Still Sicily

I

I just can't leave Sicily yet, until I have described our last day in Taormina, wich was pretty fun. Even if this was nearly a week ago. Where does the time go?

The drive there was spectacular, along the coastline with lovely views.

We were happy to take a little break from driving for a rest stop in one of the small towns, and I just had to try the local snack.

I read that this was popular in the summertime, but everyone seemed to be having granita, in my case mandorla (almond) and fragola( strawberry) with a nice warm brioche. Yes, it did seem a bit unusual at first, but it was a delicious combination. And some places we even saw the granita or gelato served inside the brioche! Yum, this brings back good memories.

Then we drove through miles and miles of lemon and orange groves, with trees laden with fruit.

Soon we were getting hungry for lunch. Yes, the granita was a mid -morning snack...

We found a nice place near the water and had my perfect Sicilian meal.

Seafood risotto

And a delicious, fresh salad. 

As we came into town there was a market that was just closing up, and I quickly snapped a " study in purple" before it was all whisked away.

We were anxious to get to our hotel by now, while we still had some sunshine.

We could just see the water if we craned our necks out the window.

I decided I didn't really want to buy this postcard, but it was I nice birds eye view of Taormina and shows what a beautiful place it is. Our hotel was in the little bay just under the o on the card.

We walked down to the beach as soon as we dropped our bags, for a chance to sit in the sun and dip our toes in the cold, cold water. Not time to swim yet! We had to fend off the numerous Asian women who were offering a foot massage, but other than that it was lovely. 

After a bit of time on the beach we went up to the town by funicular, though later Jim said he could of handled the drive. It's always fun, when given the opportunity, to take a funicular. 

It was full of tourists up in town! Very lovely, but quite touristical. It's a beautiful place, and of course everyone wants to see it. 

Variations of these ceramic heads are a popular souvenier.

We thought about buying these but they weren't for sale- also a bit hard to carry, with all those spines.

It all felt a bit too commercial, until we stopped by the church,where a wedding was underway. 

But by now our feet were tired, so we stopped for a glass of wine. Afterward I decided to walk back to see if the wedding was over, and almost bumped into the bride and groom! 

And what luck, the Porsche club was just roaring into town! 

Many admiring glances...

The wedding guests were pretty upscale! Isn't that the dress I saw in the window in Agrigento?

And the older guests were sporting a lot of fur. 

Then the happy couple posed right in the doorway of the place where we drank wine 5 minutes before! 

After the wedding fun, we strolled back through town and came upon an art " happening" that was pretty entertaining.

This artist was painting to a soundtrack of opera, and smoking as he painted! 

The next morning we were on our way out of town as I saw a traditional Sicilian donkey cart pass by.

I felt lucky that I got to see it. 

Isola Bella. Arrivederci, Sicilia!