Vicki at the belltower on the outskirts of Taormina
Coraleen at the Teatro Greico in Taormina. This was
built during the time of Greek Rule and still stands pretty much today as it did then.
Coraleen in the water at Acireale.. sitting on a rock in the middle of the blue azuere water.. it was an amazing place. Although as you can see from below.. it did cool down at night and I managed to get a pic of Coraleen in a sweatshirt just to proove it!
The beach at Taormina.. (where the pic of the girl in the green bikini on the next blog was taken)
More pictures from the Teatro Greico in Taormina.. the cruise ship miles below in the bay, Mt Etna in the background (yes you could see for miles)
And my birthday lunch at Taormina.. a memorable birthday given a beach in July!!
The swimming place at Acrireale at the foot of the lift in the rock.
This bloody blog doesnt allow you to put the writing in the right place for the pics.. so I hope you can differentiate between a beach, lava flow and crushed house on Mt Etna lol If you read the blurb below I am sure it wont be that difficult.
From Aicreale we moved on to Taormina (Tower meen uh) which was just fabulous. While being another hilltown it was just a little bit more special with a huge Greek Ampitheatre set up at its hightest point form where you had views over to mainland Calabria and down to the sea where there was a huge Cruise Ship moored for the day. Unfortunately its occupants, mostly American, were visiting Taormina at the same time as us.. it doesnt take long to figure why they get a bad name as Tourists. Its streets were full of loud Americans and their huge cameras.. and no doubt wallets.. pushing and shoving.. despite which we had a great day. Teatro Greco, as it is known, is still used today depsite being built hundreds of years ago. A lot of it still stands and from some of the entrances you have a view down to the sea and across they bay.. fingers crossed the photos look ok. We then wandered around the narrow cobbled streets admiring more of the ancient town and came across an Italian wedding. It must be tradition for the Bride and Groom to walk around the town after the ceremony as we seemed to be following them for ages. Her gown was beautiful consisting of thousands of sequins .. all very dainty and feminine.. and there she was waling around dirty streets with the veil trapsing behing. Not sure if they have bridesmaids or not as no one was holding up her dress or veil. They had pictures taken in the main street, under the archway entrance into the town and at the fountan.. and guess what? So did I. Well you had to!!
Wandering around the shops was an eye opener too. Being very touristy everything was almost double the price we had seen it elsewhere and there was the usual shops. Esprit, D & G, Gucci, Louis Vuitton etc etc.. needless to say we didnt do any shopping.
That evening we chatted to a Dutch couple in Sicily on holiday and they were telling us how they were checking the temperatures the week before and every day Sicily was between 45 and 47. Apparently the heat wave which hit Greece earlier spread further into Greece, through Turkey and into Southern Italy.. and as I said I felt mollified at our irritability and bad tempers with the heat. While I dont like the cold I must say at least you can sit in front of a fire and get warm there is actually nothing you can do in that heat. Next time, if I ever travel this way again, I would make sure the vehicle was airconditioned.
As Sunday was my birthday we spent the day relaxing on the beach. When we arrived at the Campground in Taormina we ventured into the water only to find jellyfish by the dozens.. and after speaking to some locals were told they were there when the water was warm and had a terrible sting! There was no way I was getting in that water. For some reason they werent there on the SUnday.. and the only reason given was .. its lucky Sunday! Go figure. Why they werent there wasnt important.. the fact they werent there was wonderful. Coraleen and I went down to the beach early.. hired sunbeds and umbrellas and laid ont he beach all day. It was just fantastic. At lunchtime we ate at the beach restaurant (all adjacent to the campground.. nothing to do with it actually) and had true Sicilian food. Little fish like Sardines marinated in olive oil, capsicums stuffed with arborio rice and tomatoe. It was a special way to celebrate getting older.. I mean after all.. how many people with a birthday in July can say they spent it on the beach?
Luck, however, was finally on our side! Moving from Agrigento towards Taormina we turned off the Autostrada at Acireale and found ourselves the most beautiful campground. High on a clifftop with the iridescent blue Ionian Sea below (with access via a lift through the rock!!) we are now enjoying the most amazing views, a cool(ish) breeze and no bloody ruins or cute hilltop town to venture out to explore.
In fact Acireale (ash ree are lee) is at the foot of Mt Etna and today we took an excursion to the top where it wasnt even hot! Aside from the fact it was NZ$110 I could do it again tomorrow just to get cool again.
We stopped at the equivalent to Ruapehue Top of the Bruce and walked to the Crator, saw the lava trails of the 2001 and 1992 eruptions and sat outside in a civilised manner and had a beer without melting. All in all an enjoyable day. All joking aside Mt Etna is worth seeing and its easy to imagine the devastation although the type of Volacano it is makes it easier for man to curtail the flow. Apparently its a very slow flow leaving plenty of time for people to empty their houses and flee.
We are spending another couple of nights here to enjoy the scenery and beach and then moving on up to Taomina, where, according to the guide books, beautiful beaches and campground are found in abundance!! Fingers friggn crossed!!
In fact Acireale (ash ree are lee) is at the foot of Mt Etna and today we took an excursion to the top where it wasnt even hot! Aside from the fact it was NZ$110 I could do it again tomorrow just to get cool again.
We stopped at the equivalent to Ruapehue Top of the Bruce and walked to the Crator, saw the lava trails of the 2001 and 1992 eruptions and sat outside in a civilised manner and had a beer without melting. All in all an enjoyable day. All joking aside Mt Etna is worth seeing and its easy to imagine the devastation although the type of Volacano it is makes it easier for man to curtail the flow. Apparently its a very slow flow leaving plenty of time for people to empty their houses and flee.
We are spending another couple of nights here to enjoy the scenery and beach and then moving on up to Taomina, where, according to the guide books, beautiful beaches and campground are found in abundance!! Fingers friggn crossed!!
Sicily soon made up for itself with it crystal clear waters and beautiful scenery. And I do feel mollified to know that the temperature was 47!
From Aicreale we moved on to Taormina (Tower meen uh) which was just fabulous. While being another hilltown it was just a little bit more special with a huge Greek Ampitheatre set up at its hightest point form where you had views over to mainland Calabria and down to the sea where there was a huge Cruise Ship moored for the day. Unfortunately its occupants, mostly American, were visiting Taormina at the same time as us.. it doesnt take long to figure why they get a bad name as Tourists. Its streets were full of loud Americans and their huge cameras.. and no doubt wallets.. pushing and shoving.. despite which we had a great day. Teatro Greco, as it is known, is still used today depsite being built hundreds of years ago. A lot of it still stands and from some of the entrances you have a view down to the sea and across they bay.. fingers crossed the photos look ok. We then wandered around the narrow cobbled streets admiring more of the ancient town and came across an Italian wedding. It must be tradition for the Bride and Groom to walk around the town after the ceremony as we seemed to be following them for ages. Her gown was beautiful consisting of thousands of sequins .. all very dainty and feminine.. and there she was waling around dirty streets with the veil trapsing behing. Not sure if they have bridesmaids or not as no one was holding up her dress or veil. They had pictures taken in the main street, under the archway entrance into the town and at the fountan.. and guess what? So did I. Well you had to!!
Wandering around the shops was an eye opener too. Being very touristy everything was almost double the price we had seen it elsewhere and there was the usual shops. Esprit, D & G, Gucci, Louis Vuitton etc etc.. needless to say we didnt do any shopping.
That evening we chatted to a Dutch couple in Sicily on holiday and they were telling us how they were checking the temperatures the week before and every day Sicily was between 45 and 47. Apparently the heat wave which hit Greece earlier spread further into Greece, through Turkey and into Southern Italy.. and as I said I felt mollified at our irritability and bad tempers with the heat. While I dont like the cold I must say at least you can sit in front of a fire and get warm there is actually nothing you can do in that heat. Next time, if I ever travel this way again, I would make sure the vehicle was airconditioned.
As Sunday was my birthday we spent the day relaxing on the beach. When we arrived at the Campground in Taormina we ventured into the water only to find jellyfish by the dozens.. and after speaking to some locals were told they were there when the water was warm and had a terrible sting! There was no way I was getting in that water. For some reason they werent there on the SUnday.. and the only reason given was .. its lucky Sunday! Go figure. Why they werent there wasnt important.. the fact they werent there was wonderful. Coraleen and I went down to the beach early.. hired sunbeds and umbrellas and laid ont he beach all day. It was just fantastic. At lunchtime we ate at the beach restaurant (all adjacent to the campground.. nothing to do with it actually) and had true Sicilian food. Little fish like Sardines marinated in olive oil, capsicums stuffed with arborio rice and tomatoe. It was a special way to celebrate getting older.. I mean after all.. how many people with a birthday in July can say they spent it on the beach?
2 comments:
I'm so jealous, these pictures look fabulous! Although, aunty vicki -- your hair is a bit orange? (or is that the look we're going for). Very jealous of the two of you, and think we should swap... pronto!
These pictures are incredible. I too am very jealous. Wish that Mary Poppins would come and control my children so I could join you!
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