Italy Day 8 - Taormina Day 2 (Wed., 9/11/13)

It will come as no surprise that we started the day having a little breakfast in the hotel's dining room. As we've been here for a day, we realize that we are not actually in Taormina, which perches on the mountain top; our hotel is in Giradini-Naxos, on the beach below.

After breakfast we took a walk to the beach and around the bay. We shopped in the boutiques and shared a small cup of lemon ice. The lemon ice here is creamier than what I've had in the states (if I remember correctly) and is called lemon sorbet. It's very tasty and refreshing. It is very, very hot here and very, very humid--74% today. 

Out hotel room didn't have any air conditioning this morning, so Dennis asked at the front desk if they could do something about it. When we got back, it was too hot in the room so we got in the car and drove to Syracuse (pronounced Ser-a-cus-a). Dennis wanted to see how far it was to the airport in Catania (about an hour away) so we would be prepared to travel there tomorrow morning for our flight to Rome. Syracuse is below Catania, so we decided to keep on driving. Syracuse is a very, very old seaport city. The buildings are old and the streets are paved with foot-square bricks. Easier to walk on than the cobblestones of Rome, but kind of weird to drive on.

We stopped for lunch at an outdoor restaurant across from the bay. We had a Margarita pizza followed by another lemon ice. Interestingly, the pizza was served whole, not sliced. Apparently, these are considered personal pizzas, but are large enough to share. 

After lunch, we got in the car and drove back to the hotel. By the time we got back, the room's air conditioning was working again and it was ice cole--just the way I like it. We rested awhile then went out again for a little dessert. We found a great restaurant just down the block and ordered a traditional Sicilian cake, a chocolate mousse, and a lemon ice. We shared everything and felt very satisfied. While we were eating, a small band came in and played their music. We gave them some money and bought their CD. 

After dinner, we went in search of a book I had seen earlier about Sicily. We found it in a little souvenir shop a few doors down from the restaurant. We bought the book and some other souvenirs to bring home. Then we stopped in a very nice market and bought some provolone cheese, salame picante, and cracked olives. We'll have it for a snack tomorrow. We're leaving very early so we will have plenty of time at the airport. No doubt we will still have our free breakfast in the hotel like we have every other day.