I learned something new today. The Aeolian Islands are part of Sicily. There are 7 of them. The largest is Lipari that I have been saying wrong since I met Don Lipari in the 1st grade. The correct way is with the accent on the “Li.” We took a hydrofoil (which is a fancy name for a fast ferry) from Messina to Lipari. It took about 2 hours and the ferry was very crowded.

The total population of the 7 main islands is approximately 15,000 with the majority living on Lipari. In the summer months the population grows to more than 40,000 because of tourism and residents of the Island of Sicily who have summer homes here.

We had a wonderful lunch at a restaurant at the Marina Corta that was served family style and was all vegetarian. They made the eggplant parm for me with no cheese. We had salad, fried cabbage with onions (that was to die for) along with a couple other courses. Unless I take pictures of the food they all tend to run in together. Each meal is better than the last.

After lunch was a long walk up steps to our hotel. A couple strange things about the hotel. The internet will not work if the tv is not on. Most of the television is American TV like Blue Bloods, Castle and CSI all dubbed in Italian. Also the HVAC doesn’t work if the door to your patio is open and they have a screen at the front desk that tells them if your door is open or not.

After a little nap we had to go out for some retail therapy and eventually some dinner. I bought earrings. Surprise, surprise and a great striped linen shirt. Dinner was at a seafood restaurant that Nino recommended.

The next morning was Sunday and we had a discovery walk with a guide and toured the Castle of Lipari, the Archaeological Museum along with the Cathedral of St.Bartholomew. Definitely an interesting walk up the hill that seemed like a mountain. It was so sweet because it was first communion day at the Cathedral and all these little boys and girls were dressed in white carrying white lilies.

Interesting information about St.Bartholomew. He was one of the 12 Apostles and he was flayed alive. For that reason he is the patron saint of tanners and leather workers.

After the tour of the church we moved on the the Architecture Museum. Although very interesting it was a bit more in depth than I wanted to hear so I took pictures from the windows.

After a tour of the museum we moved to a lookout point to view the village of Lipari.

While looking at an amphitheater either build by the Romans or the Greeks or possible both at different times, Nino treated us to an impromptu dance with no music.

After that we had to have wine and pizzas. There were no leftovers.

After a nap we went on a tour of the island of Lipari. It was very beautiful with steep dropoffs and switch back roads. Afterwards we went to a farm to table restaurant for dinner and watched the sun set. A very interesting ride on the way home in the dark.

Tomorrow is our last day in Lipari and we will be spending the day on the island of Salina and participating in the “A Day in the Life” of an Aeolian family.