Blogs from Taormina, Sicily, Italy, Europe - page 3

Geo: 37.8531, 15.2878Yet another boat ride today - but for the first time in three days, there was no puking, hooray!!! We caught a more direct hyrofoil back to Messina, so it was only a short 90-minute ride back to mainland Sicily, and either the seas were less rough today, or maybe because we were sitting lower in the hydrofoil, but nobody on board felt seasick. Hooray again!!!Off to Taormina, perhaps the most touristed spot in Sicily, famous for both its beauty and location, perched high atop a cliff, towering above the glittering Ionian Coast below. It's very popular with the rich and as such, has a cosmopolitan feel to it, its pedestrian zone lined with high-end designer shops, and the town frequented by the stars during Taormina's summer festivals, that showcase the arts, film, and ... read more

Geo: 37.8531, 15.2878 GUN 33 GUNLERDEN PAZARTESI: Taormina otobanindayiz.... Otoban da tanidik bir tavir sergileniyor.... tüm araçlar sol seritte gidiyor sag serit neredeyse bos... Sanki aniden, Italya dan baska bir ülkeye gelmissiniz gibi... Taormina çikisinda, otobani terkettik ve Ayse nin en bayildigi virajlara kavustuk... Viraj viraj üstüne, dön baba dönelim...yol sizi Taormina nin tepesine çikartiyor Daha sonra biz kampimizi bulacagiz diye kivrila kivrila tepeden sahile süzüldük... Manzaralar nefes kesici.... fakat yolun darligi nedeniyle, bir yerde durup fotograf almak mümkün degil... Listemde ki ve programda ki kamp ta yok olmus iyi mi ? Buhar olmus... Daha ilerde baska bir yeri önerdiler... bir türlü bulamadik ...zira bize verdikleri isimde 2 kamp var ... Birisini, sadece park yeri ve plaj ol... read more

Geo: 37.8531, 15.2878This morning we took the ferry from Villa San Giovanni to Messina. One trip on a Greek ferry will convince you that BC Ferries gives us a good deal. The ferries seem to be privatized and although very frequent (40 minutes for this company) are not very clean and the access is very difficult - you get the tickets in one place and then go to another place to board. Arriving in Messina is a bit of an experience. All the traffic converges to a T junction with 2 lanes turning into one. We finally got on the toll road and exited for the villa. The GPS took us on a circuitous route to a nearby town and then finally we found the villa.The town of Taormina is a medieval town which has become ... read more

Sunday - Agrigento and Enno We left Palermo and headed south to the Valley of Temples overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Driving south we followed the route Patten took when he was heading North with “recognizance in force”. He was ordered by Eisenhower to allow Montgomery to reach Messina first but Patten could do recognizance. Patten followed orders, sort of. He took his entire army north, doing “recognizance” on the way, met little resistance, reached Palermo and liberated the city. Another order reached him from Eisenhower. “Do not take Palermo”. Patten replied, “Should I give it back?” The landscape is dry and though it is green now, soon it will be brown. Now it resembles Ireland with emerald green grasses. Groves of flowering almonds and olive trees line the road. It is quite lovely. WE drove through ... read more

On Sunday we arrived in Sicily to a beautiful sunny day and Mt Etna had just erupted so we could see the steam! Very cool. A handsome Italian man was waiting to take us to our hotel ... Villa Diodoro ... situated on the cliff with a magnificent view from each of our balconies! Everyone went off to spend the day walking around the city. We all went different ways for dinner and shopping! Monday morning we met our tour guide, Maria Rosa, for our half day walking tour of Taormina. What an adorable city with the little streets and alleys, who much history! In the afternoon we all went for a walk down the very steep hills to make our way to the beach where we had a picnic with fabulous sandwiches and of course ... read more