The sun rose on our third morning to give fantastic views of Mount Etna; we were nearly there. 

We arrived at Catania, on the east coast around 2.30pm having exchanged several texts with Michael who had checked out the three ‘marina’ options we had.  They ranged from basic to grim so we went for the luxury end of the offering and settled for basic.  Actually all we needed because we were leaving the boat for the night.  It was great to Michael on the pontoon ready to take our lines and move on to the next stage of our adventure.

With a rapid change of pace and clothing we set of in Michaels hire car to Raguza, a town in the south where we checked in to a delightful hotel in the middle of the old town.  Mike promptly went to sleep for a couple of hours then long and luxurious shower and change for a dinner we had been looking forward to for months at the Michelin starred Il Duomo. 

Charles, Michael, Carol and Sue.  Michael is holding a large chunk of Cheddar cheese which he always takes for the chef there.  Real, quality, proper Cheddar, obviously.

This would have been a treat regardless but for us we had the privilege of being there with Michael who knows the Chef and the Maitre’d very well.  We had the tasting menu so were able to try many, many different and exquisite dishes with different and fabulous wines.  It was not just being able to taste all these lovely things though, having Michael to tell us so much about each of the wines just added more and more to the experience.

Google it, because it was fabulous and I don’t really have the ability to describe how very delicious it all was.

Michael is a dear friend who is a Master of Wine with a passion for Italy.  He speaks Italian and his business, Winetraders, source and import the best of Italian wine.  Mike has worked for Michael’s, Winetraders, and we have enjoyed several visits to their producers over the last few years.

After a great breakfast we set off to visit some vineyards and taste some wines that may or may not end up as part of the Winetraders portfolio.  The vineyards were on the slopes of Mount Etna with vines up to 200 years old.

One, the highest in Europe, was tiny, in the middle of a forest with Mount Etna in the background.  Delightful – and the wine when we tasted it later was just gorgeous.

After we had been shown the vineyards we had another delicious meal while we tasted the wines.  And after that, we followed up on a recommendation for the perfect Granita and so walked to this rather Baroque  establishment to indulge in sorbets and cakes.

Then back to Tashi Delek and a rather more normal evening aboard.