For all you “White Lotus” fans, we are in Taormina, the “Pearl of the Mediterranean,” and loving it! The show (second season) was filmed in the stunning clifftop San Domenico Palace, a former 14th century monastery with views of the Mount Etna volcano, now a Four Seasons hotel. The white lotus flower is known to signify beauty, grace, purity of the mind, wealth, and or knowledge.

Taormina, overlooking the Ionian Sea, offers steep cliffs resembling those of Cinque Terre and Positano, although the hilltop town reminds us very much of Dubrovnik, Croatia. Taormina is home to the famous Teatro Antico di Taormina, an ancient Greco-Roman theater that is still being renovated and used today. The cobblestone streets allow visitors to wander through town and experience outstanding restaurants, fun bars, and “one of a kind” boutiques. I even purchased my first Christmas gift!

Sicily is known for its Majolica ceramics; it is everywhere, in every imaginable shape and form, mostly featuring lemons, pineapples, and cacti, in which stores forbid photos of their wares. The “Teste di Moro’” or the Moor head is probably the most popular ceramic shape found. The legend is that a young Sicilian girl, with her pride wounded by what she believed to be the great love of her life, planned revenge. While her love, the Moor, slept, she cut off his head so he could never return to his family, but instead stay with her forever. Nothing like a woman scorned!

We have come to realize that you never know what to expect in European countries, especially in Italy. A bagpiper led a bridal party down the middle of the promenade to church for a Monday afternoon wedding ( I thought bagpipes were an Irish thing), Tuesday was the Fiesta di Sant’Antonio da Padova so there were fireworks several times during the day (not the first time we have seen fireworks while here), and at dusk a band paraded down main street, I guess just for the fun.

Dining is also an interesting experience. So far in both France and Italy, when ordering dinner, you order everything at once, drinks, an appetizer and dinner, and the food is served accordingly. In Italy, your meal order includes a drink, an appetizer, a “primi” or first course, usually a hot dish such as pasta or risotto, then a “secondi” or second course which is heavier and typically meat or seafood. If one person orders a primi and someone else orders a secondi, it is not guaranteed you will eat at the same time! You can also order “contorni,” a side dish and “insalata.” Finishing touches include espresso and dolce! The portion sizes are much smaller than in the USA, although it is still lots of such delicious food.

Here are some pictures of the Parco Archeologico Naxos Taormina with the famous Teatro Antico di Taormina.

Castelmola or Castello di Mola is a town connected to Taormina by a gravel and stone tiered walkway. Visiting the smaller town was an afternoon treat complete with quaint cafes, a church, parts of the old fort, and shops. Some buildings dated back to 1735!

So, did you know that there are two Isola Bellas in Italy? The one in Taormina is a nature preserve with a small home and a picturesque restaurant. There other Isola Bella is in Milan. Here are formal Italian-style baroque gardens suspended over the water. The Palazzo Borromeo, with its Galeria Berthier highlighting over 130 paintings and a number of copies of great masters, is also here. This is Isola Bella I thought we were seeing! Perhaps a visit to northern Italy is something to consider.

Taomarina was a great treat, with so much to see and do, my head was on a swivel! If you ever get the chance to visit I highly recommend it, although not in August. The heat can reach well over 100 degrees and the streets are so crowded with tourists, one cannot walk. We were told this by several locals as well as those who operated the water taxis; like in Positano, you get around by water taxi instead of by dinghys. I like using water taxis because you get the chance to chat with the natives of the area, they are very informative and most kind.

Tomorrow we will begin our trek to Greece.