After a make and mend day in Athens doing the washing, sitting in Syntagma Square watching the world go by and enjoying another couple of Fix beers we headed off to Patras to catch the ferry to Brindisi, Italy. The ride took us along the coast with only one stop to get a coffee in a little village - probably the worst coffee we have ever tasted, but the bakery next door was full of yummy treats.

We think the ferry to Brindisi was one of the oldest of the Grimaldi Line - certainly needed a renovation but the crossing was so smooth that we didn't even know that we had called in at Ignomitsia to pick up extra passengers at 1.30am. Dinner was the most expensive fish and chips(and not very tasty) we have had. We skipped breakfast and settled for a coffee. While waiting to disembark we got talking to an American couple, Tom and Peggy, who are backpacking through Greece and Italy for 2 months. They were from Colarado. Now this might not seem too interesting to most but we were impressed as they are about our age and we know how hard backpacking is because we did it when we were 30!

You know you are back in Italy when you see mad scooter riders everywhere and there a villages perched on top of hillsides. From Brindisi we rode towards Tarento where Greg gave me a history lesson about a British attack on the Italian navy. We continued around the instep of Italy to Cosenza for the night. Just a stopping off town but a lovely 4 star hotel at the right price. Dinner tonight was a bit unusual - 2 beers each (6 Euro total about $9 with free bar snacks of nuts, olives, chips and sweet treats) then to finish off, a cappuccino each, chocolate croissant each and a chocolate crepe to share! Not exactly healthy but it was all perfect! It was then on to Villa San Giovanni to catch the ferry to Messina, Sicily. The ferry crossing cost us the grand total of 12 Euro and took about 20 minutes so we just stood by the bike.

Taormina was to be the destination for the next 4 nights, so after fighting the traffic in Messina we headed south. The ride was only about 45km and most of the time was spent in a tunnel or on a bridge. The Italians sure know how to build roads - I guess the heritage of Julius Caesar ensured that! Tunnels ranged in length from 70m to 3000m. Bridges cross ravines and are often 100m above the ground. The road hugs the coast and the views (when you are not in a tunnel) are spectacular.

Taormina is situated on the southern coast of Sicily and faces the Ionian Sea. Our hotel is across the road from the beach at Isola Bella, and has a beautiful pool which Greg has tried out a couple of times - too cold for Kerrie. The town of Taormina itself is about 200m above sea level and is reached by road or by a cable car ride up the side of the cliff. At the top of the cliff the streets are narrow and interesting with a church on every corner and the Teatro Greco amphitheatre which was built in 358BC. When the Romans arrived they renovated the area. Taormina also has historical links to the Byzantines, Arabs, Normans and Spanish. Evidence of all these are obvious as you wander up and down the terraced streets. Dominating the area however, is Mt Etna. This smoking volcano, still snow capped, is visible from the walls of Taormina and is the background for the photos of most visitors. At breakfast the first morning we got talking to Cheryl and her son, Terry who are from Tasmania. They are on a tour of Italy doing some walking and diving. They gave us a couple of hints for what to do in Sardinia and will probably be on the ferry with us next Saturday. We also had an email from Chris McCardle who has booked in to the same hotel as us and will arrive tonight. Chris is from Stafford in Victoria and is one of Milligan's Mob. I'm sure we will have a few wines and a good dinner with Chris.

One of the attractions of Sicily for us is the connection to "The Godfather" trilogy. High on our list of things to do is visit the towns with connections to the movie. Greg has done his research and is armed with directions to enable us to do this. On Sunday we set off on the bike to find the Godfather. First stop was Forza d' Agro about 13km from our hotel and perched on top of one of those hills. The ride up was one switchback after another. Greg was wishing he was on his Daytona. Forza d' Agro was a scene from Godfather 2 when Vito was secreted out of town in a basket on the side of a donkey to avoid the baddies. The church there formed the backdrop for this scene from the movie. Unfortunately there was no donkey in sight today but the church was duly photographed.

Next stop was about 7 km further away, also on top of a hill with just a few switchbacks to test Gregorio's riding skills. On the way to Savoca we were stopped by 2 Carribinari intent on checking out our "papers". While Kerrie found the required paperwork Greg took out his wallet to "find his licence" which just happened to have a Queensland Police badge in front of it. All of a sudden, our "papers" were insignificant as Greg and his new best friends had a conversation about their police service. The "papers" were handed back to Kerrie - not even looked at - and we were given directions on how to get to our destination and a cheery smile and wave.

Savoca is the town where Francis Ford Copolla filmed the scenes where Michael Corleone asked for Appollonia's hand in marriage and also their wedding and reception. We found the church easily - on top of a hill of course - and posed for the required photos. We then followed in the footsteps of the wedding party, down the hill to Bar Vitelli where the wedding reception was held. After more photos and the purchase of a couple of postcards we headed back down the hill. Greg had a smile on his face as he has now crossed this item off his bucket list - why else would you come to Sicily?

We followed the coast back passed our hotel and rode on towards Giardini Naxos, the next town south. After riding through narrow streets we got on the Autostrada and headed towards Catania. After about 20 minutes we decided that Catania was just another big town so we turned around and headed back in to Taormina - this time we rode up to the town - more switchbacks, not surprising I suppose as the town is 200m above where we are staying. We remembered advice from our friends, Mike and Jo Hannan about how good Sicilian gelati is so we found a gelataria and wandered around the town soaking up the atmosphere. At dinner tonight we sat next to a table of 2 Aussies - their names were Kerry and Greg! They are on a 5 week tour of Europe and come from Belligen, about 1 hour south of where we live. They are off to the Aeolian islands for a few days.

Today, Monday, we were going for a ride around the north rim of Mt Etna. This active volcano is easily seen from the streets of Taormina but we decided we needed a closer look. We rode west from our hotel for about 45km and then found a great viewing spot where we could see both the snow capped volcano and the old lava fields. We returned to our hotel satisfied with our Taormina stop and started planning our route for the rest of Sicily.