Everything You Need to Know and More (Puglia, Sicily and Malta)

I've added link to some of the highlights of our trip as well as the accomodations we used! Sept 11 to 15 Monopoli, Puglia Took first class train from Rome to Monopoli for four days (25 Euros for both with a discout code) Super cute Airbnb, like a Trulli Monopoli old town is so wonderful The food is fantastic and Puglia wine is great Did a day trip to Polignano a Mare, 6 minute train ride from Monopoli. Tour with Vito. Alberobello and Trulli homes were so unique. Martina Franca was a cute medieval town and Ostuni was beautiful, needs a second visit. We did a Bike tour of Lecce, which is a one hour train ride away. The legend of the Madonna icon coming to shore on a raft that contained all the wood needed to put a roof on the cathedral. Loved it.

Next we took a one hour train to Bari. Loved our bed and breakfast that was right in the heart of the city. Enjoyed our bike tours so we did one in Bari too. Nice city. Good vibe and excellent food!

September 16 to 20 Taormina, Sicily Sept 16 -Trains and buses on-strike, so had to muscle a cab (we used the BOLT app) to the airport from Bari. A cab driver said he was Enrico. Half way through the drive, after phone calls and arguments, we ended up back in Catania. After paying him $50 to go away, Angela got us safely to Taormina, an hour away. Warning, be careful of the scammers in Sicily. Sept 17 - First full day in Taormina. Airbnb is huge. Two bathrooms. It’s beautiful. Hit all the major sites. Piazza IX Aprile, the cathedral, the Comunale park. We had arancini and beer for lunch, and went to Isola Bella. A LONG walk down. Beautiful, rocky beach. So clean. Full, full of fish. Snorkelled for a good while. Sept 18 - climbed up to Castelmola. 529 m high. That is 325 mabove Taormina. Walked up. Parts of foot path are not well maintained. Had acoffee and brioche outside the church of St Nicholas of Bari. Walked the town, saw the castle ruins. Walked back to Taormina. Nice dinner at Villa de Zuccaro. After a bottle of wine and two aperol spritz’s each, we felt good! Sept 19 - Beach Day Walked down to Isola Bella beach again. Great day. Perfect weather. Bought water shoes. A must! Great snorkelling and people watching. Wonderful fish dinner at Ristorante Il Ciclope Sept 20 - Cannoli for breakfast. Angela picked up us for a private full day tour to Siracusa, Noto and Ortigia .

Catania, Sicily Sept 21 - Amazing place to stay if you go to Catania is Le 4 Leggende, our host Luca was fabulous! Apartment was in a 90 year old building. Owner lived there with family. Had an entire kitchen area, outdoor lounge and hot tub. All fully stocked. Etna tour with Salvo. Great guide.Weather on the mountain was rainy and foggy. Only got half way up. Went into a lava tube.Amazing. These tubes are all over the mountain and you can hike them. Some tougher than others. In the afternoon we did a self guided walking tour of Catania. The old town was very nice, but the rest is the city was dirty, lots of graffiti and did not feel safe.

Sept 22 to Sept 27 - Gozo and Malta RyanAir flight to Malta. The flight was only 29 minutes from Catania. Got to Malta and picked up by a great driver, we used this site to book the transfer. So friendly. Gave us lots of info. Took us to the ferry. Gave us an envelope of cash to give to the other driver who was picking us up after the ferry ride to Gozo. Gozo is a cute little island. 15 minutes to drive across it. Apartment Azure Cottage was big. Three beds and two baths. Walked around, toured Gozo. Ate, drank and enjoyed the beautiful sites and friendly locals. Sept 24 - Out for our boat day. Trip around Gozo, Comino and the Blue Lagoon. Water was beautiful. Blue Lagoon was like a tourist trap. Could be so nice, if they limited the guests. Visited Victoria, Gozo that night. Victoria was so beautiful, small and quaint. People here are really nice.

Sept 25 - we all headed over to Valletta by fast ferry. Dropped our stuff at the apartment. Huge,OLD, but nice. Right in the old city. We walked up the FIVE high flights and left our bags. Wandered around and did a self guided tour. Sept 26 - Valletta food and culture tour. It was great. So informative and the food was all very typical. Valletta has the unique history with the St John Knights and the English, and WWII. Went to Sliema on a short cheap ferry ride (about 10min ride) for dinner and drinks that night. It’s the cool area. Lots of fun. Sept 27 - We headed to Mdina. Just took the bus. Super easy. Mdina is the original city on the island and the only source of fresh water. So old, it’s ridiculous. Was an amazing place.

Next Tuesday I'll post for France, UK and Ireland! If you have any question feel free to reach out.