We arrived at Debbie and Carmelo’s after driving all day from the Amalfi Coast. They greeted us upon arrival, and showed us around the apartment, which is well furnished and clean, and provided everything we needed.

Debbie brought us a bottle of their homemade red wine, and also brought a gift of some cannoli. We asked for a local restaurant recommendation, and Debbie had us follow her in her car so we could find it. Unfortunately they were closed. At that point, Debbie asked if we would like to have dinner with her and Carmelo – pasta with mushrooms they had gathered just that day! Carmelo even went out in search of procuitto and melon, one of our favorite antipasti. He even brought back a long stemmed rose for Jeannette as an additional anniversary gift.

In the morning, they gave us good directions to Mt. Etna – one of the places that had been on our bucket list. The directions were great and got us right to the end of the road, into the other worldly view of lava fields stretching for miles, and in spite of the rain and fog were able to see the summit of the snow covered volcano.

We enjoyed our brief stay with Debbie and Carmelo. It felt like we were visiting our Italian family.