Globus tour, June 19 - on the road to Taormina

Another breakfast in another hotel of would-be American food:  scrambled eggs, toast, bacon/ham, juice, cereal.  Also Italian breakfast pastries and coffee and yogurt.  I tend to like cereal, yogurt and some fruit, if it is available.  And I always love croissant with butter and jam.  European butter seems richer to me - could it be?

Important Italians could see them close up; we were on a catwalk high above.

Flamingos pulling chariot!!

From  Agrigento we drove to the interior, toward a Roman villa called Villa Casale.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, although no one knows who built it.  But it probably dates from the 3rd century BC with beautiful mosaic floors from the 2nd century AD.  It is the floor mosaics that are so amazing.    All are beneath a greenhouse-like framework of glass/plexiglass, with people still working at restoring the mosaics.  Some were just amazing - like the great depiction of a hunt of wild animals with lots of people and creatures.  And another has ten or so girls exercising in a gym.  One shows Polyphemus being plyed with wine by Herakles.  There were fishing scenes where I think I recognized a sturgeon,.  There was a funny image of two flamingos pulling a chariot.  Really beautifully detailed mosaics.  It is a remote site near the town Piazza Armerina.  Well worth the visit.

fishermen - with sturgeon or catfish?

Central Sicily is a breadbasket with lots of wheat fields and very little water.  We had a brief rest stop at a "gas station".  Joe caused a ruckus over what he was charged for two gelato scoops in a cone (not in a cup).  This resulted in the cashier telling me that my husband owed an additional 1.6 euro for his gelato.  Which I paid just to make peace.  I guess Joe didn't understand why a cone cost more than a cup.  Another stop was at a goldsmith's place.  There was a nice spread of refreshments, a lovely terrace, and then the soft-sell in the showroom. 

Nice refreshments at the goldsmith's house.

We were headed for the eastern coast and the town of Taormina.  Nicolas said we would spend a little time there.  The drive was incredible, the road winding back and forth up the mountain into a massige garage where we took an elevator up to yet another level and a beautiful view of the sea and the harbor with a 5-masted sailing ship far far below.  And we could see the spaghetti-like winding of the roads.  Amazing engineering challenge.

Amazing engineering.

Taormina's harbor far below the town.

This is why there are no cars!

A central pedestrian road led for about a mile through Taormina, with little walkways going up on the left and down on the right.  The way was defined at either end by medieval-looking tall stone arches, too narrow for cars, which made it more pleasant. 

Medieval entry into Taormina

Lots of things to look at and to buy, and lots of people looking at them.  [Nicolas surmised that the town was crowded because a large cruise ship was in the harbor.]  I liked the place.  Joe did not.  He wanted to just head on back, despite the fact that Tennessee Williams liked Taormina well enough to return - - that is one of the many literary references that Joe has made.  It's too bad that he doesn't like being with so many other people nearly all the time, and doesn't like "being herded around like cattle," as he put it. 

One VERY good thing about this town:  there was a "British pharmacy" with and English-speaking clerk where we could purchase the ointments needed for a mysterious skin rash on the ankle.  Also, it was apparently badly damaged during the WW II Allies' invasion.  Here's a little plaque that told me so.

"In memory of the civilian victims of the aerial bombardment of the city on the 9th of July, 1943"

Dinner was at a lovely place on the slopes of the volcano, Mount Etna; the old farmhouse and winery was surrounded by a lemon orchard.  It was formerly a vineyard until disease in the late 1940s killed the vines.  We had a wonderful aperitif of red wine with orange and lemon juice, soda, and a "drop" of limoncello. 

Aperitifs on the veranda

The hostess was a youngish woman with a charming smile and great warmth.  She met us on the veranda facing the volcano, which she says she has known all her life so does not fear it). 

What, we worry?  With Mt. Etna smoking behind us?  Not on your life!

Eventually we were herded into a big upstairs room where the grapes used to be crushed.  Each table sat ten, and each had three carafes of red wine and three water bottles.  We each had a glass for water and a handle-less ceramic mug for wine - the point being not to see how much we have drunk - or not drunk.  First course was olives, peppery cheese, salami, and wonderful caponata.   Next course had potatoes, kind of like fries, a delicious little meat pattie cooked between lemon leaves which I loved but others left alone, and then a small "cigarette" of veal.  final course of oranges and limoncello and expresso.  It was an enchanting evening.

My main course.

We've all drunk and dined well - the best meal!

Back at the hotel, many stayed by the pool listening to music and dancing and singing.  Not me - I slept like the dead until well past dawn the next day.