Free Day in Taormina

Raspberry & Kiwi Granita with Brioche

Beginning of the staircase to the Church

Chiessa de Madonna del Rocco

View from the top

Pictures from the Garden

Lunch Aranchini

House on Isola Bella

View from the Cable Car

Pesto Gnocchi

Calamari and Shrimp Fritti

Mixed Vegetables

Lamb

Thursday morning we had breakfast and then went out in hiking clothes and climbed the giant staircase up the mountain to the Church of Madonna Della Rocca that overlooks the city. Along the way there are sculptures that I think show the stations of the cross. The views along the way and at the top were beautiful and the church was small and very beautiful. According to the internet it was around 700 steps up. They are wide steps that serpentine up the mountain so it wasn’t one long straight staircase. 

After getting back to our hotel we changed and went out for the day. We went to Villa Comunale de Taormina, a public park with an English style garden that overlooks the coast line. It was beautiful. So many different flowers and plants as well as monuments and sculptures. There was even a playground and an outdoor gym area. 

After the park, we got arancini at a nearby caffé. We had ragú (meat sauce inside) and eggplant (also with a red sauce). From lunch, we walked to the cable car so we could take it down the mountain to the beach area and go to Isola Bella.

Isola Bella is an island maybe 100 feet from shore and there is a sand bar you can walk across. However, it’s not really dry in the afternoon, so we had to remove our shoes to get across. We tried to wait out the tide a little bit but then I found out the tide only changes a few inches not a few feet like we are used to in Massachusetts. On the island is a villa that has transformed into a museum which was really cool. The way the house was built into the rocks was so interesting. After wading back to the mainland, drying off and putting our shoes back on, we returned to the cable car to go back to the center of town. 

We did some shopping after visiting Isola Bella and had our first Granita with brioche. I’m not entirely sure why they put gelato and ice on bread here but both were delicious. I kept joking it was like an alien tried to make an ice cream sandwich and took it too literally. 

Later we had dinner at Osteria Villa Zuccaro which was delicious. We had fried calamari and shrimp, lamb chops and pesto gnocchi. 

On the walk back to the hotel, we had cannoli at the place Nicol took us to which was amazing. Friday we move on to Siracusa. 

Mt Etna Day

The tour bus

The visitor center/Base Camp

Lunch at Gambino

Clams with Fettucini

Pesto Busiate

Wednesday morning, we met our guide for the day and driver downstairs at the hotel at 9. From there, we drove for over an hour to what I would describe as a base camp type/visitor center area for Mt Etna. There are a lot of small towns and hotels on the way up the mountain. Further up there are a lot of private homes in the woods. It must be nice to be up at that elevation in the summer when it’s hot in Taormina. At the base camp, there were a lot of other people there. There was a group that was hiking the whole way up but we piled into this 4X4 bus up 2000 meters. It was like a small tour bus but lifted up with giant tires. 

The bus stopped at a few locations so we could get out and see craters and take pictures. There was a large eruption in October 2002 so we could see the lava stone from that event. Our guide pointed out that across from the building where the tours met there used to be a hotel that got ruined in the lava flow. Due to the rain on Tuesday, there was fresh snow on the Mt Etna which was really pretty. We got out at one area to see an old observation station and take in the view. It was SO windy, the snow was blowing around and hitting you like when a gust of wind comes while you’re sitting on the beach, only it was constant and snow instead of sand. We didn’t stay out there for long and just getting back to the bus was an exercise. We did get out and climb up the rim of a crater from the 2002 eruption that was further down the mountain below the snow line. It felt like climbing on sand but up hill. The views were really cool and it was a great experience. Our guide for the day was with us the whole time as well which was great.

After we came back down to base camp, we got back in the car with the driver. They took us to the Gambino Vineyard on Mt Etna. We had a brief overview of the history of the vineyard and then did a wine tasting with food. Everything was great. I didn’t love either of the red wines we tried, but I did like the whites. After the vineyard, we returned to Taormina and relaxed a bit.

Before dinner, we went out and did some shopping before having a lighter dinner (only one course) across the street from our hotel. We finished the night with cannolo from one of the cafes next to the restaurant. We actually had small cannolo at the vineyard so it was a 2 cannoli day. 

Thursday is our last full day in Taormina before we go on to Sircusa (Syracuse).

First Day in Taormina

Basilica of St Nicholas of Bari

Most narrow street in Taormina

Greek Theater

Symbol of Sicily

Pizza for lunch

Tuna Tartare

Pesto Gnocchi

Grilled Swordfish

Tuesday morning, we woke up and had breakfast at our hotel. We both love a full European breakfast and were not disappointed. Our hotel is really cute but only has 9 rooms so we had eggs and bacon to order along with all the other goodies. 

We met our tour guide Nicol downstairs and went out in the rain for a tour of Taormina. Like most other Italian towns, it has been governed by different countries/civilizations over the years: Norman, Greek, Roman, etc. Nicol showed us different ruins and how we could tell the difference between Roman and Greek building styles. There was an influential Jewish community prior to the Spanish Inquisition and the are Stars of David on a municipal building in their honor. We went into a few churches and learned about the saints that are important in Sicilian culture. 

Nicol took us for our first cannoli and it was definitely one of the best I have ever had. It seems like even though there are SO many gelato places here - it is more appropriate to have a cannollo a day instead of gelato. 

Nicol took us into the Greek theater which they estimate once held 6 thousand people. It had been used for building supplies over the years (she had pointed out when a building or structure had used Greek Theater materials along the way) but you can appreciate what it once was. Our tour ended after the theater. Even though it was raining the whole time we still had a great tour. Nicol encouraged us to go back and retake pictures during the week when the sun is out to better reflect how beautiful the city is. 

For lunch we had pizza and then after rode the Hop & Hop Off Bus for the full loop since it was raining and the city gets crowded during the day when the cruise ship groups come in. It was interesting to see the whole area and it gave us some ideas for what to do during our free days. 

Before dinner, we stopped in the art museum in the neighborhood which is a converted church and did some shopping. Dinner was seafood forward again and we had Tuna Crudité, Gnocchi with Shrimp in a Basil Sauce as well as Grilled Swordfish. We did have dessert (semi fredo for Mom and Gelato for me) but didn’t remember to stop for a photo. 

Today we are going to Mt Etna and the sun is out so there should be amazing pictures. 

Travel day to sicily

Plane selfie

Main Square in Taormina

Bruschetta 

Calamari

Sweet & Sour Tuna with Onions

I was joking that today’s blog post should be called “a series of minor inconveniences”. Traveling was fine but we had a few minor snags. In Boston we had to have our passports checked twice by TSA because what we thought was the PreCheck line wasn’t. It was just a man situated so far to the left of the regular line at the end of an aisle with no traffic. In Rome we had trouble figuring out which passport line to stand in and spent 25+ minutes in the wrong line. Once we landed in Catania (after a delayed departure) someone on our flight got hurt getting onto the shuttle bus and it was clear the airport staff were not ready to handle that situation (and hopefully she's ok). Ultimately, our driver was able to wait for us and going through customs with our luggage was a matter of going through the “nothing to declare” door. 

I was unable to sleep on the overnight flight (I suspect the tiramisu was caffeinated) so after we made it to our hotel in Taormina I took a nap while Mom went out to find lunch. 

After a few hours, we reunited and wandered around the neighborhood. There are so many beautiful doors I’m sure I will be able to finish a third row of my door photo gallery wall when we get back. 

After wandering around the Main Street of Taormina that’s filled with shops, restaurants and cafes, we went for dinner at Osteria da Rita which was amazing. It’s quite popular even though it’s off the main road so we got lucky getting a table. The food was amazing. We had calamari, tuna and pasta alla Norma which has eggplant.

This will surprise almost everyone we know, but we skipped dessert and went to bed early. First full day in Taormina to come today.