2014 SICILY: (3) SICILY 2014: CULTURE THROUGH THE AGES

June 15
Mt Etna***Taormina
Today we're on our way to Mt Etna and Taormina but stopped along the way for some coffee and sweets at the Dolce Vita Cafe.

On our way up we saw that the volcano was a little active with a lot of smoke and some lava being spewed off its top. We also passed by a house that was buried with lava and only the roof was exposed.

We drove up higher to the Crateri Silvestri and even walked down inside the crater.

Lunch was at another Agriturismo called Murgo - Tenuta San Michele with Mt Etna in the background. It started to rain but the food was not too bad.

Arrived in Taormina late afternoon and checked in at the beautiful old San Domenico Palace Hotel, an ancient Dominican monastery overlooking Taormina Bay and Mt Etna. Very pleased with the hotel and my room with a balcony and overlooking the bay.

Went for a walk to see a little of the city.

Back at the hotel I invited a few of my traveling friends for cocktails in my balcony. There was even a rainbow for the occasion.

For dinner we went looking for a nice restaurant but we walked and walked and couldn't decide. We ended up at a restaurant across from the hotel and it turned out pretty good.

June16
Taormina***Farewell Dinner
Taormina is perched on a cliff overlooking the Ionian sea. In the late 19th century Taormina gained further prominence as the place where Wilhelm von Gloeden worked most of his life as a photographer of predominantly male nudes. There is some speculation about Taormina being an early gentlemen's destination. Taormina's first important tourist was Johann Wolfgang Goethe who dedicated exalting pages to the city in his book entitled Italian Journey. D.H. Lawrence and Truman Capote followed in the 20th century. By this time Taormina had become "a polite synonym for Sodom" as Harold Acton described it. Later, however, after the Second World War, Acton was visiting Taormina with Evelyn Waugh and, coming upon a board advertising “Ye Olde English Teas” he sighed and commented that Taormina 'was now quite as boring as Bournemouth'.

The group picture-taking was done in the beautiful gardens of the hotel. Then I took pictures of some of the people I traveled with.

We then went with a local tour guide to see more of the city.

The Greek Theatre was our next destination. From there we could see a very nice view of the city and the sea.

We next visited the English Gardens.

Went back to the hotel to get ready to go to the beach. We walked down a steep hillside before reaching the very rocky beach into a lagoon. Water was quite cold so did not swim for a long time.

Walked up a short but steep hill and rode the funicular back up to town to get ready for the cocktail party and the Farewell Dinner. Nice feast to end a nice trip!