September 22, 2010: A Day in Taormina

Since we really haven't explored Taormina yet, we set aside this day to check out the town. We started early this morning since there were forecasts for rain this afternoon and because we had some serious hills to climb before it got too hot.

First, we climbed up the steep stairway to reach the Santuario Madonna della Rocca - a viewpoint above the city where there is a large cross. This week they have been setting off fireworks here nearly every night which are viewable from the main streets below. Its amazing how deceivingly steep the climb was. It only took 30 minutes to reach the top from our apartment, but we were both dripping with sweat by the end of the climb. The Saracen Castle is nearby, but it was closed today (we did get a birdseye view later in the day).

From here, we climbed even further up a very steep path to get to the small town of Castelmola. Its a cute town with several shops, ruins of another castle, and a duomo, but mostly people go for the views. Even though it wasn't the clearest of days, the views were still great. The only thing missing from the vista was Etna, which you can see on clear days. At the top, we had well deserved granites and played some Briscolla to relax for a while before making the descent.

Back in the heart of Taormina, we strolled down the main street which used to be the ancient road that connected Catania to Messina. We started from the western entry to the city, Porta Catania, and walked down to the eastern entry, Porta Messina. Mostly, there are upscale clothing and jewelry shops, but we did check out several churches, piazzas, fountains, and randomly found an art exhibit with photographs of Taormina from after WWII to the early 1970's.

After lunch we decided to postpone our visit to the Greek Theater which was overrun by tourists, and instead went to visit the Parco Duca di Cesaro - a small garden ("the most beautiful park in Sicily"), which is filled with flowers, brick/stone pavilions, and some random things like a cage with two parrots, a cage of doves, and a small pond with fish and ducks. At this point, we started to hear thunder, so we picked up a few things for dinner and returned to the apartment. The storm tonight started promptly at five, which was when the news report predicted. More than four hours later, there is still lightening lighting up the entire sky, and the power has flickered on and off several times. Its been an exciting storm to watch from our window, and we're glad to be inside.

Gelato Gusti per il Giorno:

Mike - Banane e Stracciatella

Aviva - Anguria

To view our pictures from today, click here.