Category Archives: Southern Europe

I took the Overseas Adventure Travel trip Sicily’s Ancient Landscapes and Timeless Traditions and gained tremendous depth and insight into Southern Italy and Sicily. I’ve written about much of it, but there were some additionally special moments on that trip. OAT also offers another trip , Southern Italy and Sicily that includes some of theContinue reading “Exploring Southern Italy and Sicily”

During my recent trip with Overseas Adventure Travel called Sicily: Ancient Landscapes and Timeless Traditions, I came away with many great learning experiences. But three of them which were unexpected were seeing and experiencing such a magnificent volcano, the cultural influence of pomegranates and pinecones, and the story behind the all-pervasive Moorish Heads. Mt EtnaContinue reading “Reflecting on Volcanoes, Pomegranates, and Moorish Heads in Sicily”

One of the most intriguing parts of the Sicily trip I rook with Overseas Adventure Travel called Sicily: Ancient Landscapes and Timeless Traditions, was the time we spent in the old Tunisian Casbah in the fishing port of Mazara del Vallo on the West coast of Sicily. Our day wandering the Casbah and enjoying theContinue reading “Learning and Discovery in Sicily’s Last Arab Casbah”

In Italy there is the concept of dolce far niente – the sweetness of doing nothing. The Italians claim to be masters at it. I enjoyed some of it on my own during rainy days in Matera in Southern Italy and other times in Sicily. I much prefer the Italian description rather than the AmericanContinue reading “Learning in Italy about the Sweetness of Doing Nothing”

I learned a lot when I was in the Puglia region of Southern Italy as part of the Overseas Adventure Travel trip Sicily: Ancient Landscapes and Timeless Traditions. The pre-trip to the main Sicily trip is in the “heel” of Italy, and includes exploring the ancient city of Matera, and the more modern city ofContinue reading “Olive Oil Production in Southern Italy and Pure Italian Joy”

On the Overseas Adventure Travel trip Sicily: Ancient Landscapes and Timeless Traditions, one real highlight for me was visiting the World War Two Landing Museum. This museum documents the invasion of Sicily by allied troops in 1943, an event that was a turning point for Sicily in the war and marked the beginning of theContinue reading “Visiting Sicily’s World War Two Landing Museum”

Time travel. That is what Sicily was with Overseas Adventure Travel, on their trip Sicily: Ancient Landscapes and Timeless Traditions. For me, it had been exactly two years of no international travel due to the pandemic, so this added to my sense of time. In Italy it would have felt like traveling back in timeContinue reading “Exploring Sicily and Traveling thru Time”