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Travelers
Digest
During our tour of Italy we spent several weeks in Florence, Rome and then proceeded to take a long train ride to the Isle of Sicily. Our first prearranged lodging was in a beautiful villa in the mountain village of Taormina. The entire area was a definite highlight of our entire tour and we cannot relay our pleasant surprises in this short review, but most surely recommend it as a must visit destination. When we arrived on the afternoon of the 16th of July, we were not in a hurry to hail a taxi and instead sat outside the train station sipping a coke. I watched the locals as they chatted and made their hand gestures, as do all Italians… I had accepted the fact that these mean more than the actual words and even tough they most often spoke in loud voices neither was a display of anger. After an hour from unwinding from the long over night train ride from Rome, we hopped in a taxi for the climb up the mountain to the center of Taormina. The ride took 12 minutes and cost 13 Euros. We unloaded our bags from the taxi’s trunk and were met by the villa’s owner. Walking into the quite large 3-bedroom villa was a pleasant surprise from our last stay in the poorly maintained Villa Ulivi in Florence. This one was immaculate, well furnished, a large fully equipped kitchen, separate dining room, 2 large bathrooms, and a huge balcony overlooking the bay. To our approval it also had separate air conditioners for the bedrooms. The renowned volcano, Mt Etna was the center of our attention as we scanned the horizon. We were definitely going to enjoy our week.
During the day, most everyday, we walked the short stroll into the center of the village and discovered its many attractions. Old churches & crowded together shops all laid out in harmony along small winding lanes. There were numerous sidewalk cafes, a few excellent restaurants and lots of vendors. One of its greatest attractions was its incredible viewpoint. We soon discovered 2 Internet cafes to upload our information and quickly started to fell quite at home in this small, but unforgettable mountainside village. We were, however, not too pleased with the Internet’s 6 euro an hour fee and like all tourist destination throughout Europe everything was immensely inflated. After only one meal at a café we quickly learned to shop at the well-supplied grocery store and prepare our dining in our villa. On our third day we rode the cable car down to the beach and spent an entire afternoon walking along the sun lovers scattered on the beach and climbing the huge rocks along the cliffs.
The owner of our provided villa, appropriately named, The Residence Schuler, was Mr. Claudio Schuler. He was a friendly man and a catering host and when he had the time, drove us around the area in his private car. He is an adamant guide and quite knowledgeable of the area. One of the most unforgettable drives led us to the mountain village Forza d'Agrò, where they filmed some scenes of the God Father movies. We spent most of the entire day walking through the very old and discrepant village and I, personally, was kept in total awe and bewilderment. It was like stepping back in time…needless to mention, my camera never stopped and by the end of our 3rd hour in the village I had shot 125 photos.
We wandered in and around the church where they filmed the wedding scenes in the movie and in my minds eye I could see, with clarity, the gangsters gathering around for the ceremony…it was almost like being a part of the Sicilian Mafia, as we eat sandwiches in small shops and walked the streets that may have given birth to that exciting era. The oldest and one of the most inspiring sections of the village was at the top of the hill where the remaining relic of the original fort was still looking down on the village.
A section of the forts grounds had until just recently used as a cemetery. Reaching the top, we walked in between the many graves, some with markers and some with very nice tombs & head stones. Sitting on the thick wall of the fort, the sea and harbor exposed their beauty to my eyes and to my camera and as usual, I drifted away in deep ponder.
Many of the houses were left, as they were, when the people pretty much abandoned the village, but a few were restored by the new owners and in my opinion, contaminated the visual scenario. As we walked through the tiny lanes, we saw several local men laboring on
restoring some of the worst of the structures. They worked with small hand tools and while progress was slow, they worked to the
The week went fast and accepting an offered ride to the train station and after bidding our farewells to Claudio, we rode the rails for the short 2-hour trip to Catania…our next Sicilian destination. I had done some research on the city, but there wasn’t much on the Internet and so I wasn’t quite sure of what to expect. Only 2 days before our scheduled arrival on the 16th of July, we had reserved a room at a well-known hotel chain…Best Western, The Mediterreaneo. Was it to be just another stopover in our endless global journey or would it be another highlight in our tour? We had 6 days to find out! View Travelers Digest's Photos of Savoca, Sicily! Review written by the touring editor; Mike Smith. This editorial in its entirety is the sole property of Travelers Digest and may not be distributed, sold or copied without prior written permission of Travelers Digest and/or its licensed representatives.
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best of their ability. It was a deliberate labor of love. We enjoyed the day immensely and I left a small part of myself when we boarded the
car for the return trip to our villa.