Personal Safety While Traveling

If you spend any time at all perusing travel web sites and message boards such as Trip Advisor, Fodor's, Rick Steves, Lonely Planet, etc., you know that two of the most discussed topics are pickpockets and tipping.  (More on tipping in a later post.)

It's a sad fact of travel today that professional pickpockets of every age (including young children and the elderly) are active in most major cities.  You can run into them anywhere, particularly on mass transit and at key tourist sites.  These are crimes of opportunity, so your best defense is to minimize their opportunities by (1) being alert to your surroundings, (2) only carrying the valuables you need for the day, and (3) securing your cash and credit cards in a fastened inside pocket or money belt.

A healthy dose of skepticism is a valuable, if uncomfortable, asset for the modern traveler.  It's not natural for me to assume the worst about a stranger so this is an attitude I wear consciously, especially when I travel alone.  Like many others before and since, I was targeted on a crowded bus in Italy.  I foolishly left my cheap, old cellphone in an outside pocket of my bag for all to see.  Someone did and they took it; fortunately for me my lesson was learned with an item that wasn't valuable and was easily and quickly replaced.

Rick Steves has a good, short article on the topic on his web site:  Rick Steves Article

Absentee Ballots

Thanks to Marie for reminding us that we'll be away on election day (November 4th), so please remember to get your absentee ballot completed and filed before we leave.

Mt. Etna

One of the things I'm really looking forward to on our trip is seeing Mt. Etna.

If you're interested in learning more about it before we leave, I found these two articles interesting:

National Geographic (you have to join to read it on line, but it's free) article from 2002 with fantastic pictures, entitled "Etna Ignites":  National Geographic link 

An article from the Daily Mail last month (August 2014) with video:  The Beast is Risen

Taormina

Taormina, according to the city's web site, was born as a tourist town.

Founded by the Sicels and later occupied by the Greeks, Romans, and Arabs, Taormina has always been prized for its magnificent setting high above the sea, its famous view of Mt. Etna, and its mild winter climate.

The city's location on a deep wedge of limestone saves it from earthquakes, preserving both the Greek theater (first built in the 4th century BC and rebuilt by the Romans during the 1st - 3rd centuries AD) as well as the medieval downtown area.

More recently, since about 1700, Taormina has also been known as a writer's haven.  John Dryden, D.H. Lawrence, and Truman Capote have all spent time writing there.  You can read more about "The Literary Ghosts of Taormina" in this article from the Times of Sicily.

New Airport Security Procedures re Electronics

In July of this year the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) implemented new, stricter rules regarding electronics carried onto planes bound for the United States.

According to this article from the New York Times, published in July 2014, "Passengers will have to turn on the electronic devices while being screened by security personnel to prove that the devices are harmless, the T.S.A. said Sunday. The fear is that unresponsive phones have been hollowed out and filled with explosives"

In other words, it will be important to have ALL of your carry-on electronics (cell phones, laptops, IPads, etc.) easily accessible for the security check.  Please be sure to that your devices have sufficiently charged batteries because if you cannot turn it on when asked, you will either have to leave it behind or miss the flight.

Rome's Fiumicino airport is implementing the new procedures and travelers are reporting significant delays at security on Trip Advisor.  

The statement from the Secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, can be seen on the Homeland Security web site here.

Alitalia Carry On Luggage Rules

Alitalia allows each passenger to bring one piece of carry-on luggage.  In addition to this you may also carry on a laptop, a briefcase, or a purse.  These secondary items must all fit under the seat in front of you.

 Your carry on bag dimension cannot exceed the following:

• Height ("a" in the diagram for a rolling bag) - 21.5 inches
• Width ("c" in the diagram for a rolling bag) - 13.5 inches
• Depth ("b" in the diagram for a rolling bag) - 10 inches

 More information on the Alitalia web site here.

Optional Excursion to Catania

Another option for our free day in Taormina on Thursday, October 30th, is a tour of Catania, Sicily's second largest city and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Although there is evidence that the area was populated by Greek colonists as far back as 700 BC, the city we see today is largely from the 18th century, rebuilt after the 1693 eruption of the volcano razed it to the ground.

Catania Cathedral di Sant'Agata

 
Our walking tour starts with the Cathedral square and church, after which we'll stroll along Via Crociferi to Piazza Stesicoro to see the ruins of the Roman theatre (an interesting contrast to the Greek theater we'll visit in Taormina), then back to the Cathedral square along Via Etnea, Catania's main street.

If we are there in the morning (timing is TBD) we'll also stop and see Catania's lively fish market.

The fee for this optional four-hour excursion is $45 per person.