Lava Tube Hike

This weekend, Mike and I went on a lava tube hike up Mt. Etna with the spouses club.  We had 2 guides to lead us and teach us a little along the way.

We drove up the mountain through a park area and stopped and parked at this little restaurant. 

Then we started on our hike.  Now, this was called a lava tube hike, so I figured we would be hiking in a lava tube.  In reality, it was about a 4 mile hike to the lava tube and then we were in the lava tube for about 10 minutes, then we had to hike back to the car.  So it was really a Mt. Etna hike that included exploring a lava tube.

The views along the way were amazing.  First we were in a forest, but at a clearing, we had a beautiful view of the summit.  That is smoke coming out of the volcano, not a cloud, and as you can see, we already have some snow.

After a little while in the trees, we were out in the sun walking among lava rocks.

This picture shows one of the trails that the lava took down the mountain.

After a while out in the sun, we were back among trees, and every once in a while there was a cute little area where you can sit and rest before moving on.  But there was no sitting for us!  Our guide was kind enough to point out that these walls were man made.  Thanks, otherwise we might have thought, as Mike said, that it was just a really organized volcano.

Then, back to the sun and lava.  It was really cool to see this lone tree among all the stone.

And up higher on the mountain there were trees and some beautiful fall colors.

Finally, after 4 miles of hiking up the mountain, increasing our elevation by more than 1000 feet, we made it to the lava tube.

Not sure what I expected, but I didn't know that this hike included rock climbing!

After climbing down the wall, we were in the tube!  If I understood our guide, the lava that this tube is made out of dates back to the 1500s.

Headlamps and flashlights were a necessity!

The beginning of the tube was tight and the ground was covered with loose rocks you had to carefully walk over.

Thankfully, there were areas where the top of the lava tube was open.  Some of the holes were created by increasing pressure when the lava was running through the tube, and the gas explodes.  Others are areas that were weak and crumbled in.

You can't really tell, but this was a cool area.  There was a small hole letting light in and an area that was dripping water.  Above this little puddle you could see the water evaporating.  If you look closely, you can see the steam in the picture.

This is a pile of lava rocks under an area that had caved in.  Our guide told us if we picked up a rock and put in on top and make a wish, then the wish will come true.  I gave it a shot, I'll keep you posted ;)

The light at the end of the tunnel!

We climbed out of the tunnel a different way.  It was an easier climb, more like stairs, thank goodness because I wasn't sure how I was going to make it back up the wall!

Once out of the lava tube, we found a comfy rock and sat down to eat our lunch.

Then we headed back to the car.  It was mostly downhill on the way back!

 

The contrast between the barren lava stone and the lush trees was really cool.

While we were walking, there was some sort of race going on along the trail.  By the time we got back to our cars, they had set up the finish line!  A great way to celebrate finishing our 5 or 6 hour hike!

You may be wondering why Tommy and Sam weren't there.  It was not because they were not invited, they are just lame.  Neither one wanted to put that much effort in to seeing Mt. Etna.  So Mike and I enjoyed a beautiful day, seeing some cool scenery without having to hear anyone whine about are we there yet, or how much longer, or I am so tired when are we going to leave!  Someday they will wish they had gone with us.

October 2012 Cooking Class

This month, the cooking class went to a cute restaurant called Frenz.

It was bright and cheer full, and they had some snacks and drinks set up for us before the class actually began.  

This was the set up for our demonstration.  We were learning to make Arancini, a very typical Sicilian food.  It is made with sticky rice, a thick ragu sauce and then coated and fried.  It is an all in one meal that travels well, which is why it was a favorite long, long ago.  We were to learn how to do 2 different kinds, one with the traditional ragu and one with pistachio cream inside.

It is a time intensive process.  You have to make the rice and the sauces a day in advance.  So they had done that well before we arrive.  On the right you will see the pistachio sauce in the upper left and the ragu sauce in the lower right.

We all donned some gloves and got ready.  First you grab a bunch of rice and make it into a ball.  Then you shape that into more of a bowl, where you then put about 2 tablespoons of your sauce inside and then tightly pack the rice around the sauce.

After doing that, you take a mixture of flour and water and coat the outside, and then roll it into breadcrumbs.

The typical shape is the cone shape, on the left.  We did our ragu one in a cone (the chef came and perfected it for us) and the pistachio one round.  This made it easier to tell which was which when they were served.

We got to bring our arancini into the kitchen where Andrea explained the cooking process.  You first deep fry it quickly and take it out.  Later, you have to deep fry it again in order to warm all the inside up.  I forgot to say that in addition to the sauces, we also put some cheese inside the arancini.

Getting ready for the first fry.

After the arincini we learned how to make a crispy rice pastry thing.  It is a seasonal kind of treat around here.

Here is Andrea and our hosts, explaining and showing us what we need to be doing.

Again we started with previously cooked and cooled sticky rice.   You grab a bunch and then add a couple tablespoons of flour and mix it until it looks more like a dough than rice.

Then you shape it into fingers.  The skinnier they are the crispier they are.

Again they get fried.

The finished crispy rice things.

Finished arancini

After we were done with our work, we got to sit down for our meal.  You would think that one arancini would have been good enough, but we each had 2 that we could eat, more than enough.  However, this is an all you can eat pizza place, and they brought out all sorts of pizza, and they kept it coming, it was crazy!

Before anything else, we got some all you can eat french fries

Then our arancini came out

The pistachio

and the ragu

Then the pizzas started......

Those are just a sample of some of the pizzas.  They had all sorts of crazy toppings, including one with red sauce and tuna.  We had some many pizzas, that some no one touched.  They allowed us to bring some home, and Tommy was very thankful!

As if we hadn't eaten enough, then we got our crispy rice things for desert.

This is what they look like to start.....

then the chef ladled on a ton of honey.  I think he easily coated them with 4 or 5 ladles of honey.

Of course you needed all the honey so that the powdered sugar will stick!

I ate one and brought several home for Tommy.  He heated them up the next day (actually I heated them up for him the next day) for breakfast.

Certainly the cooking class and meal, which also included all you can drink wine and soda, was a bargain at 20 euro, but that was not all.

The restaurant also had a bowling alley.  So they let us play a game and they put on the music videos and the disco light!  They also have a 5D theater, whatever that is.  It was a lot of fun and really good food!  My favorite class so far!