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Taormina Travel Blogs

Background: Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north.

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By Beebe
November 18th 2009

Leaving Beautiful Sicily....We Will Return! Europe » Italy » Sicily » Taormina

Boats in Siracusa

Day 28 Siracusa We headed out to Archeological Museum in the late morning, walking there from the hostel. The museum is outstanding: it covers prehistory to Roman times and has artifacts from many sites in Sicily. We took more than 2 hours to go through, even with some hurrying at the end, since we wanted some time outside in the beautiful sunshine. We walked past the remains of one of Siracusa’a archeological digs, heading back to old part of town. We first stopped at the ruins of the Temple of Apollo, wanting to look at it again with all of the [View Full Entry]

By maytorenajr
September 12th 2009

Not easy to get off this freaking island Europe » Italy » Sicily » Taormina

Alright today was a bit of a pain in the ass. I spent most of the day figuring out where to go and how the hell to get back to main land Italy. I was trying to go to a formula 1 race in Milano but I could not get a good flight or train ride up there in order to make the race. Then I had to go to train station in order to reserve a seat on the train to rome and I ended up not getting off at the right stop, I then told the bus driver I [View Full Entry]

By Isabel og Sveske
May 14th 2009

Vi har i nat passeret Taorminabugten Europe » Italy » Sicily » Taormina

Vi er havnet i internet u-land. For foerste gang i tre uger, har vi set en internetadgang. Teksten er allerede et par dage gammel - og billeder kan jeg ikke naa at uploade til jer i denne omgang. Vi har i nat krydset haelen under Italiens stoevle, og sejler nok videre i dag. Vi har det superfedt og baaden er glad. Der er gået en rum tid siden sidst, der blev lagt noget på bloggen. Vi har haft rigtig travlt, og har ikke haft mulighed for at komme i land og prøve at finde en net-cafe. Kroatien er et fantastisk land [View Full Entry]

By BrandonN
May 8th 2009

Living in Sicily Europe » Italy » Sicily » Taormina

Sunrise in Taormina, Sicily

When the Travel Bug Bites So here it is, my first official blog. I can think of no better place to start my travel blogging experience than to write about my first adventure outside of the United States. Even though I only lived there for one month, the experience truly did completely change me. I came back with a thirst for foreign language, culture and food. To this day, I truly believe that the only real way for us to learn about ourselves is to see the world, and to experience everything it has to offer; even if it is "foreign" [View Full Entry]

By redclay
March 25th 2009

Adopted In Sicily Europe » Italy » Sicily » Taormina

Greek Theatre, Syracuse

We were awakened by a lot of noise and talking at about 3:00am on Monday morning. A few hours later the delicious smell of fresh bread wafted in our window. Later, when it got light and we looked out we realized that one of our neighbours across the narrow street is a bakery. If I can make it over there in my pyjamas by 6:30am I can get a crusty loaf for 1 euro. We drove the 5km along the shore to where the cable car will take you up the cliffs to Taormina. This is a swanky town with glitzy [View Full Entry]

By jhawks
November 25th 2008

Taormina Europe » Italy » Sicily » Taormina

Mt Etna

We are in Taormina, Sicily. We spent the morning traveling from Rome, picking up the rental van and waiting for the Frictons. We all piled into the Ford Transport (9 passanger van- like the van from paris) and headed up Etna, the mountain known to the Greeks as the home of Vulcan, God of Fire and the one eyed Cyclops. After a long windy and drive up the Volcano, we were turned away from the summit because the Funicular was closed for the season. We enjoyed the views of the craters and collected some lava rock. On the way down we [View Full Entry]

By inspire and shine
October 3rd 2008

Italy with Kids - Alcantara Gorge Europe » Italy » Sicily » Taormina

03 Oct 2008 The SS124 from Taormina to Giardini Naxos is incredibly narrow and windy. It still managed to fit us, a car going the other way and a scooter, with the occasional bus thrown in though. Giardini Naxos was pleasant to drive through, and we followed signs out along more windy roads up the valley to the Galle Dell Alcantara (Alcantara Gorge). As a side note: I've decided at this point that I am sick of driving Italian roads. Now unlike larger gorges you may have experienced, and certainly what I expected, you couldn't see this one from the road [View Full Entry]

By inspire and shine
September 29th 2008

Italy with Kids - Taormina Europe » Italy » Sicily » Taormina

29 Sept 2008 (these blogs being uploaded from Letojanni -have to do pics later) Another sunny day awaits us: breakfast was excellent. The residence provided fresh croissants, normal cornflakes, chocolate cornflakes, coffees, fruit juice and jams. I imagine the jam was for toast, but didn't see anyone having toast. We asked for bowls for the cornflakes (you can guess what flavour the boys chose), but apparently there were no bowls. The idea was to fill a plastic cup - like a glass - with the cornflakes, add milk, and eat with a spoon. The boys liked this as it meant they [View Full Entry]

By inspire and shine
September 28th 2008

Italy with Kids - Palermo to Letojanni Europe » Italy » Sicily » Taormina

28 Sept 2008 Fortune was with us today: the ferry docked and at reception I asked where the Maggiore rental car company depot was. The man informed me right there (pointing off the side of the boat). I looked out the starboard window and sure enough, there was a building right there with the sign in plain view. Just a short wait for the office to open at 7:30, and then we were off in a VW Passat. I immediately found my driving style for Italy had adapted to the smaller narrow car we'd had before, a Lancia Muro. The Passat [View Full Entry]

By sandybeynon
September 8th 2008

LAST DAYS ON QV + ROME THEN HOME! Europe » Italy » Sicily » Taormina

TAORMINA, SICILY

Our last days on QV: Sicily, Rome and home! Friday 5th September: Today, we arrived in the port of Messina on Sicily, an island off the southern coast of Italy. We all got up early and boarded our tour bus for the resort town of Taormina, about an hour's drive from the port. Taormina is situated high on the cliffs above the sea and is known as the "diamond" of the Italian Riviera. It is very much THE destination for Sicilians and is serviced by very good highways. Much like Queensland's Noosa, this is an ideal weekend getaway for Sicilians. Indeed, [View Full Entry]

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