Tags
Bronte, Caltigirone, Cantania, Castelmola, Messina, Paterno, Sicily, Taormina
While we await Ellen’s photos 
from our trip to Sicily (she has more to sort through than most of us take in an entire lifetime), I thought I’d offer a short quiz about our trip (and avoid a boring travelogue).
There are ten questions below, and three extra credit ones for those over achievers among you. You can put your answers in the Comments section or send them to me at Samesty84@gmail.com.
The prize of some wonderful pistachio nuts from the heart of pistachio growing area in Sicily, Bronte, to the winner.
Note: Many answers of the possible answers sound plausible. Find the Best answer (as defined by yours truly).
1. How many pictures did Ellen take over the six day period in Sicily, including both those with her new camera as well as her iPhone?
a. Less than 1,000
b. More than 1,000
c. Too many
d. Not enough
e. We don’t know yet
2. In Sicily, we (i.e., Richard)
a. Got a parking ticket
b. Got a speeding ticket
c. Got our rental car towed
d. All of the above
e. None of the above
3. Many Sicilians drive small cars because
a. They are environmentally conscious
b. The cars are inexpensive
c. The streets in many of the towns are extremely narrow
d. It’s easier to park a small car
e. Petrol is expensive
f. Dents don’t matter so much on small, inexpensive cars
g. All of the above
h. Three of the above
4. The day we drove to, around, and back from Mt. Etna, which of the following did we not see?
a. Snow
b. A house buried to the roof top in lava
c. Cactus
d. Hot lava
e. None of the above
f. All of the above
5. Why is it best to avoid the town of Paterno?
1. You’ll never find your way out of the town
2. You can’t park
3. There’s no place to eat
4. Joe’s family probably comes from there
6. Our favorite activity was
a. Driving along the coast and through the small towns of northeast Sicily
b. Wandering through the seafood market and eating in one of the little market seafood restaurants in Cantania
c. Climbing the steps and wandering through the narrow streets of Caltagirone
d. Strolling through Taormina and Castelmola
e. Driving through the countryside from Taormina to Caltagirone
f. Driving around Mt. Etna
g. Eating Sicilian food
7. Our favorite city in Sicily on this trip?
a. Bronte
b. Cantania
c. Caltagirone
d. Castelmola
e. Messina
f. Paterno
g. Messina
h. Taormina
8. What is the best help for driving in Sicily?
a. GPS
b. Maps
c. Road signs
d. Hotel directions
e. Ellen
f. All of the above
g. None of the above
9. Most memorable sight.
a. Mt. Etna
b. Mt. Etna from the teatro greco in Taormina
c. Looking out from the top of Castelmola
d. Ellen enjoying her morning expresso and pastry and her evening gelato
e. Finding our parked car in Cantania
10. Why did Richard decide to carry his iPhone at all times while in Sicily?
a. In case Eli/Abby requested Face Time
b. To follow Elizabeth on Twitter
c. In case Ellen got locked in a bathroom (again)
d. For MLB news
e. So Ellen could tell me where she was
Extra Credit Questions:
1. Why won’t Ellen let Richard take pictures?
2. Where did the Romans get the lions?
3. Why did Ellen take Richard to a monastery (former) for his 70th birthday?
Chris Boutourline said:
This is for Sicilian World Series tickets, right?
1. Was going with ‘c’ but, after much deliberation, I closed the curve and vote for ‘e’.
2. If I read your post correctly Murphy’s Law was in effect! answer ‘d’
3. ‘h’; I’m reminded of an auto rental insurance offer in Spain that cost twice what the rental did. When it came to driving and parking in Seville during “Holy Week” I understood the reason.
4. ‘e’ is for evil, Bizzaro World, wording; I hope you did not not see a cactus. BTW, I always thought Bizzaro World, in “Superman” comics, was created just for me in the mid-60’s. It actually dates to a 1958 introduction in “Superboy”.
5. ‘1’
6. ‘g’
7. ‘c’
8. ‘e’
9. ‘b’
10. I want, and vote, for it to be ‘c’ tho it’s probably ‘a’
Extra Credit
1. Your poor photo composition makes her head hurt and she questions how she ended up with you.
2. I got nothing; Tunisia? Ringling’s?
3. To show him what his life would have been like without her!
Judy White said:
I am clueless, having never been to Sicily (is there snow??) but here goes:
1.b
2.3 (guessing from recent experiences you would be especially careful)
3. h
4.e
5.2
6 c (the loving detail is my clue)
7. no idea
8. f
9 d
10 c
Carrie Trauth said:
1. a
2.d
3.h
4.c
5.2
6.9
7.e/g
8.g
9.d
10.e
extra credit:
1. Ellen takes better pictures and does not want her camera broken
2. India
3.Now that his hair and beard are white, Rick looks like a Monk
Bill Plitt said:
Where is Sicily?
1. d. (ran out of battery time because of a power failure on the island due to over enthusiastic tourists and their technology gadgets)
2.e. (the motor scooter was stolen)
3.g.
4.f.
5.4
6.g. ( that’s the reason you gave for going)
7.f. ( you’re a close friend of Joe’s)
8.g. (a lot of luck)
9.d.
10.e.
Extra credit:
1. Because they would all be about the Sicilian women
2. From the Greeks. They got everything from the Greeks or so my friend
George says.
3. Because they make excellent bread.
Rebekah said:
1) E
2) D (Most of our friends had their cars towed at the Catania market at some point while living there. We never did, but we did get 400 euro worth of ” speeding” tickets in Florence and had to pay some off for “hitting” his mirror).
3) H (c, d, e)…but I like F too.
4) F (I have a picture of the buried house).
5) 1 (although I felt the same way about Bronte and several other towns–I literally thought we’d never get our car out of there).
6) b…or….c….tough….
7) C….or H….again, tough….
8) E….are there such things as road signs in Catania?
9) B is amazing…but E is probably more amazing
10) A