1000 Places to See Before You Die 9 - Mount Etna, Sicily, Italy
In 2005 I was Interrailing through Western Europe, and my friend and I dedicated almost an entire month to Italy. We had both studied Italian for 3 years in high school, so this was a good opportunity to practice the language and soak up some of the culture and history first hand. During the trip we went to Sicily, and no trip to this island is complete without a visit to Mount Etna, the volcano that watches over the area. We went on a guided tour that included the bus trip and two guides to show us around. We drove up as far as we could, but then we hiked the rest of the way. This was pretty physically demanding, as far as I remember, as it was very hot, the terrain was steep and the ground consisted of soft, black volcanic sand that you sank into, making it arduous to walk. We hiked as far as a lookout point over a lava valley, where the view consisted of black sand and lava formations. Coming back down we visited a cave, where lava runs through each time the volcano erupt...