The medieval cliffside town of Taormina is spectacularly perched on the side of a mountain.  It is Sicily’s favorite summer playground and it has the allure of Capri.  This little piece of paradise is high above the Ionian Sea affording fantastic views of both the sea and Mount Etna. Its natural beauty is hard to dispute.  We decided Taormina was the perfect place to spend 3 days and celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary.  The hillside town has numerous restaurants and high-end hotels near the beach or up the hill in the town center on top of the cliffs.  The two areas are connected by a gondola that, we understand, is often down for maintenance (like it is now).  Bus service is available but we chose to walk the 500+ steps up the hill to this quaint center.  The uber-charming walking street called Corso Umberto is part of the city center and is filled with fabulous high-end retailers, shoe and leather good stores, and pesce (seafood) restaurants.   Like Orytiga,  Taormina is so narrow and populated (especially during the warmer months) that all visitors (except residents and hotel guest) must park in one of two parking lots and walk into town.

The views are simply gorgeous from our hotel room and deck.  The aqua-colored water is crystal clear but the beaches, like Capri, are small and rocky.   We look out onto the Isola (Island) Bella which means beautiful island.  It was a private property until 1990 when it was bought by the region of Sicily and turned into a nature reserve.  It has a very interesting history.  There is a narrow path that often connects the island to the mainland beach.  We enjoyed watching the tide from our balcony disconnect the island and people wading through the water to get to the island.

In Taormina, time is not seen as the enemy, but an asset; after all, this is Sicily’s chic resort town beloved by the high-rollers and visiting celebs.  Everything seem to takes more time around here.   We quickly learned to embrace the pace and enjoy taking our time while eating, walking, talking and even shopping!  During our “honeymoon” here,  it rained most of the time; so, we didn’t hike but had still had an amazing time relaxing and “taking it easy”.   Besides being a spectacular seaside town with sun-drenched beaches, the remains of the Teatro Greco (Greek Theater) is the biggest tourist attraction.  It was rebuilt by the Romans in the 2nd century and is currently used as a stage for operas, concerts and theatrical performances.

We actually feel that Taormina is our No.1 favorite “vacation” spot compared to the Amalfi Coast and Capri.  We are going to sign off and enjoy the rest of our 40th.  We are off to Berlin on Tuesday via Rome.

We visited Mount Etna on Saturday on our way to Taormina.  Mount Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe.  Viewing it from the freeway,  it truly dominates the landscape of eastern Sicily.  We were very lucky, the mountain had had clouds at the top for a number of days but as we got closer, the high clouds disappeared and left the peak clear and cold.  As we started our ascent to the Mount Etna gondola by car around twists, turns and hairpin curves, it felt like we were on another planet.  The environment shares the same rugged, ugly and treeless appearance as the Calbuco Volcano we visited in the lakes district of Patagonia, Chile.  Once again, like Calbuco,  both are home to active ski resorts – a big shocker that a ski area exists on a very active volcano in Sicily.

Traveling up the mountain, we finally arrived at a parking area with loads of touristy nick-nack shops, a few restaurants and a gondola.  Unfortunately, we arrived too late to trek any of the mountain, so we opted for the gondola plus a special massive jeep-truck ride and tour after the gondola ride.  The old and slow gondola only took us partially up Mount Etna to about 7,000 feet.  It was a very pricey $145 adventure as there were about 75 people with only one guide for about a 45-minute tour at 9,000 feet.  One can make the 5 1/2 hour round-trip hike further up to the edge of the active crater at the peak (11,000 feet)  if you hire a private guide and leave early in the morning.  We got lucky and actually experienced a loud burst of yellow sulfur clouds spewing out of one of the craters at the very top.  Our guided tour was at one of the craters that was created in the 2002 eruption.

We were surprised to discover that the most recent and apparently, quite spectacular eruption occurred December 3, 2015 – just 5 months ago!  It had sent plumes of fire and ash into the sky, almost a mile high.  Our guide told us that the eruption caused the closure of the nearest airport and left several villages covered in a layer of thick ash.  Due to this recent eruption, the entire mountain was covered with volcanic ash & pumice with the snow underneath.   As a result, we were told that trekking the mountain was quite challenging due to all the loose rock.  The hikers that we did see trekking up and down the mountain were going at a very slow pace.  Some were trekking the 2000 vertical feet from the gondola to our tour location.  We had considered that hike but it was probably good we did not undertake it as we watched a few hikers sliding down the mountain.

Then off to Taormina, Sicily’s favorite resort destination.

On Friday, we were on our way to the island of Ortygia which is the historical center of Siracusa, Sicily.  We also decided to make a side-trip to Piazza Armerina.  The world’s most comprehensive set of Roman mosaics is found in the outskirts of this town.  The archaeological site is known as Villa Romana del Casale which is somewhat difficult to find due to lack of signage and a confused GPS.   Apparently, the specifics of the villa’s history are largely lost to history, but experts have dated its origin to around the 4th century AD.  It’s believed to have been either the hunting lodge for the Roman aristocracy or the home of a single politician.   Apparently, there aren’t enough clues to indicate the real owner(s).

We walked along on high platforms above the rooms and were able to see a number of rooms laid out with these incredible mosaic floors.  We thought that the “Corridor of the Hunt” was the most impressive floor.  As you can see in the picture below, soldiers battle with tigers, then lead them onto ships bound for Rome where they fight against gladiators in Roman colosseums.  Other parts of the “Hunt” depict a group of soldiers trying to pull a hippopotamus out of the water, and a wounded lion jumping onto a soldier.  It is difficult to gain an appreciation of these fabulous mosaics unless one actually sees them in person.  No doubt, it took many years to create all these incredible masterpieces.

Our favorite and probably the most popular mosaic was the so-called “Bikini Girls”.  In a fairly small, square room, ten wonderfully preserved and scantily clad Roman beauties are engaging in various athletics such as discus-throwing, running and playing with a ball.  The girl in the center, apparently the winner, is presented with a golden crown.  We were shocked to see women in bikinis depicted in a mosaic back “in the day”.

The Villa Romana (a UNESCO site) was recently renovated and is one of the most popular sites in Italy.   In order to view each mosaic floor, one has to almost stand in a slow line.  Luckily, the crowds today were manageable.  The place must be unbearable during the summer with undoubtedly lengthy lines with many hours standing in a line to view these beautiful mosaic floors.

The tiny “magical” island of Ortygia, lingers on the edge of Siracusa and is connected to the mainland by three small bridges.  Locals refer to Ortygia as the “White Pearl” of Siracusa.  .  .  and indeed it is!  It absolutely charms with its many narrow streets, ancient flowering balconies, beautiful squares and weathered buildings.  The size and location  of Ortygia reminds us of Balboa Island in Newport Beach, California.  We arrived around 4:00 pm and we were able to cover the entire island on foot in about 1 hour.  The waterfront of Ortygia Island has wonderful views and is full of enchanting churches and ancient buildings.

When we booked out hotel, we had no idea that the hotel was actually a B&B.  We booked it because it had almost a “10” rating (10 is tops) on Trip Advisor. This B&B was not your typical B&B because it was not in someone’s home.  It was actually in a small renovated building and lived up to it’s high rating.  We had a very upscale, modern suite with a sitting room and large bedroom.

We headed south on Thursday to spend the night in Agrigento and visit the grand Valley of the Temples, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Just like Segesta, you will swear that you have been unknowingly teleported to Greece when you visit Valley of the Temples.   The fact that Sicily is home to Greek ruins scattered throughout the island and slowly fading in the relenting heat of the sun came as surprise to us.  What is also surprising is the quantity and quality of these ruins, many of which are located in the Sicilian countryside, uncovered, unprotected and dwarfing even the tallest of olive trees.  The Valle Dei Templi is Italy’s most important and prominent archaeological park and the largest archaeological site in the world. (We thought Greece would have larger sites.)  We also were perplexed on why they call this site a valley since it is located on a ridge outside the town of Agrigento.   There are 7 spectacular, well-preserved Greek temples from the 6th and 5th century B.C. here.  This site also has ruins of other temples, houses, streets and an amphitheatre.  The most impressive and best preserved temple is the Temple of Concordia.  The majority of its columns are still intact with a series of arches that were later added to convert the temple to a Christian church.  The other temples were only partially remaining temples with quite a bit of “ruin rubble” surrounding them.  The most intriguing feature of the “Valley” is the fact that almost all of the surrounding city of Agrigento (a.k. Akragas) remains unexcavated.  Who knows what may lie ahead for a lucky archaeologist?

While all these Italian ruins are quite interesting, we are on an archaeological overload!  We are looking forward to visiting the Balboa Island of the eastern shores of Sicily, our next destination.