Tiziano Ferro concert at the Greek-Roman Ampitheatre in Taormina

Tiziano Ferro is a big deal over here in Italy. He is a very famous and well-known pop-ish singer. He has an amazing voice. He's a slight combo of Josh Groban and Justin Timberlake...sorta! I used to have a live video, but was unable to get it to work, so I will attach a YouTube clip or something so you can listen for yourself.

It was sooo HOT and humid! Not the greatest picture of me, but we had a blast. AWESOME experience!

Not everyday is one blessed enough to attend

a concert at a Greek-Roman ruins site...pretty snazzy!

(I have been meaning to post this for a while now and even though I did not attend this concert recently, I figured you may enjoy looking at the pictures and listening to the music clip. :) )

Milo Wine Festival and Etna Craters

The Milo Wine Festival was a lot of fun. I got to go with one of my closest friends, Shana. She works with ITT, so she knows when all the really good trips are :) So...clearly, this was another trip that was taken with ITT. We first drove up as far as you can actually drive up Mt. Etna and looked at the craters and got a granita (iced and creamy flavored drink) at the little store up on the mountain and enjoyed walking around a bit. Of course, as you can see in the pictures below, it was beautiful. But, I must say that the favorite part of my day was in the town of Milo. Shana and I enjoyed tasting a few different wines that were made in Milo and then walked around the town a bit. It's a very small town. They had vendors set up with a variety of different foods to try and buy. We tried several different cheeses and then ate some amazing pistaccio pasta. Best pasta I have ever had in my entire life. I've had dreams about it since, haha. The noodles were homemade earlier that afternoon and then they made the sauce after we ordered....fresh and delicious! There were also a lot of tents set up along some of the side roads selling different things. They were selling a lot of jewelry, which Shana and I both bought some of. Overall, it was a great day and a good experience. Wish I had more pictures to show you all of Milo. :(

Mt. Etna:

Shana and me with squinty eyes, lol.

Stromboli

Stromboli is a small island off the north coast of Sicily, containing one of the three active volcanoes in Italy. It is one of the eight Aeolian Islands. The island has a population of between 400 and 750. The volcano has erupted many times and is constantly active with minor eruptions. I have gone on 2 ITT trips to this island and have seen the minor eruptions both times. It was very exciting and beautiful! :) Jesse was not able to go with me either time unfortunately, so I am looking forward to going again with him next summer.

Here is a short video of the minor eruption I caught on camera :

In Messina, the beginning of my 2nd trip to Stromboli with my friend, Amber.

Fisherman boats in Panarea

Panarea

Panarea

Panarea

Panarea

Stromboli

Coming up on Stomboli, you can see the black sand on the beach.

Black sand, YAY! Really neat. :)

Walking around the shops and through the streets of Stomboli.

Horse head and lighthouse.

Leaving the island at this point and waiting to see if we will get to see any eruptions!

SOOOO so very sorry to everyone that I have been slacking with our blog lately. I will try to get everything posted within the next few days. So, come back soon :)
Thanks.