I am a few days behind in blogs – we have been busy enjoying Taormina. Plus had some days of just “everyday” living – grocery shopping, conference calls, work, laundry, catching up on our budget, and of course, paying bills.

But I did learn one very important lesson this week. When I started this trip, I brought my Italian books and vowed to do a lesson every day. Well, I have gotten a little complacent, mainly because I know just enough to get by, and most people speak at least a little English. I should have stuck with it . . . .

We went to an amazing fish restaurant last night – Grotta Azzurra. They are known for their very fresh catch. The owner came by our table touting all of the colorful seafood on display over ice right outside the front door, including one of my favorites – anchovies. Believe it or not, they are really really good when fresh and marinated- they call them “alice”, pronounced “ah-lee-chee.” They are not at all like the salty kind you find on pizza.

I usually try to order in Italian and was feeling a little cocky. I wanted to show the owner that I knew that anchovies really were “ah-lee-chee” in Italian. So I proudly ordered. He looked at me a little more closely and smiled big – I thought, “I’m sure he’s impressed with my Italian – I’m like a native now.”

Well – when my appetizer arrived, it was RICCI (pronounced “ree-chee”), which are sea urchins. All of our Sicily family raves about them, but I hadn’t had the nerve to try them. When we were sailing, we saw them stuck all over the rocks next to the dock. They are brown and spindly. And I was just served a plate full of them.

  
I wasn’t sure what to do, so at first I started licking out the contents, pretending that I knew exactly what I was doing ordering a whole plate of sea urchins just for me. But the waitress hurried over and told me that the quills were very sharp so I needed to use a spoon. Oops.

They were actually pretty good. I am proud to say I ate them all. And next time I will just order “anchovies.”

We have found a little glamour in Taormina. This past week, the town hosted its annual film festival. This festival is on a much smaller scale than Cannes, but the location is a lot more striking. The films are shown nightly in the Teatro Greco, the ancient Greek amphitheatre, which dates to the 3rd century BC and overlooks the sea and the volcano, Mt. Etna. There are celebrities and paparazzi – mostly Italian – with fancy soirees every evening.  And even some American stars – although the Sicilians seem more amused by their appearance than starstruck. Our housekeeper told us she saw Richard Gere, and we heard Susan Sarandon was making an appearance last night.

I had heard about the festival and searched the Internet hoping to get lucky and score a ticket. But could find nothing. I figured it must be very private and exclusive. But then we bumped into a British lady who told us, no, just line up for tickets at the festival headquarters near the Greek theatre. We located the headquarters (after passing by it a couple of times) and sure enough, anyone can just walk in. What’s more – tickets are only 6 Euro for reserved seats, 4 Euro if you are willing to sit on the old Greek stones at the top. We splurged for the reserved seats, like the VIPs we are!

The Big Night

We weren’t really sure what to expect, but showed up at 10 pm, when it started – since it has to be dark to see the movie in the outdoor amphitheatre. And I have to say, the Greek theatre is stunning. It was worth our ticket price just to get inside and see it all lit up at night.

The theatre is next to a 5-star hotel, the Grand Hotel Timeo, which has hosted movie stars for years. We could catch a glimpse of one of the fancy parties out on their terrace. Soon, the stars – dressed in formal attire – started making their way into the theatre with us, stopping to pose for pictures along the way. Once settled, the ceremony started. Every night they give out awards to visiting stars. It was all in Italian, so we weren’t completely sure what they said, but was fun to watch. The highlight was a special award given to the American who had won the Best Actress Oscar this year, Patricia Arquette, who was actually there and walked up and accepted. Wow!

Then the lights went down for the movie – and all the stars got up and left. Our housekeeper (who is in the know) told us that they have the fancy reception at the Grand Hotel, go in for the awards ceremony, and then all go to a gala dinner somewhere in town, leaving the “common people” like us to watch the movie.

Our movie was “How to Make Love Like an Englishman,” starring Pierce Brosnan. I have to say it was not all that good, but kept us entertained. And to be honest, it would be hard to compete with the amazing views all around us. What a fun date night – and for just 12 Euro!

Today was probably Frank’s favorite day of our whole trip – a fishing tour! We found a company that offered to take us on an authentic Sicilian fishing boat. Frank went down to check them out – and I think returned almost every day to ask questions. He was very excited. When we walked in, they all knew him.

It turned out we were the only ones wanting to fish, so we had a private tour. Our leader, Jean Luc, who was born and has lived his whole life in Taormina, led us down the path that, in the old days, the fishermen took from the village down to the water, where their boats were tied up on the beach. It is a steep descent but with amazing views.

When we have gone to the beach before, we have taken the cable car. But this time, we walked down the whole way. Our destinations was a small lido (beach club) next to the beautiful Isola Bella, the little island right off of Taormina (where my favorite lady, Florence, lived – see prior post).

Captain Salvatore

We met our captain for the day – Mr. Salvatore – on his beautiful wooden fishing boat.

He had everything set up for us – the poles ready to go with 4 hooks each and a cutting board with fresh shrimp ready to be sliced and put on the hook.  I have not really fished (I was being the loyal wife on this one!), so Salvatore baited my first pole and showed me how to lower the line and pull back in – all in Italian.

And guess what? I caught 3 fish right away! After a couple more demonstrations, I was soon cutting up my own shrimp, baiting my own hooks, and throwing my own lines over. Meanwhile, Frank was loving the whole experience and having success with his own catches.

When we needed a break, Salvatore showed us the secret spots among the rocks. We poked into little caves and Taormina’s own version of the “blue grotto.” We even saw red coral growing along the sides of the walls. Beautiful.

What’s For Lunch?

But we had to be serious – our goal was to catch our lunch, which the beach restaurant would cook. We had caught a few fish, but they were pretty small. Back to work. We diligently fished for a couple of hours and caught at least 20 fish – but none more than 5 inches. Jean Luc assured us it would be ok – we would have these as just one of our courses. Whew.

Back at the lido, Frank and I sat down to a wonderful lunch with a view of Isola Bella and a bottle of white wine from grapes grown on the sides of the volcanic Mt. Etna. The restaurant brought our fist course – linguine with clams, mussels, and shrimp, which was the best we’ve had. Then – our second course – our little fish all fried up. Talk about fresh. And finished off with an icy lemon granite. Very romantic – and it turned out to be one of my favorite days, too.

There once was a lady who lived in Taormina who was the “belle of the ball.” And I am completely fascinated by her.

Her name was Florence Trevelyan. She lived in Scotland in the late 1800s. The accounts I read say she wasn’t beautiful in a traditional sense, but was lively, unconventional, and thought women could do whatever they wanted – definitely ahead of her time.

Supposedly, she was a favorite of the Prince of Wales, who turned out to be King Edward VII. His mother was Queen Victoria and strongly disapproved – partly because Edward was already married. (It sounds like Edward was quite the womanizer, so Florence must have been extra special to him to get Queen Victoria all riled up.) The story goes that Queen Victoria “invited” Florence to leave England, even giving her money to travel the world.

As she traveled around, Florence fell in love with Taormina.  She bought a little island right off the beach – Isola Bella – and built a house there. It is one of the most photographed spots in Taormina.

She also created beautiful gardens with pagodas and other unusual structures she called “Victorian Follies.” She used them to birdwatch and I think just to amuse people. She created a little cemetery there for her pets  where you can still visit their gravestones. Her gardens now are open to the public.  They are quiet and beautiful, albeit a little eccentric.

Florence ended up marrying the mayor and was the grand dame of Taormina. She funded artists such as Oscar Wilde and supported the village’s emerging gay community. Rumor has it that King Edward even visited her here – but only after his mother died.  By all accounts, she was beloved all over Taormina.

Isola Bella

Today we visited Isola Bella. There is a cable car that goes down to the beach, and we set up camp at a beach club just opposite the pretty little island. (We just love how all the beaches here have a beach club where, for 10 Euro or less, you get a chair, an umbrella, access to a cafe, and even better – a restroom, right on the beach.)

The only way across to Isola Bella is to wade through at low tide. We lifted our skirts (at least me) and made our way in knee-deep ocean swells in order to pay tribute to Ms. Trevelyan. We could see her house up close and envision what it must have been like to live there – I guess she had to time her outings carefully! What a very fascinating lady!

We are doing well in Taormina. I will pick up with our regular blogs tomorrow, but haven’t felt right about writing about sights we are seeing with all that is going on back at home. I actually wasn’t sure what to write, so am just writing what we feel.

We woke up Thursday to shocking news about the shootings at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. It took a little while of trying to find news reports for everything to register. It was the middle of the night in South Carolina, with lots of facts still unknown. We were horrified and sad and just sat down, held hands, and said a prayer. It was all we knew to do.

I have since learned that several of my friends had connections with those killed or the Emanuel AME Church – either through their own churches in Charleston, their work at the State House, or just growing up. South Carolina is a small state, so you can almost always find someone you both know in common down the line. I have been so sad to read their tributes to their friends and colleagues and have felt a greater loss when hearing about what wonderful people they were.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the Emanuel AME Church, the Charleston community, and all of South Carolina.

We have a new favorite place in town – the Wunderbar Caffe.

It is a classic outdoor cafe / bar with white-jacketed waiters, where Greta Garbo, Liz Taylor, and Tennessee Williams all held court back in the day. It reminds us of our favorite Caffe Florian in Venice. Like Caffe Florian, it is listed in all the guidebooks as a place everyone should go at least once.

Well, we have already been 5 times! During the day, it doesn’t look like anything that special and is mobbed with tourists. But at night it becomes the most magical place in Taormina. It is set on the main piazza where the whole town gathers on their nightly walks, with a view of the sea on one side and the mountains on the other. They always have live entertainment, which we could listen to for hours (and do!). The guidebooks warned that a meal there can be a little pricey since they are so famous. But we order a glass of wine or a granite (like ice cream) and spend the evening being enchanted.

Our Favorite Acts

Most nights, there is a saxophone player, accompanied by a percussionist and pianist. The sax player takes the most interesting positions – the best being sitting back with his feet up on the lamp post. The most fun is watching people walk by and realize that the guy with his feet propped up is actually playing the music. They smile and soon a whole crowd is there taking pictures. Then, romance takes over, and people start dancing right in the square. One night they even did “Girl from Impanema,” where the sax player started playing the napkin holder, a Coke bottle, and ashtray with drumsticks. We love it!  

On other nights, the band is led by a Sicilian who reminds me of a Frenchman, with his beret. He plays the tambourine and sings, accompanied by accordion and guitar. It is like watching a cabaret. When we walked in the first time, he knew Frank had to have Sicilian roots and came over and asked us about it. Soon – he was playing a “special song” for his friend from Canicatti – and launched into the theme from “The Godfather.” We came back another night and, as we sat down, he introduced the whole crowd to Frank, his Sicilian friend.

Another night, there were three different tables with men of around the same age whose parents grew up in Sicily (Frank being one of them). Their parents all had ended up in different countries – the USA, Belgium, and Germany. But obviously their mothers had all sung the same songs to them in the Sicilian dialect. As the leader sang one traditional song after the other, you could see the faces of each of these men light up as they recognized and sang along, remembering their childhoods. It made me a little teary-eyed.  What a very special place Sicily is.

Well – it had to happen. We sadly left our friends at the Villa Carlotta and moved across town to our new apartment. If anyone is coming to Taormina, we highly recommend this little hotel. It is small, with friendly service and a beautiful pool, and in a super location.

But it was time to become locals once again. That morning I told Frank that with a hotel, you have more predictability – they will have toilet paper, most appliances will work, and if not, someone comes right away to help. But they don’t have as much character. Renting apartments through VRBO or TripAdvisor can be a great deal – they are usually spacious and have loads of atmosphere, but also can be a little quirky. There is always something that is not quite right, so you learn to adapt. But we think it is worth it to be in the middle of things and feel like a local.

Casa San Domenica

Our favorite taxi driver, Salvatore (who drove us from the agriturismo), picked us up once again for our short jaunt across town. Since we still have a multitude of bags -including our olive oil and basil plant – we needed help. He drove up and around and right through the city gate – Porto Catania – onto the main drag, Corso Umberto. We unloaded, met our wonderful contact, Agneta, and hefted all of our bags upstairs.

And wow – maybe we will not miss the Villa Carlotta. We have a 3 bedroom apartment with stunning views on all sides and even a grand piano in the living room. We feel like we are in Greta Garbo’s Taormina.

Even better, we have an amazing rooftop terrace that is as big as the apartment. We can see Mount Etna, the sea, and the little mountain town of Castemola where we went in the rain. We can even see the Greek Theatre. The terrace is partially covered with a 6-person table that will be perfect for dinners al fresco at home.

And the Quirks

But as I said, living like a local does have its quirks. Agneta showed us around and pointed out that one of the stovetop burners only works on certain days – she has no idea why. She predicted that we would trip the circuit pretty often, so would need to run downstairs and out to the front gate where the circuit box is. And the air-conditioning units drain into jerry cans on the balcony, which we have to empty. Otherwise they will overflow and splash down onto the patrons of the restaurant below. Oh my.

Agneta left us, promising to check back in. We decided to go to the market and buy provisions for dinner on our new deck. As we were making our way back home, through streets filled with “beautiful people” dressed up for a Saturday night on the town, I realized I was holding a 12-pack of toilet paper, along with my grocery bag. I felt supremely proud to be a “local” once again.

We usually rent a self-service apartment, where we have to bring our own supplies and do all of our chores. But for a few days, we are in a real hotel, so we decided to make the most of the amenities they offer. Next week, we’ll be back on our own.

The Villa Carlotta has an arrangement where, for 10 Euro, the Caravella Beach Club will pick you up and drop you off. That alone was worth the price. But on top of that, the hotel packed a bag for us with beach towels that we didn’t have to launder ourselves. And then when we arrived – wow. The beach was very private with just a couple of dozen people. They led us to a beach chair under an umbrella, asked us what we wanted to drink, and pointed out the best places to swim.

Eventually, we got hungry and made our way up to the beachside restaurant, where the fresh catch had just arrived (that is a swordfish on the table!). We had fried baby octopus and fresh grilled fish. Then languidly returned to our umbrella.

We even got a massage! Asian girls ply the beach (here and in Cefalu) offering a foot massage for 10 Euro. Once they have you under their spell, they talk you into upgrading. We both ended up with 30 minutes for 25 Euro each – right in our beach chairs! Heavenly.

What a very relaxing day. We will miss hotel life!

We have become true tourists and today explored the town on the Hop-On Hop-Off bus. This is one of our favorite things to do in any new place. I think we like it so much because there is absolutely no way to look cool or pretend like you know what you’re doing when your on a Hop-On bus. So you can just relax and have fun. And it is an excellent way to get the lay of the land before striking out on your own.

The bus took us down the coast to neighboring beach towns and to the famous beaches of Taormina, including Isola Bella, a beautiful little island you can walk to at low tide – we hope to go there next week.

Up the Mountain

But our destination was up in the mountains. We had heard of a cute mountain town that was slightly off the beaten path. We read it had cobblestoned streets, amazing views, and shops and restaurants for lunch. We thought we’d hop off, have lunch and walk back down the 5 km to Taormina.

Well – about half-way up the mountain, the sky got dark, and we could see lightening in the distance. Our hop-on bus was open-air, but our driver frantically rolled up a canvas top. However, the sides were still open. Then it started to pour. There is nothing quit like sitting in an open-air vehicle in the pouring rain with nowhere to go.

We finally made it to the little town, jumped out, and ran for the nearest bar – which was standing room only. We ordered a cafe at the bar and stood while we drank it, just like the locals, since there were no seats.

Eventually, the rain slowed to a mist, and we ventured out. What a magical little town! We found a restaurant with a gorgeous view over the mountain and lingered over pasta and fish, while we dried out.

After lunch, we explored the duomo and shops. I even discovered a jewelry designer who makes one-of-a-kind jewelry out of lava from Mount Etna (we have seen this lava jewelry, but hers definitely had a flair). We loved Castemola!

P.S Our other big accomplishment is that we have learned to make our favorite cocktail – the Aperol Spritz, which everyone drinks in Italy. We felt very 1940s – mixing up cocktails in our living room!

Recipe:  Over ice, mix 0.50 ml Aperol (an orange liqueur that says “poco alcolico”) with 0.75 ml Prosecco. Add a splash of soda water and an orange slice. Very refreshing.

We have traded the simple life at the agriturismo for the jet-set life of glitzy Taormina. Taormina is a chic little town on the Northeast coast of Sicily that has been a playground of celebrities from the days of Oscar Wilde, Greta Garbo, and Tennessee Williams. And now it’s our turn.

We will be here for one month so have a chance to really settle in. We are starting out in a small hotel overlooking the sea – the Villa Carlotta. I had read about it in a fiction book and loved that it worked out we could stay a few days here.

And they have been wonderful. After having to be so self-sufficient on the boat, we could hardly believe our luck when they whisked us up to their rooftop bar for a glass of wine while the bellman carried our bags up the hill and up the stairs to our room. They didn’t even blink an eye at our basil plant.

We have a fabulous view of the sea and of the big volcano, Mount Etna – we can even see the smoke from our balcony. We have a little kitchenette, so have done some cooking, but also have housekeeping and even a pool! After almost 6 months of apartments, this is a real treat – we are reveling in being pampered – even if just for a few days.

Later this week, we move into a more spacious (and more self-catering) apartment that we rented through VRBO. We love living like locals and the “everyday” life – but this week, we are having fun just being tourists.