Thursday, January 29, 2015

Sicily - Day 5

Day 5! We arrive in Taormina, which is both the most touristy and the most traditionally beautiful part of our trip. I mean, the hilltop theater is just stunning - look at the views - and the architecture is all pastel-colored and well-kept, and since you're at the top of a hill, you just keep seeing panoramic sights.

All day, we just strolled around, had drinks when we felt like ate, stuffed ourselves with arancini right and left, and then ended up at Al Giardino for dinner. I had swordfish, A had disappointing ravioli. So I wouldn't recommend it, but then again we didn't really have any outstanding meals in Taormina, so I'm not sure if we just ate in disappointing places or if it's just not that great for food.

One thing I did love - the snacks that come out with aperitivo - you order a nice pre-dinner drink and it comes with little bites of grilled cheese, crostini, etc. and also potato chips, pretzels and nuts. Probably should have just filled up on those and skipped the full meals, to be honest.

Monday, January 26, 2015

Sicily - Day 4

It has been so long since this trip (and even since my last post) I'm not entirely sure why I'm continuing on with this, but it might have a little to do with my compulsion to finish things off neatly. So I guess we're stuck on Sicily for a while longer.

We're still in Siracusa on day 4, and we spend it walking around, despite a bit of drizzly rain. We visit a museum, and I wish I could tell you anything of interest about it, except it's been so long I can barely remember anything. There was historical art. And there was supposed to be the launch party for a lemon festival in the evening. I am starting to despair at ever finishing this.

Lunch... well the restaurant was called Trattoria Do' Scogghiu. From the pictures I can see a carbonara and some octopus. It was pretty cheap and cheerful, little carafes of wine were drinkable and the atmosphere was bustly with plenty of real authentic Italians inside. 

I can tell the sun came out in the afternoon since I have a picture of almond granita and pistachio milkshake - that triggers a memory of wandering around in the sunshine, ducking into a little cafe (maybe Minosse?) for something icy, and then finding a bar to sit outside in the sunshine, nursing cold beers and reading our books (A was particularly engrossed with Gone Girl at this point). 

Dinner was at Trattoria Il Cenacolo, where I had spaghetti with cod roe - definitely something I enjoyed but wouldn't recommend to anyone who doesn't absolutely love the briny taste of fish eggs. It was a warm evening so we ate outside at a romantic table for two, surrounded by olive trees and the braying sounds of six women on a night out.