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Day 8: we awoke early to go to see the mosaics at Cathedral di Santa Maria at a quiet time, as it opens at 8 am and we were almost alone to admire the magnificent floor. We returned to Masseria Longa for another delicious breakfast with fluffy pancakes, too, and received a lovely gift at checkout. Drove to Rende, Italy through glorious mountain scenery and, actually on mountain roads, as we tried to stop at Gole deli Ragenello. The roads through the mountains were rigorous, and the scenery breathtaking, with panoramic views, gorges and valleys. We arrived in Rende after about 4 hours at Home52 B&B which was clean and well-equipped, but very basic, with few instructions, no staff in-person, and not the most comfortable bed nor pillows. We had a delicious dinner next door at ilMinervini with a delightful waitress. Breakfast only was a giftcard for coffee and pastry at the cafe next door.

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Day 9: we had a quick espresso and croissant next door and left for our trip to Sicily. Initially, thought we would stop in Scilla, but it was too difficult to maneuver tight, hilly streets with no real apparent parking. We got to the ferry, and even though our ticket was booked for later, we were able to take it earlier, arriving in Sicily about noon. We drove to Hotel Casa Adele in Taormina, with some help getting up a hilly street. The Hotel is lovely, large room, elevator, parking. We ate a delicious lunch right next to the hotel @ Malvasia, ravioli with shrimp and pistachio and a pasta and clam entree. We walked the main street, which was not very crowded, albeit tourist stores abound. Used our tour book to note some sights as we went to the Teatro Greco. Found the Jewish Ghetto area and a marker of a family that had perished. Across from our hotel was a famous cannoli La Pignolata and it was divine! We were full and no other dinner ensued.

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Day 10: We moved our car to a parking garage, since we were taking the day trip to Mt. Etna and were checking out of Hotel Casa Adele, where we had a delicious breakfast. Our guide, Francesco, arranged through Alexei at Journey Beyond Travel, picked us up at the hotel. He had been in communication with us the day before watching the ever-changing weather at Mt. Etna and looking at options if needed. He was engaging and personable and we became instant friends. Drove to Mt. Etna, where the weather was perfect for our hike to Monti Sartorius with poles provided for us. We were gingerly, and thoughtfully, guided up the trail by Francesco, who took our needs into account. We were amazed to view the crater and Nebrodi and Peloritani mountains. We were educated regarding the beautiful Etna Birch trees and the old growth pine forest. We then visited the Grotta del Ladroni lava flow cave and Francesco told us all about cave formations and history details. With his help, I was able to climb into the cave. All of this would not have been possible for us without him guiding us. A delicious lunch was then enjoyed, with special sharing of thoughts and feelings. He offered to have us follow him from Taormina to Siracusa and Ortigia, got us to the location for us to unload and give our car to valet protected parking, which we felt was worth it to us in this island because public parking was at the other end of the island and we were tired. He settled us into our glorious apartment at Palazzo Alfeo, on the water, where we were being serenaded by an accordionist he knew and treated by the hotel's wonderful Ilse.

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Thank you for suggesting her!