Make Time: Road Trip to Paradise

Get up - grab a nice free breakfast - hang out and talk with the girls who I hung out with last night (Holly and Lynette) - and then head out to the bus stop, which is right in front of the hostel. Bus comes at 9:16am and then again at 9:46am (and every hour at this time). I get out there around 9:06am (yeah, I'm that specific - you love it). I need to get the bus that says "Toarmina" on the front because that's where the Hertz rentacar is that I'm getting. Easy enough. I see a bus come by that says some other places on the front but then also says Taormina, so I flag it and open the lower compartment and put my bag in before going to the driver and asking if it's going to Taormina. No. Oops. Take my bag out and wait again. It's now about 9:18am and still no Taormina bus. A few other people come to wait for the bus. 9:30am. 9:46am. Still no bus. Then a Taormina bus comes by but the driver says he's full and keeps going. Cool. Great. Another two Taormina busses come by and do the same thing. No bueno. It's about 10:15am now and finally a bus comes and I get on it with the other 5 people who've been waiting with me. Takes about 15 minutes to get to the Hertz place, and just as I suspected they won't let me get a car with my debit card. Shit. Is there ANY other rentacar places around here? Yes, sir - Avis/Budget is just up the street. Hell yeah. Avis is the place that let me rent with my debit card in Sevilla, so I'm hoping this works out. I walk in and ask for a rental and they say they have one. It's gonna cost twice as much (literally) but at this point I don't care - I want to drive and get to this little town I've booked for the next few nights. The guys at this Avis are amazingly nice - they laugh about Chicago and NYC and say they love those places. Some Russian guy next to me in a douchey fedora hears I'm from the US and says that he's heard Americans don't like to travel. Um - not really, douche, but thanks for sharing. The Avis crew doesn't flinch at my debit card. I book. I get in my random little car and am on the road, winding through Taormina and then on a coastal road heading up to Messina, where I need to catch a ferry across to mainland Italy. Love this. Only about 45 minutes drive to the ferry, and then I drive directly onto the boat, which leaves about 10 minutes after I get on. Here's a random video I took of me getting on the ferry :) I take some pics from the ferry - see below - and then I drive off the boat and make my way up to the main highway heading north. Start heading the wrong way at first - make a completely illegal u-turn - then I'm all set and on the right path. Took a few videos of me driving. The road was great - so many beautiful vistas, sea views, and tunnels. Wish I could have captured more, but trust me I enjoyed it.

I drive into the tiny little mountain town of Civita, Italy about 3 hours after landing at the ferry. As I drive up it becomes apparent that this is way off the grid. Tiny streets and everything seems to move slow motion. I love it instantly. I find the bed and breakfast I'm staying and park in front. At the end of my street is a few benches and a beautiful expansive overlook facing the Mediterranean. Beauty. The view back into town includes a huge mountain behind - some good pics below. I check in with my host, Stefania, who couldn't be nicer. She shows me around and then says she has to go get her daughter. I walk around the house, which is classic and decorated very tastefully and quaint. My room and the decks off my room and the upstairs living room are amazing. Check out the pics below. I'm absolutely in my element. So peaceful. I walk back out to the street and check out the vista with the benches to check out that view. Just ahead of me I see an older guy getting off a scooter to check out the view as well. We stand about 20 feet away from one another looking at the view, and then he says something like "bellisima" to me, and I say yes. He notices I'm a tourist and starts speaking in a very broken, but very classic, English. He says he comes to this town for their gelato because it's the best around. He lives about 7 miles away, but he says he loves this town. We talk for a bit and he loves hearing about Chicago - instantly says "Isn't that where Obama is from?". Ha - once again everyone knows Chicago for Obama. Classic. We talk for a bit and then he rides off, wishing me a very good trip and saying that I'm lucky to be in such a hidden gem of a city. Great vibes. Love this type of interaction. I walk back down the street and make a right, heading for this huge gorge that is the highlight of this town - it's called Il Ponte del Diavolo. As I'm walking up I see the old guy on the scooter again, and he stops to tell me exactly how to get there (two feet ahead) and wishes me well again. Such a nice man. I walk up to this vista and it's absolutely breathtaking. What a place! There is a pic below but I'll take a bunch today when I go on my hike. Unreal. I head back and walk into town. As I'm walking by a little market I nod at two older guys sitting on a bench. They say something and I respond in English, and one of them speaks good English and asks if I'm a tourist. I tell him yes, and he tells me he used to live in the Bronx, NYC and Astoria, Long Island. HA! Classic. He's a classic older Italian guy and we talk for a bit about NYC and then about traveling. He says he absolutely loves this town, but wonders how I found it. Didn't know if he'd understand that I found it on AirBnB, but I told him I have my ways ;-) We chat for a few and then I walk into town, where I stop at a restaurant and ask if they take credit card…nope. Gonna have to go to the next town to get money, cause they don't have an ATM here as well. Classic. I continue walking through town and then hear my name being called. I look up to see my host, Stefania, hanging out at a table of about 10 Italians in front of a bar. I come over and have a drink with them - meet Stefania's 4 year old daughter Sofia (A-dorable) - and hang for a few minutes. Everyone gets up a few minutes later and then I'm hanging there by myself. I had told Stefania I don't have money, so I'm hoping I don't have to pay for this prosecco. I linger for a while and then walk into the bar to say goodbye and thanks, and they don't ask for money. Score. I walk back to the house and as I enter I smell a fabulous dinner being cooked by Stefania and her parents. I say hello and then head up to my room. Didn't want to intrude or invite myself. I eat a few bites of this white chocolate bar I got on my road trip and pass out relatively early. What a day!!

Loving this adventure, and yesterday was a great part of it. Small towns are really where it's at, and I've found a gem. Gonna go on a hike now and check out the gorge. Plenty of pics to come.