Day 8 - A Day for Relaxing

Naxos Beach

There were only a couple of minor things on the agenda for today and one was to correct a mistake from earlier. When we had planned our earlier visit to Taormina, I thought the Greek Amphitheater was open until dark but in fact it stopped admissions at 5:30 so we couldn't get in on our first try. No problem. We just went back to Taormina in the morning, this time for a more leisurely visit.

In the first photo you can see the beach here at Naxos looking up at Taormina (town in the middle level) and Castelmola (small town on the summit to the left). From our hotel it is only about a 20 minute drive to Taormina.

Teatro antico di Taormina

The amphitheater is really spectacular with its views overlooking the Ionian sea far down below. You might wonder why such an impressive structure is located here? The reason is that Naxos was the first Greek settlement in Sicily (735 BCE) and the main city (now called Taormina) was built on a high point of land for protection from invaders. It was a thriving city and the theater can accommodate about 5500 spectators and is still used today, but only in the summer. Of course over the centuries the city was conquered by Romans and many others but the amphitheater and baths still remain.

Full Sicilian Relax Mode

Jeanne and I picked up our laundry in town and went back to the hotel for some pool time and relaxation before we check out tomorrow and head to the west coast of Sicily. I'd like to say we use local laundries to support the local economy, but the fact is that Hiltons charge a fortune and the local placed only charged us 20 EUR for about a weeks worth of clothes. It also gave me the chance to speak to some older ladies who clearly spoke no English. So when I picked it up they asked if I was the guy with the underwear. They apparently don't get much underwear to wash!

We ate dinner right across the street from the hotel. I had a grilled seafood combo (swordfish, shrimp, mussels and calamari) and Jeanne had spaghetti with cherry tomatoes with cubes of mozzarella. We both had dessert (Tiramisu). We continue to be amazed at the quality of the food and how inexpensive it is.

Day 7 - Siracusa

Mount Etna without Clouds

Another bright, beautiful, sunny day and we headed down to Siracusa for a day trip. It was a pretty easy 90 minute drive and there were no mountain roads and almost all autostrada! As we left Giardini-Naxos, we got a great view of Mt. Etna, this time without the peak being covered with clouds and you can clearly see the smoke (or maybe steam) coming out. Etna is a pretty active volcano with eruptions every couple of years with the last one in March of last year.

Greek Amphitheater in Siracusa

I think I need to explain some Siracusa history to better point out its significance. Siracusa is one of the oldest Greek cities in Sicily and the most powerful, rivaling Athens when it was at its peak. Its most famous citizen was Archimedes who was the top mathematician of the ancient world, the first one to approximate pi, but probably most famous for shouting "Eureka" after discovering the principle of displacement in his bathtub. He was killed in 212 BCE when the Romans conquered the city.

We parked just outside the oldest part of the city, the isle of Ortigia, because it is closed to traffic on the weekends (supposedly closed but there was still traffic). We then rode the Siracusa Hop-on Hop-off bus to get to most of our destinations.

We spent the first part of the day touring Greek sites including the large amphitheater and the Ear of Dionysus. The Ear of Dionysus is a natural cave with amazing acoustics. Even a small noise echoes loudly in the cave.

Charlemagne (r) with Two Knights

After that we rode back to Ortigia for touring and a puppet show. Today is my birthday and the puppet show was my choice. The puppets (similar to marionettes but with only three strings) are three feet tall and reenact scenes from the tales of Orlando, which is a medieval story about knights in Charlemagne's court. Of course there are sword fights galore, including one where a soldier gets decapitated. Not sure how they did that, but they did. Not exactly what I would call "kid appropriate" in modern times but it seems to work. We both enjoyed it immensely.

Procession in Traditional Dress into Church

Cathedral of Siracusa

The following are a couple of random shots.

I'll just close by saying we had another nice dinner near the hotel to celebrate my birthday. I had Orata (Sea Bream, best fish so far) and Jeanne had Spaghetti Carbonara again (best one so far). Birthday cake to be followed when we get home because that is something that doesn't exist here.

Ortigia Shoreline

Day 6 - Mt. Etna and Wine Country

Funicular at Mt. Etna Going Into the Clouds

Today was a bright sunny day after four straight overcast ones. I thought I would start by describing the typical Italian breakfasts we have been having. Everything centers on coffee. I usually have a latte macchiato (hot milk with espresso) and Jeanne has her tea, but there are many other options. There are always eggs (scrambled but most frequently hard boiled) and a selection of ham, salami, cheese and bread, brioche, etc. There is also a wide selection of sweets including cannoli, chocolate torts, every kind of cookie imaginable. Sometimes we have seen small sicilian pears, prickly pear, nuts, and even cassatina (a green colored dessert filled with sweet ricotta). Today at the Hilton they made cannoli while you waited and also had coffee granita (water ice) with whipped cream.

Drive Down From Mt. Etna Through Lava Fields

Our day trip today was to Mount Etna and then the Gambino Winery for a wine tasting. It took about 90 minutes to get to Rifugio Sapienza on the south side of Mt. Etna. It was a mostly slow drive through small towns and then winding roads up the side of the mountain. Near the end of the drive you pass through lava fields to reach the parking area. At this point you are pretty much at cloud level. You can go to the top and see the caldera but you have to take a funicular and then off-road vehicles. That part of the trip is quite expensive and since we have already seen active volcanoes in Hawaii we had decided before we left that we would skip the trip up and do some shopping in the resort area (ski lodge in the winter). Within 30 minutes of arriving, the clouds descended on us and we lost sight of the funicular. Not sure what it was like at the top but you certainly couldn't see much. BTW, the temperature had dropped to the low 50s and of course we had forgotten to bring the warm clothes that we packed specifically for this part of the trip. Jeanne bought a nice jacket (and only 15 euro).

Wine Tasting

From the Rifugio (ski lodge) we made our way back down the road we had come up on and drove north along the eastern side of Etna to the Gambino Winery. That area is a popular region for wine, in part because they say the ashes of a volcano produce the great wine. We did just the basic wine tasting but that included 6 tastings and they left the bottles on the table so you really could drink as much as you wanted. They also gave us a hard boiled egg (a traditional welcoming gift they said), bread, olive oil and 4 kinds of cheese. Needless to say we did not need lunch today.

Gambine Vineyard Overlooking Giardini-Naxos

Dinner tonight was at a place near the hotel and it was pretty good. I had Spada Alla Griglia (swordfish, excellent, fresh) and Jeanne had ravioli stuffed with spinach and cheese in a pistachio and pancetta sauce.  Please pardon all the food talk in the blog but I read a description of a friend's trip to Sicily and I liked hearing what they ate so I'm including ours.

Day 5 - Taormina

Coastline near Cefalu'

We started the day with a 3-hour drive down to Taormina on the east coast. From Cefalu' you take the A20 Autostrada across the northern edge of Sicily to Messina. The A20 is somewhat of an engineering marvel as there are so many tunnels that it is hard to see the sun or listen to music. We did get a glimpse or two of the Eolie Islands to the north. At Messina you head south and follow the Straits of Messina until you can only see open sea. You see mainland Italy (Calabria) from Messina across the straits but there is no bridge, so if you are going across you have to take a ferry. That applies to trains as well.

Jeanne at a cannoli stop in Castelmola

From the main road we go up an amazingly winding road to Castelmola. You have to pass through the tourist crowd at Taormina before you can even start the steep climb to Castelmola which is at least twice as high as Taormina. To do this you better not have a fear of heights or using the clutch. Not sure if I ever got out of second gear.

The town of Castelmola is small but cute and we enjoyed a very nice pizza (bufala mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and basil) in the town square, followed with a cannoli stop for Jeanne. That's Taormina, the little town way down below in the photo.

View from our balcony

Then we drove back down to our hotel in Giardini-Naxos. We're slumming it at a beachfront Hilton resort (on points) for the next four days, using it as a base for day trips. Giardini-Naxos is a beach town and about 2 blocks wide running along the Mediterranean Sea. There are actual waves here and it is nice to hear them crashing on the shore from our room. That sound makes everything seem more relaxing.

In the evening we went to Taormina to attend an opera concert. The concert consisted of two singers, one male and one female, and a pianist. They sang a selection of arias from various operas, but they featured La Boheme pretty heavily. They closed with three Italian popular classics: "Funiculi, Funicula," "O Sole Mio" and "Torna a Surriento." Very entertaining and the singers were quite good.

Opera Theater in Taormina

We ate light tonight. I tried the arancini from Da Cristina, which everyone on the Internet raves about but I think Fabrizio, the tour guide from Palermo, has gotten in my head. He claims that the arancini in Palermo are superior to those in Catania. I tried two varieties, the traditional type with meat, cheese and tomato sauce and one with pistachios, cheese and grapes. They were okay but not as good as the one in Palermo. Fabrizio might be right.

"Non funziona" is the phrase of the day. It means "not working" and that applied to many things today. When we parked in Castelmolo, the pay station took my money but didn't print a ticket for the window. I left a note in my best Italian explaining the problem but no one seemed to care. I paid for parking in Taormina but the gate opened before I could put my ticket in. Okay. We stopped to buy gas and the person ahead of me said "non funziona" so we moved on to another gas station. After struggling to figure out where to pay (there is only one credit card machine for all 4 pumps) and how to get the gas cap off (you need the car key), I put my card in and it was rejected. An Italian guy helped me but it still didn't accept my card so I pay in cash. Non funziona.

Day 4 - Castelbuono and Cefalu'

Our Fiat Cinquecento

We left Palermo in our little red Fiat Cinquecento (i.e., 500) heading east along the Tyrrhenian Sea past Cefalu' and then turning south, up into the Madonie Mountains, to visit the medieval town of Castelbuono. The drive, which took about 90 minutes, goes through such an uneven part of land that you are basically either in a tunnel or on a bridge for most of the way. One funny thing we noticed is that the Italians name each bridge and tunnel, no matter how small. Not sure why.

Town of Castelbuono (viewed from the castle)

There is an actual castle in Castelbuono (Good Castle) which was built by the wealthy Count Ventimiglia in 1316, after the Ventimiglia family moved from the north of Italy to Sicily for the better weather. The most important thing they brought with them was the holy relic of the skull of Saint Anne, who was the mother of Mary. Saint Anne is now the patron saint of Castelbuono and three times a year the skull is processed around the town. Sicily is notorious for being a land of mysterious religious customs and celebrations that I find fascinating.

Below the castle is a small section of town dating back to the middle ages.

Chapel in the Castle

The most interesting feature of the castle is the chapel which was built in 1636 and features many marble cherubs and supposedly tells the history of the Ventimiglia family. It is beautiful but it certainly fails in getting the history across. I'm left wondering why there were so many cherubs. Even Wikipedia doesn't explain it. By the way, the American actor Milo Ventimiglia is a descendent of the family.

After Castelbuono, we drove to Cefalu' where we spent the night. Cefalu' is a town of Greek origin and was a major fishing village for many hundreds of years and now has become a major tourist center. The star attraction in town is the Duomo of Cefalu' which was started by King Roger II (see earlier posts) in 1131 when he landed there after being saved from a storm at sea.

Duomo at Cefalu'

The town of Cefalu' is certainly cute, has a great beach, numerous restaurants and shops, but maybe too many tourists to be comfortable in. As you can see in the photo, there was a mix of rain drops and bright sunshine when we were there.

The patron saint is San Salvatore and it is the site of a massive religious celebration in his honor in August.

Mosaic of Jesus

Similar to the interior of the cathedral in Palermo, this church is also done in beautiful Byzantine gold colored mosaic tiles, dominated by a huge image of Jesus overlooking the worshipers.

Before we left town, we stopped to buy supplies for dinner. Our room has a terrace overlooking the sea and we like to "eat in" when we have that kind of option. With the help of the store clerk, we bought 3 types of cheese, bread, a bottle of wine from the local Abbey in Castelbuono and some chocolate to add to the "black swine salumi" which we bought in Castelbuono for our dinner. We stayed out until it got dark and the rain started.

Day 3 - Palermo by Bus

180 Years Old Tree in the Royal Garden

Today was our day for the Hop-On Hop-Off bus tour of Palermo.  We find that this kind of tour is a good way to see a large part of a city without doing so much walking. We covered several stops yesterday so we only had to stop at the Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace) and the Cattedrale (Cathedral) of Palermo.

The actual name of the palace is the Palace of the Normans because it was rebuilt from a former Arab palace after the Normans conquered Sicily in 1072 and they named Palermo its capital. It was the home of Sicilian kings during the 11th and 12th centuries when Sicily was a major power. The palace itself isn't much to look at from the outside but it contains the magnificent Palatine Chapel added on by King Roger  II in 1132. They also have a very nice little “Royal Garden” which is of course more recent with trees “only” 180 years old. We also saw our first pomegranate bush there. Pomegranates in ancient Italy symbolized fertility and abundance so I suppose it's appropriate to be in a King's garden.

Santa Rosalia (left) with Mary,
Jesus and John the Baptist

The first stop in the palace was to see an exhibition of paintings featuring Saint Rosalia, who is the patron saint of Palermo. According to tradition (which starts almost every story we hear in Palermo), Rosalia was a daughter of a noble Norman family who was very religious and went to live as a hermit in a cave on Monte Pellegrino above Palermo. She died in 1166, but when the plague hit Palermo in 1624 she appeared to a hunter and told him where to find her bones and ordered him to carry her bones in procession around Palermo. After this was done three times, the plague disappeared and she became the “little saint” of Palermo.

Palatine Chapel

As I said, the highlight of the palace is the Palatine Chapel which was the royal family's private place of worship and it is stunning. It features ornate gold colored mosaics in the Byzantine/Arab style which was popular in the 12th century.  The figure of Jesus dominates the part behind the altar and biblical stories in mosaic or painting line the side walls.

Palermo Cathedral

After the palace we walked a short distance to the cathedral to have a better look. The cathedral is the burial place of Roger II and Frederick II who was the most powerful of all the Sicilian kings and also Holy Roman Emperor.  Like many things in Sicily, the cathedral was built on top of an earlier mosque and it still has some arabic features if you look closely. The interior is very plain in comparison to the Palatine Chapel, but of course it was used by the common people of Palermo. By the way, even today Palermo has over 300 churches. Not sure if all of them are still open, but you see a church or two on almost every corner in the old part of town.

For dinner we went to the Antica Birreria Moretti, which was recommended by the hotel clerk. A heavy rain had set in during the afternoon and so we walked 15 to 20 minutes each way in a downpour. The food was very good. Caponata (excellent) as an appetizer, Jeanne had Spaghetti Carbonara (not great) and I had Grilled Spigola (sea bass, which was very good) and Tiramisù (excellent) for dessert.

Day 2 - Street Food Walking Tour in Palermo

Teatro Massimo with "Ghost Nun" Steps

This was our first full day in Palermo and we took a walking tour of the city. I found the tour on the Internet last minute and the guide, Fabrizio, was quite good. He met us at our hotel and we walked with him for 20 minutes to the start of the tour. His English and my Italian were about on par so he and I spoke in Italian. Easier for him and I like to practice. Fabrizio was full of entertaining stories. He told us that the Teatro Massimo was built on top of what used to be three churches, including a cemetery where some nuns were buried. He said to be careful walking on the steps going into the theater because the ghost of a nun will trip you. I’m not sure if he believes these stories but he likes to pass them on.

Vegetables at Capo Market

The main focus of the tour was a visit to the street markets in Palermo and a tasting of the local street food and Fabrizio has chosen the Capo market for the tour. There was a light drizzle at the beginning of the tour and he called ahead to make sure we had seats under an awning. The market is smaller than I had imagined but it was full of exotic fruits, vegetables and seafood. We start with a tasting of "sfincione", which is a type of thick pizza. Okay, but not as good as the pizza last night. Fabrizio explained a lot of things. What the Sicilians call broccoli is our cauliflower and our broccoli is sparacelli in Sicilian dialect. This is different from mainland Italy where broccoli means broccoli.  Also Sicilian zucchini is light green about 3 feet long. If you look closely, you can see all three in the photo.

Pani câ meusa

We sat at a table in the market and sampled traditional Palermo street food - "Panelle" (fried chickpea flour), "crocché" (potato croquettes), and "arancine" (deep-fried stuffed rice balls). Fabrizio regaled us with anecdotes about the food which emphasized the dislike the Palermitanos have for Catania (soccer rivals) and the French (for obvious reasons).  Jeanne liked the croquettes best but I liked the arancini. As a special treat, you could optionally try “pani câ meusa maritatu.” This is essentially a sandwich made with calf spleen and other internal organs served with cheese. Two Aussies and I took them up on the "fear factor" challenge and split a sandwich. Everyone else passed. It wasn’t the worst thing I have ever eaten but it has kind of a rubbery texture that is off-putting. After I had eaten part of mine I noticed the Aussies were done.  I asked if they had eaten all of theirs and they said “No mate, there's a bin back there.” That’s where the rest of mine went. At the end of the tour we said goodbye to our fellow tourists over a "cannolo" and walked back to our hotel. About 5 miles round-trip.

We ended the evening with a nice dinner at the Osteria Lo Bianco near our hotel, a place that Fabrizio had recommended.  Jeanne had Scaloppini with lemon and I had Pasta Sarda and Fritura Misto (mixed fried fish and calamari). Everything was great.