Sicilian Adventure - Part 3

Saturday, June 6 - Taormina, Sicily

We departed Ortigia, Siracusa for the approximately 1 hour 30 minute drive +  ( I say plus because even with GPS - it takes longer than you think to get anywhere and often GPS has trouble identifying the small town roads correctly.  We had decided to stop a beach before heading to Taormina.  We were not sure where exactly we were going to stop, but ended up at Giardini-Naxos.   It was past lunch time, so we found a nice beach restaurant and had a typical lunch - Salad & Pizza!   Afterwords we got ourselves  a couple of beach chairs and enjoyed being lazy after our drive.  The water is clear and beautiful and we enjoyed our afternoon.

A few pictures from our beach stop at Naxos

When we first started researching Sicily, Taormina was on of the first town we put on our itinerary.  Everything we read about it sounded wonderful.  The town of Taormina sits on a cliff overlooking the Ionian sea.

Panoramic View from the Piazza in Taormina 

Picture taken from the Piazza towards the Sea

Main Piazza

 Taormina is well know for the ancient Greek Amphitheater located there.  It is one of the most celebrated ruins in Sicily (next to the Valley of Temples) because it is very well preserved, so much so, that it is used for concerts currently.  While we were there, there were posters up for several Opera performances coming up.  We spent the better part of one morning exploring the Greek Amphitheater.  We wanted to get there early before the crowds so we could take some pictures.  (note, these are the only pictures I took on the trip :-)  I took about a hundred and Cathy narrowed it down to 5 good ones lol)!

Taormina is probably the most 'touristy' town we visited and the most well known, but it is quite charming and worth the visit.  Plus it is very close to Mt. Etna, and if you are going to go all the way to Sicily, you should at least see Mt. Etna, which is beautiful & majestic.

Me with our Vehicle for the trip with Mt. Etna in the background belching smoke!

Our hotel was the Hotel Victoria, which was located right in the center of town.  Taormina is another town that you can't drive in.  There is a parking lot below the town, you park there and take the shuttle up to town.  Somehow I had missed this piece of information in my research and it took us a bit of questioning & hand gestures with several Sicilians to figure it out.

The hotel was clean and well maintained.  The Breakfast staff & the housekeeping staff are one in the same.  These ladies did a fantastic job.  The breakfast offerings are pretty minimal here, but the staff was pleasant and efficient.  The front desk staff unfortunately, was not as pleasant.  Would I recommend this hotel?  Yes, for the location & price - 315 Euro for 3 nights (or 157 Euro each - totally reasonable).  We had a balcony that looked out on to the main street, which we enjoyed very much.  One night as we sat in our room we heard sounds of a band, we went out to the balcony and there was a marching band coming down the main street!  Then later that same evening a large religious procession came down the street.  We watched it all from our balcony, it was fascinating and we had a premium view of it all.

Last word on hotel Victoria: Because this is a popular tourist destination for cruise ships as well as Italians on holiday, there are lots of hotels to choose from.  I would probably look at a different hotel if I were to make a return visit.

Carmelo, our Captain

We desided for our last day, we would take the cable car down to the beach area (very handy so you do not have to drive back down the cliff roads) and see if we could catch a boat trip to Isola Bella.  We found just what we were looking for with Carmelo.  He was the perfect Captain and took us around the coast, to Isola Bella & the sea caves.  It was a lovely ride!

laughing at something Cathy said I am sure

inside the cave

approaching the caves

Cathy & Carmelo

looking back at Taormina from the boat --
see it, way up on the cliff

check out this rock with Cactus growing on one side of it!

Carmelo & his boat

After our boat trip, we spent the afternoon on the beach.  When the weather got a little threatneing in the late afternoon, we rode the cable car back up to Taormina and got there just as it started to rain.  We hurried in to a little cafe we had discovered the day before for a bite to eat and wait for the rain to let up.

We were in Taormina for 3 nights and enjoyed ourselves.  We had some great meals and did a bit of shopping besides doing the activities pictured above.  Taormina does get crowded during the day with the cruise ships bringing tours and day-trippers come, but at night it does quiet down some, so I am glad we chose to stay in town.

After our Sicilian adventure, we decided to spend a few days in our favorite small Italian coastal town, Lerici.  It was a long haul to get to Lerici from Taormina Sicily,  taking cabs, trains & planes over 12 hours, but totally worth it for 5 relaxing days.  I wrote about Lerici and the Ligurian Coast for this blog in July of 2013.  If you would like to see some absolutely beautiful photography and learn about this part of Italy, it is available on this blog - just check the archives.

One more entry to come -- Is Sicily for you?  What you need to know before going.  Also, I'll include some beautiful food porn from the trip!

Until Next time, travel safe
Susan