annhig

You need to understand that there is a difference between travelling as an individual, sightseeing from morning to late night, living on sandwiches and travelling with a family. >>

we do understand, indeed many of us have done this sort of trip with our kids many times, but we've been able to go back because we were able to be adaptable. YOU are the one with the problem as you've said you won't go back to Italy with your kids because of the cost of having 2 proper sit-down meals a day.

sitting down, taking your time, feeding your kids healthily, does not have to mean having a full meal every time. soups, salads, pizza, fruit, and yes, sandwiches, can provide a satisfying and nutritious alternative for one meal a day. and we love to take our time on our trips too.

amln

The first photos of the Sicily trip (Mt Etna):
http://www.molon.de/galleries/Italy/Sicily/Etna/

Holly_uncasdewar

Pretty photos! Looks like the weather was good.

amln

Yes, we were lucky because it was the day after the rains, and the rains had washed away all the haze in the sky. Only a few days later the sky was already far less clear than on that day.

Overall we have been quite lucky with the weather, since end of the year is supposed to be the rainy season in Sicily.

tarquin

Amin, your trip report makes painful reading. I could say many things, but will just ask why you persisted with the GPS when it consistently misguided you and you were advised by the people at your first B&B not to use it?

jamikins

How are mcdonalds and burger king healthier options than sandwiches?

annhig

nice photos amin.

did you have a guide or just go up in the cable car? were guides available there or would one have to book?

i ask because I'm trying to persuade DH that he wants to go to Sicily and he would love to go up Mount Etna.

amln

@tarquin: GPS only failed a few times, but worked fine otherwise. The problem comes from maps which are not up to date, and deep inside the cities probably the GPS signal is not strong enough. I learned later that you have to avoid narrow alleys between tall buildings. But otherwise driving around with a GPS navigator is an excellent way of travelling. It makes things so much easier.

@annhig: you can just go up in the cable car. Once on top (i.e. at 2500m altitude) you can book an expensive 4WD trip to a place 150m higher (not worth it in my opinion). But there is nobody preventing you from walking on your own wherever you want to. The main problem for me was the lack of acclimatisation to the altitude (my legs felt heavy) and the strong and cold wind on that December day. I didn't get that far, but the views were outstanding. In one spot you could see the snow covered volcano summit on the left, and to the right there was the Mediterranean sea (see here: http://www.molon.de/galleries/Italy/...img.php?pic=21 )
Coming back to your question, guides should be available, it's just that we didn't use them.

annhig

amin - thank you very much. I'm sure this'll be helpful in persuading him that he really wants to go to Sicily!

amln

@thursdaysd: ham is heavy on table salt and animal fats. It also contains nitrite salts, which are unhealthy (especially in combination with cheese). It's ok if you eat ham every now and then, but not every day. And in any case, fresh meat is always better.

@jamikins: a chicken sandwich (without mayo)in a fast food, is less unhealty than a cheese and ham sandwich.

MyriamC

@amln I wonder in which European countries you have eaten a meat dish with rice or potatoes for 5-8 euro. The only countries that come to mind are Portugal and (some areas of) Spain. Apparently you have never been to Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, ...
In fact I was very happy to read that a meal for four cost only 80-100 euros! That is what we usually pay for two in Belgium, Netherlands, France, etc.
I will now continue reading your report because your itinerary is very much what we have in mind for our September holidays. Thanks for the extensive report.

amln

In Munich for instance (perhaps the most expensive city in Germany to live in) you can have a meat dish with rice or potatoes for 5-8 Euro. Also in Spain, France, Switzerland etc.

I've been to Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, but not with the family (in an earlier life when I was a single man). You are right that restaurants in the Scandinavian countries can be quite expensive.

By the way, you must be quite wealthy if you think that 80-100 Euro for a meal for four is not much. I wish we had your travel budget ;-)

annhig

I tend to agree with Myriam - it is difficult to find places where you can feed 4 people well for less than €80 including drinks while you are on holiday. I also agree that it is easier to do it in Germany, and possibly in Holland. but IME France and particularly Switzerland are more expensive, especially in areas where there are a lot of tourists.

Having just spent a week in Rome eating very reasonably, i would venture to say that touring is one of the most difficult holidays to do cheaply, especially with a family - you have the imperative to feed them but no time to get to know places and where the best and most reasonable restaurants are. in our week, OTOH, we had plenty of chance to find the best places at the right price.

MyriamC

We are not wealthy at all. Prices here in Belgium have just risen skyhigh since the euro. My sister, who lives in Germany too and doesn't visit us very often, is always surprised at how much more expensive eating out has become since she was here last time ... Eating out where she lives (Nordrhein Westfalen) is much more affordable. Running errands in general is much more expensive here in Belgium.

Michael

<i>In fact I was very happy to read that a meal for four cost only 80-100 euros! That is what we usually pay for two in Belgium, Netherlands, France, </i>

In the French provinces that is expensive. From one of my trip reports:

"We drove along the Dordogne to Sarlat and had lunch at the Auberge de Mirandol (http://restaurant-auberge-mirandol-sarlat.fr/ ), still a good value when choosing the<b> 13€ or 19€ menu</b> with traditional dishes such as pâté, confit and cassoulet--the steak can be semelloïde as reported by another poster or decent as experienced by a previous guest--but rather than eating in the room at ground level with its low ceilings and wooden beams, we were directed upstairs which is a large room that from its remaining decoration appeared to have been an 18th cent. salon. From the language spoken, I would say that they were mainly French out for the Sunday meal rather than the larger proportion of foreign tourists at the rez-de-chaussée."

and the local bistrot in Excideuil is rated as costing less than 15€--I believe that the <i>formule</i> at noon is less than 10€.

annhig

Michael - once you add in drinks, you'll have hit or exceeded €20 pp for dinner.

i agree that you can eat more cheaply at lunch - it was the OP who was saying that he and his family couldn't find anywhere to do that in Sicily.

Leely2

Wow, I thought restaurant prices in Sicily were in line with elsewhere in Italy, often a little less. Just my experience.

Yes, they eat late. It is Southern Europe. We never made a reservation before 9pm.

MyriamC

@ Michael
Yes, one can eat at affordable prices in France, depending from where you are, but probably you fancy other places than we do. We prefer restaurants that have been awarded a 'bib gourmand' from Michelin for their excellent price/quality ratio. The price for a 3-course lunch is usually around 25-30 euro, for a 3-course dinner 30-35 euro. Add an aperitif and a bottle of wine,and your final bill will easily be 80-100 euro.

Michael

<i>once you add in drinks, you'll have hit or exceeded €20 pp for dinner. </i>

Which would come out to 40€-45€ for two (wine is not expensive in these establishments), half the price claimed in the posting to which I responded. And the "formule" includes wine and sometimes coffee, as it did in the Landes for 8€.

amln

@Myriam: not wonder if you spend such amounts if you go to Michelin guide restaurants.

We usually go for much cheaper places when travelling. Part of the reason is that we do three trips per year (total of seven weeks of travelling), usually to far away destinations. This year for instance we are travelling to Taiwan, Malaysia and either the USA or Ethiopia. If we spent 80-100 Euro per meal twice a day, we'd exceed the travel budget.