Sicily

My suggestion would be to get Karen Brown's Italy Bed and Breakfasts guidebook for this year. She has several recommended B&B's in Sicily. This is what we did when we visited Sicily a few years ago. All her recommendations were charming and interesting and the majority were in smaller towns and rural areas. If you're interested, you can buy it from her website: http://www.karenbrown.com/

Thank you Tom. I think she primarily has B&Bs and we prefer apartments or villas for the space( I love my own fridge!).
We are trying to decide on 2 locations for home bases and then we will look for accommodations.

Anne Marie, Sicily is so big that two locations will not be convenient. for 5 weeks I would do at least 3-4, and also add the Aeolian Islands as a 3-4 day stop, basing myself in Lipari. We love Karen Brown B&B's, but are also big fans of apt rentals. We find our apt rentals in the EU on VRBO.com, and Homelidays.com. We make sure that the place that we are considering has lots of good references, and that it is not on the 5th floor of a building without an elevator. We are not a fan of using downtown Palermo as a base; traffic can be hazardous to your health. Post this same question on Trip Advisor. "Vagabonda" will probably have some fantstic ideas for you.

Thanks Steve. We are getting to the point where we don't want to pack up and move every week anymore, we've been doing that for a long time and our past few trips we have chosen a main base and we explore from there. Sometimes we just pack an overnight bag and go a little farther and stay over night. I've been looking at Cefalu and Siracusa. Landing in Palermo and leaving from there as well but not staying. We don't really enjoy the cities as home bases either.
Do you think Cefalu and Sircuas would be space well enough or should we shift one way or the other?

Anne Marie, assuming I understood you right (especially after your last comment), this is what I suggest. BASE 1 - somewhere in the Noto valley. There is a booming rental vacation business in the area, many on restored villas. Seaside locations are more bustling-and-busy, receded in the mountains you can find quiet and nicely restored villas or houses by the foothill. It is a prime location because it allows you, via a new highway that goes on the area (and which is getting a brand new sector soon), to move to Siracusa, Catania, Ragua, Modica (a very underrated place that is unmissable IMO), Pozzallo, Capo Pesaro etc. with a car for daily trips, and also offers plenty, plenty of opportunities to explore a countryside that is not only pristine but full of Baroque history. ALTERNATIVE - if you want a more sophisticated stay, stay somewhere near Taormina, but beware crowds from summer will not be still over. BASE 2- somewhere NW of Enna. That area will provide you with a difference experience, with more rugged mountains, and a focal point to go to places like Agrigento, Palermo, Corfù, Piazza Armerina within reasonable travel distance of your base to return home. ALTERNATIVE - choose a base 2 in Corfù ou somewhere in the Thyrrhenian Sea and make it as a base to explore that coastal area, including day trips to the islands.

Andre thank you. Very helpful suggestions. We want to stay in areas that are nice and not so touristy but still be able to access routes easily to explore on days when we are inclined. I will spend more time looking at the areas you suggested as they seem to fit the criteria. One question---the only Corfu I could find was in Greece?