Tiramisu

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Geo: 37.8531, 15.2878

Yet 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 music.

One of the most spectacular sights you'll see in Sicily, or anywhere for that matter, is Isola Bella, a cute little island just off the shore of Lido Mazzaro, a pebbly-little beach just below Taormina. Isola Bella is neat, because you can wade across to it from the beach, via a short peninsula of pebbles that is either partially or completely submerged, depending on the time of day. The peninsula creates two separate coves, adding to the stunning visual impact of the location, a beach fronted by crystal clear waters, and with a backdrop of steep, verdant cliffs.

We've definitely settled into a bit of a pattern during our time so far in Sicily, with each day involving some beach time, excessive gelato and granita consumption, strolling, and for the most part, some pretty good eating, last night's dinner aside. Today was more of the same, capped off with an excellent meal at Tiramisu, a place highly recommended both by Lonely Planet, and by staff at our hotel.

The meal didn't disappoint, perhaps our finest so far in Italy, with some incredible pasta and seafood that had jumped straight out of the sea and onto our plates, via a short layover on a hot charcoal grill. However, there was maybe one problem with our meal - we ate dinner at Tiramisu, but were too full to sample its namesake dessert, Tiramisu!

Gelato Selections Of the Day: Down near Isola Bella, we had some killer granita, one coffee and one almond - the flavour seemed to be mostly from almond extract, but some chunks of actual almond were mixed in, resulting in one damn fine granita. There is no shortage of gelaterias in Taormina's pedestrian zone, and we settled on the one we though looked best, Gelatomania - unfortunately, their offerings weren't very good, as the mango, watermelon, and After Eight were all pretty average. The exception was the Ferrero Rocher, which was incredible, perhaps the best I've ever had. That's no small statement, as I've had a lot of it over the years!

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Photos

Matching Mullets ...
... this couple kept us entertained, as you rarely see a couple with identical hairstyles.

Memories ...
... I remember taking a picture of this church six years ago, because of the unique columns. In general, other architecture in Taormina is quite distinctive, because much of it has an Arab flavour to it.

Finally ...
... somebody (I won't say who), bought a designer dress in Barcelona, and wanted to keep the hanger, but wasn't able to fit it in their backpack, so somehow it ended up with me, for the past three weeks. I can't tell you what a pain carrying this thing was, because of the awkward shape. It finally got so bent out of shape that it was useless as a hanger, so I could finally rid myself of this burden.

Surprisingly Good ...
... we had lunch in Messina, at a cafe near the train station. All of the food was prepared beforehand, but this seafood pasta was quite tasty, with mussels and tuna. The chicken cutlet sandwich wasn't bad, either.

Amazing Meal at Tiramisu ...
... pappardelle with wild mushrooms, garlic, and parmesan. Perfectly al dente, and the mushroom sauce was rich and earthy. So simple, but so good.

Grilled Mixed Seafood ...
... swordfish rolls, shrimp, king prawn, squid. The best parts were the tender squid and the swordfish rolls. The shrimp and prawn, though tasty, were a bit mushy.

No Room For Dessert ...
... but I did sneak a peek at some of Tiramisu's offerings - these might have been big pans of panna cotta.

Disappointing ...
... a late harvest Vranec dessert wine I had been packing since Macedonia, the last of the three bottles I had picked up there. The bottle of white and red I picked up from Bovin Winery were great, but this was a pretty sad excuse for dessert wine.