The day started with a walk up the main
part of Taormina and then along the Corso
Umberto I tourist strip to buy a few necessaries at the British Pharmacy. They did in fact
speak English, but almost everyone here does. We have noticed that there are
quite a few Russians about, and signs in their language.
 |
| View of Castelmola |
 |
| Somewhat unexpected here |
We returned to the bus station opposite our
hotel (very convenient) and hopped on the local bus to the hill town of Castelmola above Taormina. From below it does not seem possible that a village could
be perched up there. Our conveyance was a medium-sized bus with good seats and
aircon. A sign in the overhead bulkhead had a button for requesting hot
beverages. Sadly this service was not available. The
road is narrow and twisty as it ascends. It would be acceptable for one-way
traffic but it actually accommodates two-way traffic which boggles the mind.
Drivers are very careful in bends and always mange to just get through when
there is oncoming.
A lot of this trip has been about views,
and those from Castelmola were
superb. After absorbing these and a brief tour of the village, including the
duomo, we returned to Taormina and were lucky to get seats as some had to stand
and sway through the bends.
 |
| Mary Magdalen |
After lunch we took the gondola down to the
beach and Isola Bella. It is a very
pretty manicured little island with just a tiny speck of sand connecting it to
the land. Quite a few sun-deprived tourists baking away in the hot sun.
 |
| Isola Bella |
 |
| Isola Bella |
 |
| Isola Bella |
We had arranged to meet our Sydney friends A&S
for dinner at Al Saraceno which Joan
had booked over the Internet. It turns out the head guy there, Alfio, is our host Mauro’s best friend. We arranged to pick A&S up at their hotel
and trusted our GPS to find our way there. That worked fine, but the time taken
was about double due to evening traffic and slow buses, so we regrettably arrived
late. We eventually got to the restaurant okay and sat out on the terrace
overlooking the sights. We had neglected to take into account the cooler
evening air at altitude and exposure to the wind, so we were all a little cooler
than we had planned for (although no one would admit to that). No matter as we
had a most enjoyable time catching up and comparing travel experiences.
 |
| From our balcony |
 |
| From Al Saraceno |
 |
| The Saracen fort |
After the shared taxi dropped us at the top
of Taormina, we did our passegiata up and down the main Corso Umberto, now much depleted of human traffic and more
enjoyable for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment