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Published: October 15th 2008
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 was a bit wider, so caused me a bit of consternation as we wound our way through Palermo trying to find the Autostrade. Lucky for me it was early Sunday morning and almost no traffic.
The drive through the middle of Sicily was very enjoyable. The autostrade here was not in great condition, although not tolled, but the scenery was excellent and I kept seeing lots of photo opportunities of houses and villages perched on the tops of mountains, plowed fields on hillsides with some at 45 degree slopes. We were keen to keep moving to Letojanni, not knowing how long it would take, so I made a mental note to take some photos on the way back to Palermo.
At the Residence Letojanni we had to pay for 'club' membership, costing us €114 total for access to the pool, shuttle bus, beach recliners and umbrella, and breakfasts. We took immediate advantage of the shuttle bus, taking the 1pm down to the Ltojanni township by the beach.
The views from the residence are great, looking down towards the Letojanni township, beach and across to what we later worked out is Taormina and Castal Mola, perched on the sides of the hills.
The water at the beach is crystal clear and beautifully warm. Joseph and I were in without hesitation, well actually to be fair I hesitated a bit trying to make my way across the stone beach. Along Letojanni the beach is made of small to medium sized rounded stones, with a myriad of colours and patterns that inspired me to collect some and take a photo. The stones are very hard on feet that are used to comfy socks!
After an enjoyable swim and a short sunbathe, in which we weren't able to persuade Kylie to swim but liam paddled around, we went for a walk looking for a supermarket. Our search was unsuccessful, with only a couple of very small stores open on the Sunday, so we had a late lunch/ early dinner at the Flamingo Pizzeria where we had, for a change, yummy hamburgers.
There we found a possible method for weaning Joseph off using his hands to eat his food: the chips came with little plastic forks that the boys used to eat with!
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Tony Gianetto
non-member comment
Enjoyed a similar experience
My wife and I and another couple also landed in Palermo in 2005, and drove a rental car directly across the interior to Letojanni. We had exchanged for a timeshare there, and arrived past their office hours but were greeted warmly and directed to our one bedroom ste. Rather rustic and aged, but satisfactory. The staff and food were very good, and the location excellent relative to touring the small mountainside villages and Taoromina. Great vacation!