Travel Tuesday - Taormina, Sicily

My sweetie in Taormina



Me in Taormina



View of Sicily from Taormina



So we sailed out of Croatia and sailed into Sicily. And we were very excited to be in Sicily. After all,this is where my sweetie's Grandfather came from and we have heard there are still distant relatives living there. We did not have time to go and visit the village he came from, but maybe someday we'll get back. Sicily is also home to the very old and beautiful Sicillian villages which were used by Francis Ford Coppola in the "Godfather" movies. As we were driving to get to Taormina, you could almost picture Michael Coleone drinking some red wine somewhere. Okay maybe not... It took about one hour to Taormina from the port of Messina. Taormina is a beautiful medieval village perched high on Mt. Tauro. And the only word to describe it is beautiful. Most of our time in Taormina was on our own, so we went shopping and sightseeing. Our son and son-in-law are both "Godfather" fans and there are plenty of "Godfather" souvenirs to buy. We also stopped and ate at one of the many cafes there. It is such a treat to eat at the cafes in Italy. Here's a couple of tips if you go to Taormina, first be aware that there are cobblestone streets and the ground is uneven and there are many hills. Wear comfortable shoes, gym shoes would be the best. I twisted my ankle coming down one of the steps there and I was wearing gym shoes but I was looking at the scenery and not the ground. Sicily is a very beautiful place and I hope to go back and explore more some day. We only seen Mt. Etna in the distance and I do wish we would have seen more of it because some of our fellow cruisers really thought it was worth the visit. So as we leave Sicily remember what Vito Corleone used to say "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse". (I think that's what he said) That offer is to go to Spain next week.


Safe Travels,


Joan