We thought we would head toward Cefalu to see what the town is like and then double back to the road to Taormina. We've been using our iphones as a gps system to guide us to our destinations. It works fairly well unless we pass through an area that doesn't have cell coverage. That has happened several times, but we always pick it up again with no problems.
We've taken a lot of photos during the trip, both with our iphones and with the regulation camera. I bought a new Canon SZ280 HS with WiFi just for this trip. It's a great camera. It has anti-shake software so I've even been able to take pictures in a moving car. It just latches on so when you depress the button all the way, it takes a steady shot. I think.
Unfortunately for the blog, I haven't had much time to figure out which photos to use and how to do it. Also, we don't always have internet in the room and when we do, it's not always reliable.
I have been using the Zagg keyboard with my ipad a lot. It's really great and I love the way it snaps back together like a clamshell, keeping both the keyboard and my ipad safe.
When we reached Cefalu, we knew we weren't going to stop. We drove through the town, but the streets were narrow and there was a LOT of traffic. It was too early for lunch anyway. We pressed on toward Cantania and Taormina. On the way, we stopped at a very big, very new Outlet Center called Sicilia, with over 100 top international brands offering up to 70% discount prices. There was Gucci, Armani, Ferrari, Guess, and a bunch of stores I never heard of. We walked the enter mall, downstairs and upstairs. It was very hot and humid. The outlet center is located pretty much in the center of eastern Sicily. We bought a few things, had a gelato at the Lindt candy store and took a little rest. The gelato was the best we'd had yet. Sorry, Betty, it was better than the one we had in San Vito Lo Capo.
From there we pressed on toward our hotel in Taormina, located about 32 miles north of Catania. Catania is a good sized city, too. We didn't stop there, but the beach community looked very attractive. When we finally arrived in Taormina, our iphone map took us to the back of the hotel on a tiny street which Dennis eventually had to back out of. We called and talked to Mohammed, who gave us directions to the front of the hotel. I think he and Dennis talked 3 times before we figured it our. Luckily, the hotel provides parking (at a price) because Taormina, like Palermo, Rome and all the other large cities in Italy, doesn't have much street parking available.
The room is very nice--and large. It can sleep four and has a small veranda where we can sit and relax in the evening. Not this evening, though. Our good friends from San Diego (Lakeside, actually) are in Taormina at the same time that we are. This is a coincidence that we discovered before we left on vacation, so we planned to meet and have dinner on our first night in Taormina. Then they will be going on the rest of their trip and we will have one day more in Taormina before flying back to New York on Thursday and to San Diego on Friday the 13th. Pretty lucky, huh?
Time for me to rest up before dinner. Dennis took off on a reconnaissance mission to check out the way to the restaurant where we are meeting Terry and Barbara. Mohammed said it was about a half-hour walk. Yikes! My feet are so sore, I can't face the prospect of more walking. Help me, Rhonda!
Back from Dinner
We had a wonderful dinner with Terry and Barbara. Turns out the restaurant is owned by Nini, who also is the owner of Terry and Barbara's bed and breakfast hotel. They have become fast friends; T & B have had dinner at Nini's restaurant every night for the last 3 nights, I believe. It was such a "hoot" as Barbara says that we all are in the same place in Sicily at the same time--for one night at least. Tomorrow they will be on their way for the rest of their trip while Dennis and I will be here for another day and night. It was good to spend time with them tonight.
It's about 11 p.m. and I believe I will go to bed now.
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