Mt. Etna eruption 7-30-11

Last night Mt. Etna had an eruption which we were finally able to see! The sound of the volcano erupting was like thunder and you could see the lava spewing in the air. Unfortunately with our camera we weren't able to get the best pictures, so I am posting one from someone on base as well.

photo taken by someone from the Navy

London

Lucky for us Gene had to go to London for work which turned into a 2 day free vacation. When booking our hotel room the company lost our confirmation and gave us a suite at a nicer hotel for the price of a regular room at a cheaper hotel. We took the Tube and walked to all the sites we could fit into our 2 days. I felt at home in London because half the people looked exactly like me :) Red hair and freckles are very common...I love it!

our "Sandhurst Suite"

Big Ben

The London Eye

The London Bridge

The London Tower

The London Bridge

St. Paul's Church

Buckingham Palace

fish and chips with mushy peas :) yummmmm

Cava Grande

Gene and I went hiking with some friends to a place called Cava Grande near Siracusa. A river dug itself very deep into a ravine where there are waterfalls and large pools of water to swim in. The hike down the mountain was about 1 1/2 miles straight down in 90 degree heat! After we got to the bottom the cold pools of water were very refreshing and amazingly beautiful. The hike back up was very intense...too bad there wasn't a pool at the top to swim in :)

getting ready to start the hike

half way down the mountain looking at the water

one of thee pools of water

the group

the  girls playing in one of the small waterfalls

Camping in Cefalu and the islands of Lipari and Vulcano

On 4th of July weekend Gene and I drove up to Cefalu, a beautiful beach on the North side of Sicily. We got a campsite for 3 nights. We were very fortunate and got a spot overlooking the crystal clear waters of Cefalu. We brought our snorkels and bought rafts to float around for hours every day. The water was a perfect temperature and we were able to see cool fish and find little coves to swim to. One day we took a fairy to the Aeolian Islands, Lipari and Vulcano. We took a boat tour around Lipari to see it's beautiful water and then over to the island Vulcano. Vulcano is a volcano with huge craters at the top which steam sulfur all the time. We had a very busy weekend, but yet another trip to add to the books!

our campsite in Cefalu

relaxing on the raft right below our campsite

the island of Lipari - Aeolian  Islands

jellyfish

boat tour 

Lipari

quick swim off the boat

the island of Vulcano

black sand beach in Vulcano

mud bath sulfur springs

island car :)