Taormina, Vindicari and Ortigia

Last weekend we thought we deserved a treat after making it through the first full weekend of teaching so we decided to go to Taormina. Naturally I was keen to show Jo the delights of where I had spent June and so we headed off towards the bus station. Everything takes twice as long as you would imagine because we don't know where anything is, so after walking round in a big square we finally found where the buses go from Catania to Taormina. The service is Etnabus and we were pleased to see they went every hour. There were also loads of bays with buses going to other places like Siracusa (Syracuse) so we are pleased that we will be able to go to lots of places. Jo realised people were holding tickets already so we then we had to find the ticket office which was on the other side of the road.

When we began to get close I was excited to see the town perched on the hill, with Castlemola even higher above. It felt so good to be heading back. It took us about 75 mins to get there, with a stop off at Giardini Naxos. I was very pleased that Jo loved Taormina as much as I did. I showed her where I stayed, and we walked up from Porta Messina along the Corso Umberto. It was not quite as busy as it had been in June, but as soon as we got to the first church, we saw a wedding outside. In total that day we saw 2 which does not come close to mine and Letitia's record of 5 on midsummer's day. It was lovely just to be back walking along and admiring the buildings and the fancy shops and the people. Jo was like I was during the first weeks, taking photos of everything.

Unfortunately Etna was in cloud, so the view from the piazza was not as impressive, as usually the view of Etna is stunning. But looking out across the blue sea from above is still beautiful and the square was busy and full of tourists.

We stopped for something to eat at Gambero Rosso - where else, the favourite haunt of my lovely Swedish Sophie and Rickard. No sign of Felipe or Mattia but the woman there promised to pass on our greetings. After a massive pizza, she brought us a mandorla wine - the first one Jo had tried. While Jo was away from the table the rather nice looking waiter told me how beautiful she was. It is like being with my Swedish friends again, they do so love a blonde here.

We decided to save the Teatro Greco until another day when the skies are clear, so that we can have a great view of Etna, for that is the best thing about going there. I took Jo to where Babilonia school is, thinking it would be shut as it was the weekend. But to my surprise the cafe was open, so in I walked, just like all those happy, beautiful mornings in June. To my delight, the trees were all in fruit  - we had wondered what they would grow. There were huge pomegranates, grapefruits, limes and something orange like a tomato, but not a tomato. I was really happy to see the cafe staff, Cristina and Saverio again - they are so welcoming and it was just like old times. Jo and I had a drink under the trees, the lizards darting from table to table, and it felt like the first time I had relaxed properly since I got here.

We ended our day with an hour or so at Isola Bella, not too crowded, and not too cold in the sea. Jo got some goggles for 3 euros which broke before she even put them on.

The next day, our manager and her Sicilian partner, took us to a nature reserve in the south east of the island, called Vindicari. It is on the coast and it has very tall reeds (or were they grasses?) that made a lovely sound blowing in the breeze. It also had some small lakes where many birds come, such as ibises. I saw lots of birds, one bright blue, but the reason we went was to see some flamingoes that had come up from Africa. There must have been about 30 of them and they were quite far away in the centre of a lake, so although you could see a faint pink tinge, you could not really see more than that. You could sometimes hear them faintly. Gabrielle managed to get some good pictures of them.  Apparently more will come over the next few months so we might return.

As well as water, there were interesting low bushes and plants, some fleshy, some with berries, and some with little flowers. There were lots of the prickly pear cacti, which have come into fruit - the ends go red. I wanted to try one but haven't yet; Gab has said they are hard to get into. I picked one up at the supermarket yesterday and got attacked by it. There are tiny little hairs or prickles. Hence the name I suppose! haha.

On the coast was a disused tuna factory, like the Mannera in Montalbano (which is also along the coast). Apparently they used to catch (the poor) tuna and cook them on site in the factory.

Just next to the reserve was a small bay, where the sea was so clear and shallow for ages. We all went in for a swim and we saw some gorgeous light blue fish swimming about. Jo and I cannot get over being able to go in the sea in October. It is mad. Apparently summer is starting and finishing later here, but I think even this is unusual. It is still muggy in the day, but at the coast there is always a nice breeze.

On our way home Gab wanted to stop for an ice cream so he went out of the way to show us Ortigia which is an island that is attached to Siracusa.  There were some big Greek ruins that had been reconstructed into massive columns. It was Sunday night so the Italians were doing their "passeggiata" where they all dress up in their best clothes and saunter along the main streets to look at each other. I love it, it was so much fun in Taormina, but it was also quite enjoyable in Ortigia. Everyone looked rather nice. On our way back, we stopped to look at some street guy with puppets, but I was more taken by a rather stunning looking man watching opposite. I notice he did not move away when the show ended so I wondered if he was a stooge, to draw the tourists in to watch! Maybe not... Such a shame that they don't seem to go for the pale look (so far).