http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Europe , Italy , Sicily , Taormina en-us Mon, 20 May 2013 01:36:44 +0000 Mon, 20 May 2013 01:36:44 +0000 Rosario Can Car rental with driver and Taxi serviceIf you need transport servces in Sicily Rosario Can can help you... http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-779226.html Taormina is a charming hillside town on the east coast of Sicily Italy and is one of the island39s main tourist resorts. Whilst Taormina can be hot and busy during July and August crowded with Italian tourists it is far more pleasant and slightly less busy during the rest of the year.Many package tourists stay at the nearby beach resorts of Giardini Naxos below Taormina on the coastline http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-738253.html I awoke at 700 am had a nice shower with plenty of hot water and water pressure. No AC here but it cools off around 500 pm. I was the first at 730 for breakfast had the dining room to my self with Scubby Do on the TV. There was quite a spread first I got American Coffee with a large pitcher of hot steamed milk. Then a huge plate of food arrived ham salami cheese lettuce and tomato sa http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-720245.html Our first port in Italy was Livorno. This is the gateway to Florence Pisa and Lucca. All of the tours to Florence were of the 810 hour variety so we opted for a ride to Lucca instead. This lovely Tuscan town birthplace of the famous composer Puccini is just the right size to be able to cover in a day. Lucca is surrounded by a wall which is as wide as a road. Visitors can walk the wall or ride http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-711725.html Sunday Agrigento and EnnoWe 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 do http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-701912.html Our group left this morning for our tour of Mt Etna the largest active volcano in Europe which just erupted the day we arrived. It was an amazing drive all the way ... Well as far as we could go ... There was a ski area there that was open and we were abLe to climb a crater. SOOO COOL We had shots from a shop owner of this red fire stuff that took your breath awayWe were then off to our wine to http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-698752.html 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 shoppingMonday morn http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-698742.html Absolute pearl of SicilyTaormina has monuments from any civilization beautiful at every corner.Visit Taormina on Mammasicily Also IF YOU WANT TO BE UPDATED ON SICILY and ITS HISTORYBECOME FAN clicking I LIKE IT on FB fan page http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-659649.html Monday 30th May to Sunday 12th June 2011 Monday 30th May 2011TaorminaLetojanniRest day as I now had symptoms of a cold as well as Tom.Tuesday 31st May 2011TaorminaLetojanni Into Taormina to computer shop but still no printer cartridges that I had ordered 3 weeks ago. Back to Letojanni village for a walk around. Started at the southern end of the village that we had not been to before and w http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-634850.html Our expectations for today were simple. No fancy shore excursions. We thought we could save and explore Sicily on our own. Boy did we luck out A local guide directed us to a bus stop and for only 5 euros we had round trip transportation up the steep mountain to the enchanted little town of Taormina. It is most well known for its impressive Greek theatre that was rebuilt and expanded by the Ro http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-631688.html Monday 2nd Monday to Sunday 8th May 2011.Monday 2nd May 2011.Taormina.Went into to Taormina on scooter. Tom was concentrating so ended passing the entry and up the hill before he realized what he had done. I thought he was looking for a parking space. So back we go and get a parking spot. Walk around and found a Ferramenta hardware shop to buy some bits and pieces. We were in luck as they a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-611102.html First rule of driving in Sicily There are no rules 2nd rule refer 1st ruleFri 6 May to Sat 14 May 2011 Had a great overnight ferry trip from Naples to Catania Sicily.We had a cute little cabin with own shower and beds were very comfortable it was like flying 1st or business class with a gentle rumbling of the ships engine. Not quite the Queen Mary experience.Arrived in Catania http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-610425.html Possibly my favourite place in Italy About 45 minutes away from Catania where I arrived on an altered railpass . Had to wait for a bus to take me up the hill to the bus station from where I walked uphill to the old town gate. It was so so nice but swarming with tourists unfortunately. The pics say it all it was a stunning town proper medievel with the Teatro Greco built in 1st century BC http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-532979.html The sun was shining once again when we woke up and today was supposed to be the warmest in the morning so we made plans to go to the beach because even though it was colder than we would like we had to at least see the Sicilian beach.To get to the Taormina beach you can take a cable car from the top to the bottom aka down a mountain which all my friends seemed to think was an awesome idea http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-488110.html So I was the big pusher of going to Taormina during spring break. i had gone there five years ago and absolutely loved it. i went in high school and absolutely fell in love with the town. it was the first place we stopped on our tour and after a hellish day of traveling that included a flight that got overbooked and everyone's luggage being lost we woke up to a ridiculously gorgeous view and spen http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-485670.html I love all your comments. Sorry if I don't manage to answer them all. Not much time available to be online. But know that I love reading them and taking in the caring support. Love Donny http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-484457.html Weather A couple of days into this week the sun started peeking through the rain diminished and eventually stopped and it gradually got warmer. Ah On the physical front Ive been sleeping well and the bruising after spreading over to the area around my left eye to more or less match my right is now slowly dissipating.Last Saturday I moved to a shared apartment theres two of us e http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-484186.html What a week As a 61 yearold Swiss student whos been here over two months said as we chatted over espressos Its not like were twentysomethings who can endure anything like we did then. Amen.All the students over around forty complain about the cold not just the weather which has been mostly that and rainy but the cold in the homes as well. Everyone is cold a good part o http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-482693.html Cold and rainy today Sunday when this is being written my first full day in Taormina.I arrived the afternoon before into Catania Sicily airport from Munich having made a connection there following the flight from New York.This after being delayed in my first leg of the journey Medford to San Francisco and my second one SF to New York not getting my checked suitcase until the next da http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-481124.html Day 28 SiracusaWe 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 Siracu http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-455091.html