Posts in Travel
Oasi Gelsomineto- Take 1

I have a feeling there will be many Beach Posts…… We have so much to explore here!

This place is named “Marinai Beach” to the locals here on base, as its where a bunch of the Military members go …. Its about an hour from Base, but the drive is super easy and its very accessible… Called “Oasi Gelsomineto” you can find it here … Parking ranges from 6-12 Euro per car for parking, but its totally worth it! Clean and private and centered in a Nature Preserve…

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Mt Etna….. March.2021

Man Im behind on posting….. It happens…

This one tho, when we finally made it to the Mountain….

Every day we visit her from our neighborhood- Us and the girls on the walk with the dog, waving from afar, saying ‘Hello’… From the clear days when she looks massive to the ones she hides behind the clouds to the shows she puts on, lava spits and dragon smoke, its like we’ve become friends… There is scientific proof that people have an endorphin effect from staring or being among the Mountains- this rings so true for Me.

Eddie Vedder said “Sure as I am breathing, sure as I am sad, Ill keep this wisdom in my flesh… I leave here believing more then I had, this love has got no ceiling.” I found this quote to resonate deep with me…

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Necropolis of Pantalica- Our first Sicilian Hike

We had finally moved our legs……

Golly, there isnt anything else husband and I were craving more then a H I K E post quarantine….. Honestly, the kids may not have ever been on board so strongly either! The minute we knew that Nature was somewhat open here Andrew and I traded in our 4 seater rental for a bigger SUV and loaded up! Car, kids, fruit, music- Lets go! Im so late in the game, but I just discovered “All Trails” where I have been able to find hikes, the duration, the level etc with total ease…. Our first choice was perfection….

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Markets in Catania....

Catania.

The very first place we visited post quarantine was the Piazza Carlo Alberto market, followed by the Pescheria (Fish Market) in Elephant Square on a early Saturday morning with new friends… The Markets were something I have dreamed of since we first found out Sicily would be our new Home. I imagined brick and cobbled old streets, lined with booths of fresh produce and spices and breads, freshly washed laundry hanging from tiny terraces above… Architecture and birds and the sounds of the incredible language shouting from vendor to vendor….

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Mt Yufu--- Take two.

Our last trip to Yufuin was this past Summer… It was honestly a perfect day, the weather was misty and warm, the mountain almost empty, lush and green, and deer were everywhere! But I wasn’t well… So we weren’t able to do much climbing. Since then, this beautiful trail has been on my mind, I had been itching to go back and reach the summit, take in a new view….

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Mt Tenzan- Japan

I cried on the way to and from Mt Tenzan last weekend…. Husband made fun of me as we cruised along listening to “Death Cab For Cutie” saying Im like Ben Fraiser in Bedazzled, ya know, when he is the sentimental version of himself, crying while looking at a sunset “Its just so beautiful!!” ok, I wasnt like that, at all… But lately I cant help but feel emotional every time we get out to these Mountains and Coastlines as a family… It may be the last time we see this. So Im embracing every moment fully..

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Take me to a Coastline.... Ikitsuki

Places we have been before, steps we have taken, paths we have walked—- But sometimes a revisit opens your Soul, a deja-vu of that first sight…

Before Husband deployed, on what we hope will be his LAST one for a while, we cruised out to places we were allowed (Covid Restrictions), some of these being favorites we discovered our first year here on Kyushu Island. Ikitsuki has such amazing coastlines… From drop off cliffs carved by the sea, to lush greenery blanketing the hills all around, the scenes are epic…. On this particular day, I was aching to get out—- The pull to get away from the Base, the town, somewhere only nature is speaking, it grabs hold of me and does not release until the urge is satisfied… Can you relate??

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