I really want to go to Sicily for a vacation. Last week they were in the middle of a grueling heat wave, but that is unusual. Generally the climate is quite idillic.

Cheap Travel options are becoming more numerous these days as discount airlines expand their routes and the hospitality industries are fighting to become the destination of choice for the vast middle class of the Western World.

Sicily is my number one choice partly for what it is not. It is not the default destination of the masses. I don’t want to go somewhere that is being overwhelmed by the shear volume of tourism. I also want to go to a place with a vibrant local agriculture industry. Lemons taste better when they are fresh from the tree.

Mount Etna is something else that I want to see. Actually I have seen it from a distance a few times. I want to take the day trip that takes you near the top of the volcano. I would prefer to go there in the spring or summer when there is no snow. My son might prefer to see the snow, there is skiing on Mount Etna from December to March. That’s right…SKIING ON A VOLCANO!!!

SideStep is the traveler’s search engine. I like the way the site navigation is set up. You can really follow your interest from more general ideas to something more specific. I wasn’t that interested in Catania until I read about it on SideStep.