..but look at all these great souvenirs the store provided. The cool Etna shirt was purely purchased to stop the uncontrollable screams from my kid (doesn’t fit, he’s being gifted that in a few years). And normally my kid doesn’t like scary jaguars. But there it is. His choice of lava rock. Admittedly, the nativity scene at the store on Mt. Etna was better quality than what we found in the village below.
So here we are… attempting happiness like nothing bad happened on this volcano. Huzzah! (It was a frustrating visit, but I’m still glad we went. Especially since it was one of his favorite things about the trip).
Fortnum and Mason honed into my feelings for the Mt. Etna expedition with the full-bodied Assam TGFOP. A black tea that’s credited as one of the world’s oldest variety of black tea. It’s made from the leaf tips of the Assam tea bush. It’s a great pick me up and goes down smoothly. Happy 13 days until Christmas!
Rory, Tea & Me 