Final Pictures from Sicily

Today we drove up to Mt. Etna and hiked around the lava flows -- as recently as 2001 and 2002, there we major eruptions with lava flows that destroyed roads and a cable car and nearly destroyed a town. Then we succumbed to being typical American tourists and took the girls to Etnaland, a really fun water park, which regrettably will probably be the highlight of the entire trip for our girls (sort of like a year and a half ago when we spent five days doing cool things in Ethiopia and asked the girls what was the best part and they said, "The pool at the Sheraton!"). Sigh...

Tomorrow we fly back to Molfetta for one last night with our friend Ciccio and then we're coming home on Sunday. 

Pictures from Taormina, Sicily

Yesterday we drove from Siracusa to Taormina and vegged out at the pool in the afternoon. This morning, we drove to a scenic gorge and waded up the freezing-cold river for a bit and then came back, played in the pool some more and then went up the hill to explore the charming (and very touristy) hilltop town of Taormina. It reminded us a lot of Dubrovnik, which we visited last summer (www.tilsonfunds.com/Personal/Dubrovnik): a well-preserved, prosperous ancient city with wonderful architecture (and lots of tourists and overpriced shops -- but we loved it anyway!). The Greek Amphitheater, which dates back to centuries BC, was pretty cool. 

More Siciliy Pictures

Here are a few more pictures from the past fews days in Sicily. We've been running the girls ragged in the extreme heat -- you can see what they look like at the end of each day in the picture in the bottom middle! 

Pictures from Sicily

We're having a great time in Sicily. Two days ago we visited the Greek temples of Agrigento, then saw some famous mosaics and ended the day in the ancient city of Siracusa (Syracuse), which was once the most powerful and prosperous city in the world. We visited the Greek amphitheater and walked around the old town last night. 

Visit to Sicily

We're having a great time in Sicily. Two days ago we visited the Greek temples of Agrigento, then saw some famous mosaics and ended the day in the ancient city of Siracusa (Syracuse), which was once the most powerful and prosperous city in the world. We visited the Greek amphitheater and walked around the old town last night. 

Italy Trip

We're having a great time in Italy. We arrived in Molfetta, a small town just above the heel of the boot of Italy, on Wednesday and spent four days there. I helped teach a value investing seminar while Susan and the girls played at the beach and in the pool during the days and we all went out at night.

On Saturday, we rode a bus three hours to Naples and took a short ferry to the gorgeous island of Capri, where we went to the top of the island, walked around town and went to the beach where we climbed rocks and jumped in.

Today, we took a flight to Silicy, where we'll be spending the next week, seeing ancient ruins and beautiful sights, before flying back to Molfetta for one more night on Saturday and flying home on Sunday. 

Fernwood Cove (Alison's Summer Camp)

We (along with Susan's parents) drove to Alison's camp in Maine on Friday and spent all day on Saturday visiting her and seeing all the things she did over the past month. She had a blast and we've already signed her up for next year. Emily is angling to go as well, but probably not until the summer of 2008...