Shannon is a lieutenant in the Navy and works as a pharmacist at Sigonella Naval Air Station. We live in Aci Trezza, a fishing village on the Ionian Sea and a popular town to live in for young, single navy personnel. The town has about 5,000 residents and many restaurants and cafes.Aci Trezza offers many opportunities for an active lifestyle. In town you can rent boats, scuba dive, kayak, sail, fish or simply go swimming. There are also many opportunities for relaxation, during the summer Aci Trezza is a popular retreat for Italians who are looking for a quiet place to get some sun. There are Lidos, or decks to relax on and go swimming, and many places to get some granita or gelato. The people here seem to like Americans, they don’t seem to speak as much English as other places I have visited in Europe but they are very patient as you attempt to communicate.
There are also many opportunities for travel. Shannon and I live 20 minutes north of the Catania Airport, the largest airport in Sicily. There are many day trips to take too as there are so many small towns in Sicily with their own unique character. We have already visited the resort town of Taormina and Santo Stefano di Camastra (click links for pictures).
This past weekend we visited the volcanic Aeolian Islands on the Tyrrhenian Sea with our friends Chris and Dana. We took a ferry from Milazzo to Lipari, the largest of the Isole Eolie, and stayed at the Hotel Carasco. Lipari is a popular tourist destination offering great restaurants and incredible views everywhere you go. On Saturday the four of us chartered a boat that took us around some of the islands to take in the views then dropped us off at the island of Volcano. We spent the afternoon climbing to the crater which offered fantastic viewing of the rest of the Isole Eolie. We were pretty tired at our dinner that night.
On Sunday Shannon and I rented scooters and drove around Lipari. This trip had some of our best views yet. I should mention, because I’m sure Shannon will in her blog, that I fell off my scooter once but sustained no injuries. It was a great trip, Shannon and I plan to return. 
