Mount Etna and Taormina

Mount Etna had been smoking since we arrived in this area and today we visited it but unfortunately not enough time to explore via the chairlift and climb higher.
The worst eruption was in 1669 which largely destroyed Catania with the city being subsequently rebuilt in the baroque style.
The most recent significant eruption was in 1991 though there was a flow last year. Etna is considered less dangerous than Vesuvius and Stromboli, despite being more active, as it does not tend to explosions but rather slow lava flow.
Apparently there are ski runs on Etna in winter which I can understand as even today it was surprisingly cold and windy up there.
The tour then took us onto Taormina for the afternoon where sadly it was too cloudy to see Etna from the greek theatre. We enjoyed walking round the town with quaint shopping streets and luxury hotels.
The tour group dinner was in the hotel at the unatmospheric hotel at Naxos.Read more