Sicilian Adventures Day 5

The first four days of the trip have been weighted towards getting to grips with the culture that Sicily has to offer. We have moved every night and worked our way round from the North of the Island through the East and South right round to the crown jewel of the island (from a tourist perspective) – Taormina

Taormina is perched on a cliff overlooking the sea and Mount Etna, the gloriously active volcanoe. It truly is a stunning place with a winding road that sweeps up through the cliff until to arrive at the centre of the town. it genuinely looks like a scene from ‘Talented Mr Ripley’ with our view of the boats bobbing in the sea in front of us. We are staying in the picturesque ‘Villa Belvedere’, a small hotel with a real charm about it… Here is the view:

View from Villa Belvedere

Getting from A to B on this island takes time. The roads are basic and the heat means that it is impossible to do anything fast. One could argue that we were slowed by the amount we drank last night…but I prefer to think it is the heat and quality of infrastructure…

We arrived too late to have  aproper look around the town so we are heading out for supper at a local trattoria before getting an early night. We’re not planning on doing much during the day for the next couple of night bar reading by the pool but we have managed to secure tickets for Carreras in the open air Greek theatre on Saturday night which should be spectacular…

Over and out…

Sicilian Adventures – Day 4

Day 4 saw us head from Agrigento to Syracuse. The drive is about 250km and takes in the stunning coastline along the south of the island. Along the way, we stopped at a pizzeria which must have been a front for money laundering…a lot of dodgy looking mafioso, about 40 tables…and only us eating there…

As one of my friens pointed out, where Coppolla was so successful in his Godfather trilogy was the way he captured the stillness of Siciliy. Not a lot happens here. It is incredibly calm and quiet around a lot of the island…and very hot. It regularly tops 40 degrees…

We arrived in Syracuse around 7pm and headed out into the square where Archimides is commemorated. It’s a beautiful place that we walked around before settling on a fun bar and then onto a Sicilian party that overlooked a lake. It was truly stunning. We were definitely the only non Sicilians and their reaction to us being at their party was very mixed. Some were pleased and hapy for us whilst others were less keen.

Unfortunately at the end of the night, some of the Sicilians who were at the party followed us on mopeds and tried to rob us. Fortunately, only one of my friends was hit and we managed to get away without losing anything… A lucky escape…

Taormina beckons next and the experience is likely to be quite different. Taormina is the richest part of the island and will offer a much more relaxed section of the holiday…