We are rested enough, and Taormina beckons. Our touring guidebook has this to say about it: “On a bluff above the Ionian Sea, at the foot of Monte Tauro, Taormina is Sicily’s most famous tourist resort.” Who wouldn’t want to go there? We decide to take the scenic route because our touring book also talks about picturesque fishing villages along the way. However, they aren’t picturesque (unless you like Speedos) and they add an extra two hours to the trip, so if you are thinking about taking the scenic route, don’t. The Autostrada is much more direct and much less painful.

 

Getting there is half the fun

Taormina is crowded and on a steep hill, so the best way to get there is to park at the bottom of the hill and take either the bus or a cable car. We opt for the cable car. The instructions are in Italian, and the English translation, while helpful, is just enough off to make Jane and Liz collapse with laughing and then hide around the corner so they don’t seem disrespectful. Case in point, we are given these “assignments” — “do not adopt an incorrect or abnormal position,”  do not “provoke oscillations,” and do not “ride with a nude torso.” Also, apparently you can’t ride if you are crazy. The cable car gives us a spectacular view of the town and the sea.

 

First stop, pizza land

Touring any hill town requires nourishment, so we stop at the Sicilian cooking school of pizzas, beer and sodas.

Fortified, we stroll through the streets and the shops and the mimes. FYI, Mike attracts mimes, so we always need to keep a pocketful of euros on hand to keep them at bay. Liz has been on the lookout for Sicilian salt, and finally scores at a spice shop.

 

A beautiful garden and mysterious monument

A certain number of steps down and then a certain number of steps up take us to the Villa Communale, a spectacular garden dedicated to Duke Colonna di Cesaro and left to the city by an English aristocrat, Florence Trevelyan after her death. From the garden, you can see both the beautiful coastline and Mt.Etna. Florence was suffering an exile of sorts, having been the mistress of the Prince of Wales for a time and then being sent away off you go. But she bounced, married a local, and built this wonderful place. The garden also includes a monument to Sicilian soldiers who died in World War I and a torpedo with two seats on the back. Jane and Liz spent a fair amount of time trying to decipher the Italian sign and did figure out at least part of the story. But again, Wikipedia came to the rescue after we got back to the villa. Apparently, there was such a thing as a human torpedo during World War II. Two men would ride on the back, carry a warhead, and deposit it like a mine near a ship, and then ride away. Salvatore Leone, a Sicilian, was one of these torpedo riders and died in the process, making him a Sicilian war hero. A few steps away, two life-size bronzes with angel wings sit on a park bench. Jane was happy to stop for a chat and a pose.

 

The wonder of Mt. Etna

There’s really not much one can say about Mt. Etna except that it’s magnificent. Our trip to the island would not have been complete if we had not gone to see it. Etna is Europe’s largest active volcano and has wreaked tremendous carnage on the surrounding areas even in recent years. Etna is often hidden by clouds, but during some part of the day, the clouds dissipate and you can see it in it’s complete beauty. She is smoking a bit right now. Beautiful.

 

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