Mer had been wanting to take Richard out for a nice dinner on his birthday Monday, so she asked our host, Giuseppe, for a suggestion for a nice restaurant nearby. He suggested one at a winery called Murgo. Unfortunately it is very popular even in this shoulder season, so she wasn’t able to get reservations till today and only for lunch. But as it turned out, it was perfectly delightful.The vineyard and restaurant are set high on the hillside of Etna and have stunning views of the surrounding countryside. The meal was amazing!! Four courses: aperitivo - stuffed mushrooms, panini with onions and tomato, flatbread with spinach and ricotta, and zucchini slices filled with ham, then cabbage and roasted veggies, plus a cheese and salami plate.; primo - two different types of pasta; secondi - meatball, veal, sausage and salad; dolce - chocolate cake. We were almost full after the first course!! Irv and I opted to do the tasting along with the meal and had five different wines from their cellars, all very tasty. We were able to sit outside and it was lovely, enjoying the views of the vineyards and the verdant valleys.
We basically waddled out of there, out to the car and home again to do some planning for our next part of the adventure down in the south-eastern part.