The Informed Traveler
The Informed Traveler
Exploring Mt. Etna, Sicily & Events in Valencia, Spain for 2026
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Travel expert Onanta Forbes was exploring Mount Etna in Sicily and sampling some of Sicily's tasty food last week, so on this week's show Onanta will join us to share her experience. Then we'll head over to Valencia in Spain to learn about some of the events coming up and see why it's becoming an popular place for visitors in 2026.
Exploring Mt Etna, Sicily
SPEAKER_00Well, hello and welcome to the Informed Traveler Podcast, a weekly travel podcast where our goal is to help you become a more informed traveler. And I'm your host, Randy Sharman. Travel expert Onanta Forbes continues her long stay in Sicily. And if you've been following her on social media, you've seen the images from her adventures on Mount Etna. So in a few seconds, Onanta will join us to share that adventure with us. And then we'll head over to Valencia in Spain to see why it's becoming a popular place for visitors in 2026. But first, let's kick things off, chatting with travel expert Onanta Forbes, who joins us each week to discuss some of the travel news and travel trends. You can follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and ex at Onanta Forbes. OnantaForbes.com is her website. Hello, Onanta.
SPEAKER_02How are you?
SPEAKER_00Italian's getting better and better. Not that I would know because I don't really speak Italian, but it's just flown out of me.
SPEAKER_02Just like the wine, it just flows out of you.
SPEAKER_00Um I've been uh following your adventures, like I just said, on Instagram and Facebook, uh, some amazing photos of some of the tours that you've uh been through this past week. So share it with us.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. So this week um was a little different than the previous week's uh chat, where we did a lot of the tours on our own, like we created our own transportation, um, sightseeing, and this week we um wanted to try two different or a few other destinations which was more logistically easy to book it through a tour operator. So the per um the company we use here is called Sicily Day by Day, and under their brand, they also run Aetna Experience and Aetna People, which um focus um specifically on Mount Aetna and outdoor excursions. So, one of the nicest things about um coordinating our plans with them, we are staying in Ortizia, and they are based out of Torumina and Catana, and which is um Catana is about 45 minutes to an hour away from Ortizia, but um we were able to arrange uh transfers where they picked us up where we were staying, took us to Catana where the tour started. It made it things so much more easier, especially for the earlier departures. Um, all the just the logistics are um simple, timing, um, transportation, all handle, and the guides are quite lovely. Now, the first tour we took this week with them was Argentina and Piazza Armenia, and it's a full-day tour. Um, in Argentina, we visited the Valley of the Temples, and what stands out is the scale. So the temples are huge and surprisingly intact, and walking through the sites kind of gives you a sense of how significant it this Greek city once was, because I honestly felt I was in Greece, like part of the Parthenon or touring that. Um, the valleys of the temple, it's spread out. So you cover a fair bit of ground. The time of year um we're not seeing a lot of crowds, but it's interesting because then from the um Argentina, you walk your way to the Piazza Armenia to see the Villa Roma Romano da Casal. And um this is where you have the opportunity uh to see the mosaics here. Um, the entire floors are covered in this detailed scenes like um hunting, daily Roman life, and they have this mosaic called Bikini Girls, and they really do look like ladies in bikinis, um, very modern, uh, despite being over 1,500 years old. I think I um maybe said it a little wrong. So when we were at Argentina, uh you would walk um between two different temples, and that's and then you would drive to Piazza Armenia. You don't walk to Piazza Armenia because it's about an hour away. So just to clarify that. Um, and then it's a full day, it's very well paced. Uh, and then the next excursion that we took with um Aetna um people, it was to Mount Aetna. And this is where we were um taken to uh it was like a a central point where it was at the base of Mount Aetna, and they the company owns um like a vineyard there, and they have a building where people who are if they're not properly um attired, they would be able to choose a coat because going to Mount Aetna is cooler, and also if you don't have proper shoes, they have um hiking shoes in different sizes, even um uh young, young children sizes. It was really quite well prepared. The only thing you really have to make sure is that you have socks because they don't supply socks, and um I I layered up um and I had a nice I have a good coat with me, um, so I didn't have to uh take any of their supplies, but it's good if you are going um that they will take care of you, gear and all. So this one was a bit more active. Uh first of all, we went and explored a lava cave, and it was um with helmets and headlamps. So you have to you have to be, I would say, a little mobile um, you can't be mobilely challenged, let's put it that way. You need to have a fair bit of flexibility in in crawling, descending into the cave, and then walking in the cave, it's all lava rocks, so it's very uneven, big chunks of rocks, different sizes. Um, it without the helmets um or the headlamps on the helmets, it's completely dark. So very, very dark. If you're claustrophobic, you might be it might bother you. It was it's big enough when you see the light on that it shouldn't, but you never know, right? Being in the dark and not having a quick exit might bother some people.
SPEAKER_00If there is an exit, but yeah, I'm not sure if I'd be comfortable with that. I don't know.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, it's it's quite um well, you have to think about it before you actually do it.
SPEAKER_00And and and you know the other thing that would bother me is that I'm quite tall. So I'd be stooped over a lot, I think.
SPEAKER_02You would be, absolutely, because I'm not tall. I'm 5'2, 5'2, and um there was times like I was really quite bent over, and and you don't realize how close the walls could be, so your helmet would kind of bump into the walls or the or the roof. Um the the guide does explain how um lava tubes form when the outer layer of flowing lava cools and hardens um while the molten lava continues through the center. And then when the flow stops, it leaves a hollow tunnel. Um, so it was interesting. It was about, I'd say, um 20 minutes of exploring.
SPEAKER_00Um so but again, so if you didn't want to, if you were uncomfortable of going in there, you could just kind of skip that portion and wait till everybody else was done.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely, because they're they drive you there. It's not a very big group, um, no more than seven people, including the guide. In fact, our um companions on this was a couple from Paris and their three-year-old daughter who went in. Yeah. Um, and good thing, because she's a she was chattering along, so I knew exactly where to go. She's right ahead of me. It's like, okay, I'm following you.
SPEAKER_00And she's small enough she could get through everything.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, go get help. Not that we needed. Um, but it was very interesting. It was the first time I've ever um been in a lava cave and never explored a cave as such. Um, after that, we drove to Mount Etna and we uh hiked around uh the base of the mountain, um, in and there's still snow here, and it's quite a bit of snow. Um uh it is melting, but still you have to they gave us um like uh hiking poles, which was immeasurable, like so much help in managing um traversing the lava um sand as well as the deep snow. And so it's interesting seeing snow on black volcanic rock, it's a strange combination. Um, and and you can see layers from past eruptions because it was um there was a lot of people there, but it was still not as busy as it could be. If you didn't want to walk around the base of it, you there was a cable car that you could go to the top. So again, um there were options. Um, and then the scenery is quite amazing. Um, you get to see, you know, the um katana very far in the distance, you get to see the ocean, you get to see um the different planes or craters of Mount Etna. So it's quite um it it's it's a good thing to do, um, and you could do it depending on your level. It was funny, the the guide he worked for a cruise company in his past, and he showed us one crater, and he goes, That's where the cruise um clients go, because they're more mature. And it's not not the way we were hiking around the craters.
SPEAKER_00So so where's the elevation, do you know? Like you're uh obviously not too high up, I don't think.
SPEAKER_02No, it wasn't that high. Like I it's not like our mountains in the Rockies for sure.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um it is, and it is an active volcano, it is always um gurgling, like you can see the steam coming out of it. Um, and then he explains um, you know, the different times in the past that it fully erupted, and um actually when we were driving back into Catania, we saw where um one house was completely demolished by the lava flow, but the house remnants is still there. Um, interestingly enough, I thought I would smell sulfur, but there wasn't any smell to the um the mountain at all. But uh and and as you go throughout different parts of Sicily, um, such as when we went to Tormania, it was um you you always get glimpses of Mount Etna in the background. So it's it's part of their their fabric of their nature and such. So it says that the in the description the hike was easy. Well, it wasn't extreme, but I don't know if it was easy. But you know, for sure.
SPEAKER_00It goes back to my whole thing of hikers are liars.
SPEAKER_02You know, it's it's doable, and I did it. Um and the and the family did it. Um it was all good.
SPEAKER_00But if a three-year-old can do it, anybody can.
SPEAKER_02That's right. She can guide you out with her chatter. So one of the things that was quite interesting with this tour company, it's like they don't take you to like a typical restaurant where they um, you know, where there's courses of meals, whether like, you know, like a buffet or or different drinks and stuff. They take you to um local places like local cafes, or um, it's a very relaxed casual lunch. So they at the first tour that we did, there was a choice of that you you go into a cafe and you would choose either a sandwich or um arousina, which I'll explain what that is, salad, pizza slices, and all are served with water and uh or and or local wine. Um at the second tour, he actually brought out a selection of um just a tray of mini pizzas, again arecina and folded over pizza, which is basically pizza clothes like a sandwich, similar to a calzone.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um so it's very, very uh simple. So I thought, you know, as part of our conversation today, we would talk about the food that's here.
SPEAKER_00I was gonna ask, what's the pizza like?
SPEAKER_02The pizza is very good, but it's very simple. It's not like amazingly tons of toppings, it's like tomato sauce, cheese, and a protein like ham or salami, something like that. It's very simple. Very, very simple.
SPEAKER_00That'd be good.
SPEAKER_02The Aracinis are stuffed rice balls, and they're usually filled with meat ragu, um, peas, or mozzarella, and then coated and coated in bread crumbs and deep fried. So crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. And that's everywhere. And then they have a um, it's like a semi-frozen dessert. It's called granita. Um, it's made from sugar, water, and flavoring, often lemon, almonds, coffee, or pistachio, because that's very lemons, oranges, um, almonds, and pistachio are nature native here, so it's very fresh. And they and the in Sicily, they it's commonly eaten for breakfast with a soft brioche bun. I I I haven't had it in that manner. I've had it when um in uh in a drink where it was just a granita with orange, and it was very lovely. It was very refreshing. And if you don't drink alcohol, it's a good alternative to enjoying it. And there's a there's a capanata. It's a sweet and sour eggplant dish with tomatoes, celery, olives, and capers. It's served at room temperature, and it shows um the balance in Sicily's uh food between sweet and savory. It's it's kind of the kind of meal you would have if you're visiting somebody's family rather than going out for a formal dining experience. It's very simple, filling, and and quite um it's very regional. So those are some of the things that you should try when you're here. Um, also um, there is cannoli, which is best if you see them actually filling them fresh with whatever filling you want. Like we've tried it with uh Rakota, uh, you can have it with uh chocolate. It's it's all very good and it's a must-have. Um and then if you're near the coast, you try grilled uh swordfish. So it's all fresh, it's um very good food, very simple food, but um not very but lots of flavor, very ingredient-driven. Um, so it it's it's all to me, food is travel. Like I like when I go traveling to try the different food, and I like to eat, period. So there you go.
SPEAKER_00No, that's good. Well, you have to eat, right? It's yes, it's kind of a requirement, so you might as well enjoy it. Anything else?
SPEAKER_02Well, I'm gonna share something that may not appeal to most North Americans, but it's a principal Catania street food. Um, and people can from Catania usually have dinner with it when they go out with friends, and that's horsemeat sandwich. So I know that sounds a little odd, and I'm it and I haven't tried it. It's it's not something that I'm leaning towards, but it it is something that is you will see in restaurants or offered in the menu.
SPEAKER_00So they don't try to hide it, it's it's clearly there and and absolutely.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, no, it it's part of their um, it's it's like a it's it it's part of their culture. So interesting. They feel like they're but like you say, they don't hide it. It's it's it's not if it's not for you, it's not for you.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. No judgment. It's like and it wouldn't be for me. I don't know, but uh there's just this mental block that I have, and I just I don't want to try it.
SPEAKER_02No. I'm not I'm that way with game, like when we were in South Africa, you could try a lot of different games. Can't do it. I can't do it, but but it's good for you if you want to try it because you know that's why you travel. Like the ne not everything's like home, and that's why you wanna you want to go and and and try different things. So but uh yeah.
SPEAKER_00Very nice. Well, yes, like I say, I've been uh following uh all your stuff on uh Instagram at Onanta Forbes and Facebook at Onanta Forbes. Uh some great pictures, some great photos. So uh keep it up.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's a it's a great we're into our last week. We are going to see a very traditional uh fabric of Sicilian life. It's a puppet show. Okay. So uh I will share with you what what that was like next week.
SPEAKER_00That sounds great. Uh Onanda Forbes is a travel expert with her long stay in Sicily. Uh you again you can follow uh all her images on Instagram and Facebook and ex at Onanta Forbes, and her website is onantaforbes.com. Uh great chatting, Onanta. Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_02Thank you, Catsy.
Events in Valencia, Spain for 2026
SPEAKER_00This is the Informed Traveler Podcast. I'm Randy Sharman. Just want to remind you of our website, theinformed traveler.org. That's where you can find our contact page if you have any questions or comments about the podcast or any show segment ideas. You can also email me too with any questions or segment ideas you might have. My email address is randy at theinformedraveler.org. And you can check out our social media pages too at facebook.com slash informed traveler, Instagram at informed traveler, or an X at informed Traveler. That's where you'll find a number of videos and reels from our adventures throughout the year and audio clips from our past shows. Plus, you can sign up for our monthly newsletter. It's released at the beginning of every month. Our March issue is available now. Just go to our website, theinformedraveler.org, click on the newsletter button, and it'll take you right there. Or better yet, subscribe to it and have it arrive in your inbox each month. So we go from Sicily to Valencia, Spain now, where there's a lot going on in 2026. So joining us now to share all the great things to see and experience in Valencia is Paula Yobet. She is a counselor with Valencia Tourism. Visit Valencia.com is their website. Buenos Dias, Paula.
SPEAKER_01Buenos días.
SPEAKER_00Lots of exciting events uh taking place in Valencia this year. Let's run through some of them, uh some of the highlights at least, anyways. We may not get through all of them, but uh, what are some of uh the events that you're looking forward to in Valencia in 2026?
SPEAKER_01Well, well, 2026 will be a very special year for Valencia. We're going to have several international scale events. If I have to choose some of them, on the one hand, uh I think it's important we will celebrate the Holy Chalice Jubilee Year that is an event of great historical and spiritual significance for the city. The Holy Chalice is in the Valencia Cathedral, and it is a unique piece of the European heritage, really linked with the tradition of the Holy Grail. And this jubilee will attract visitors interested in culture, in history, and in spirituality within a very accessible urban uh setting. This year we will also have the Gay Games, one of the world's largest sporting and cultural events, in June and July of 2026, with thousands of international participants. A lot of them come from the United States. And this is uh well, it reflects the values of diverse diversity and inclusion that we have here in Valencia City. As always, uh we also have our most important uh celebration, traditional celebration, that is Las Fallas, whose uh you know is UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, uh that we will celebrate the 10th anniversary this year. And we also have a really important uh music proposal in Valencia Music City, of course, gastronomy, design, and sports festivals that uh you know make that you have uh really different opportunities uh to celebrate if you have here if you come here to Valencia. And uh well, the important thing also is that all these events that have place in our city make easy for visitors to experiment uh you know the Mediterranean spirit, our quality of life, our style of life, and uh you can at the same time that uh can participate in important events, you can uh have uh you know the spirit of the city of the light of Soroya and uh the Mediterranean style that is really particular in Valencia.
SPEAKER_00Well, I think when people uh think of Spain, obviously the the two cities that come to mind is Madrid and Barcelona. How is Valencia different from those two? And I know I had to look on the map on your website, visit valencia.com just to see exactly where it is. But one of the advantages you have is you're right along the Mediterranean.
SPEAKER_01Well, Valencia is a really comfortable and authentic city. It is a destination where you can attend an international event in the morning, and maybe you know, the same afternoon you can go to the beach, you can go to a natural park, or you can go dining in a local neighborhood. So, you know, Valencia ranks among the three most desirable Spanish destinations for American travels. You know, the New York Times is the one that recommends in 2024 and also in 2025 and 2026 with Madrid. So it's really interested for visitors from America, and uh well, what we represent is a very balanced experience. We have European history, we have also contemporaneous architectures, we have international recognized gastronomy and an accessible Mediterranean lifestyle. So it is a safe, a really bright place, it's easy to move in the city, it's really uh an accessible uh city. Uh we have also, you know, just 90 minutes high speed uh connection with the capital, with Madrid, and we have a lot of direct flights with different destinations all around uh the world, and where of course we have a really uh attractive climb uh climb uh weather uh the whole year. And in Valencia, uh we have also uh some months ago we have inaugurated the Rocha Arena, that is a venue that is uh like a benchmark in Europe, that uh you can go there and experiment the best concerts and really important musical performers scheduled along all the every week. And uh, well, this what have uh done is reinforce our city as a cultural reference on Europe. Sports is also really important uh for us. We have Valencia Basket, that is one of the most competitive teams in Europe, and we have two top-tire football clubs that is Valencia Club, the football, and Levante, and both of them come uh when they are the most important competitions in the high level of Spanish football. And moreover, Valencia uh you know, also have a really uh sustainable tourism strategy. So you we have a lot of uh different uh green spaces, we have green routes, we have really uh people-friendly, uh, we have uh sustainable mobility in the city, really good public transform, and well, these are I think uh some of the reasons, you know, and also as I say before, the light of Valencia, you know, that is uh gives you a lot of energy when you uh arrive to the city to have fun, and that's why uh Forbes and another report say that Valencia is the best city in the world to live, and also not only to live, but also to invest, of course, and to have fun.
SPEAKER_00Nice. Um, well, you had me at Beach uh way back when you're talking there, but and you mentioned it too, some of the the green spaces, uh and and the the gardens, the botanical gardens. Tell me a little bit about those.
SPEAKER_01Well, we have uh the Turia Garden that is one of the largest of Europe. We have nine kilometers of urban park and uh it runs through all the city and is one of the best uh ways to understand Valencia and to explore it uh on foot or with uh bikes, and we have also uh 22 kilometers of urban beaches, of course, and we have La Albufera, our natural park, that you can have the best sunset of the wall, you can see it there, and you can have also a really good offer of gastronomy, typical from the from this part of the city. You of course have the best paella, that is uh the more popular uh food that we have here, and uh well, you have a really uh high uh diverse culinary offer that is also based in in season and in local products. So we always talk of uh of Valencia as the epicenter of the Mediterranean pantry. And uh well, we have also uh you know all the coastline where we have uh really lot of places for natural views, and uh La Albufera itself is like a really big lagoon, and um you have there a really nice place with a lot of um agricultural areas and and you can uh see there different uh different uh places that uh you can uh well you can go by foot, you can boy running, but it's a really uh calm place of the city where you can have fun with the with the with the gardens. And uh well uh it's a place where if you recover the the river, you have the museums or the river, so you have the opportunity you know to visit the city but moving all in a really really big garden that crosses all the city.
SPEAKER_00Nice. Um, is it easy to get around? And I am again looking on your website, visit valencia.com. Some of the buildings and architecture are absolutely amazing. So, as you mentioned before, a lot of historical sites to see. But is it easy to get around to these places?
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes, of course, of course, really easy. We have uh you can move Valencia one place to other uh working in uh in a really easy way, but also if you move by car, one point to the largest is like 15 minutes, and you have a lot of bike lanes, so you can also use the bike through the whole city, and we have a really important uh public transport uh offer, so you can move with public transport uh through the whole city, you can arrive to the center, and it's it's really easy. And the airport is just 15 minutes to the city from the from the airport to the city. So, I mean, when you arrive to the port, it's really easy uh also with metro and public transport to to arrive to the to the center.
SPEAKER_00And now just give me some general tips about visiting uh Valencia. I've never been, so as a first timer, what uh what do I need to know, or what should I know, or is there a better time to visit? Give me some just general tips.
SPEAKER_01Well, the good thing of Valencia is that you can see uh visit it the whole uh year because we have a really good weather the whole year. Uh if you come in summer, you have the beaches, one of the largest urban beaches that we have uh in in Spain. Uh and uh well, but if you want to uh come in Christmas, we are also uh a city investing a lot in in markets, in lighting. Uh you have uh fireworks uh uh that you can see during the Christmas uh really nice in the in the square of the city uh hall. Uh you can also, if you like sports, we have the marathon that is one of the most important of the of the world. Uh that's so if you are a runner, it's a really good uh moment to come. We have also half marathon and well, a lot of sport opportunities during the whole year. And if you want to experiment the most important um uh celebration that we have here in the city, that is as fairies, then you have to come on March. That from the 15th until the 20th or the 19th March, uh, we have these uh these fires where the whole city is uh you know with music, with the astronomy in the street, with fireworks and with a lot of activity, with the typical dresses of fallera that we have here in the city that you can see in the streets. So it's a really well moment to know and to understand our traditions. And uh well, uh also during the whole year we have a really important offer for uh music for festivals. So if you like music festivals, we have a lot of places with um with uh music, live music, uh, but we also have the new arena where we have the top uh singers, you know, that uh of the moment that you can also see uh over there. So and if you like the you know culture architecture, we have this historical center that we have more than uh 2,000 years of uh history, so you have different styles over there, really nice, but you can also go to the modern part of the city, this the science city that is uh it was built by Calatrava, and it's a place where you have modernity and and when you go and see a museum and lot of different things.
SPEAKER_00So anytime is a good time to visit, I think is what you're saying. Yes, I think so.
SPEAKER_01Anytime you have a really important offer.
SPEAKER_00What is your favorite thing to do? Like if uh if I'm visiting there and and I call you up and I say, Paula, where should I go? What would be the one place that you would recommend?
SPEAKER_01Well, the historical center. I mean, you have to go to the historical center because you will discover uh you know our heritage, our museum, and and it's a really strong local atmosphere, you know, that I think that you know uh when you come from outside, it's really interesting to know, you know, the the authentic city, you know, and so if you go to the historical center, you will find that. But it's also really interesting to have a day in the city of arts and science because uh there you will understand uh the contemporary Valencia. And of course, what I said before, going to uh L'Albufera, that is a really, really nice place where you can have a really good gastronomy and you can see a wonderful uh sunset, and of course, our beaches uh that is you know that is from the center, so it's really easy to arrive there. And uh yeah, we have a really dynamic cultural offering that uh you know that you can see, you know, the agenda that we have uh during the whole year, and you can choose between a lot of things.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, well, it certainly sounds like you can choose between a lot of things, and people can find out more information on your website. Visit Valencia.com. Uh, Paula Jovet is the uh counselor for Valencia Tourism. Visit Valenciaagain.com is the website. Uh, any uh any final words, uh Paula?
SPEAKER_01Well, I think that it's not just visit Valencia, you have to leave Valencia, you know, because this is authentic, you know, the style, the lifestyle that we have is something I think unique. And so, yes, just choose to come here to Valencia because they will find a really prime, uh really dynamic city, and and uh they will have a friendly city with lots of uh culture and different offers and um wonderful weather. So just uh wait, you know, that you come all here.
SPEAKER_00As soon as you said wonderful weather, there you go. Yes. It was a pleasure chatting with you, Paula. Muchas gracias.
SPEAKER_01Gracias.
SPEAKER_00That is our show for this week. If you have comments or questions, we'd love to hear from you. If you have a show idea, send that along as well. My email is randy at theinformed traveler.org. And if you like what you heard, tell a friend. You can check out our website too at the informed traveler.org. In the meantime, thanks for listening. Travel safe and be an informed traveler.