FUN-travel: Taormina to Ragusa, Sicily
November 9, 2013 by Susan Clarke
Day 40 – Friday, October 25 –Taormina to Ragusa, Sicily – full sun – high 75 – low 59
What I LIKE
- 7:30 – really good, hot, strong cappuccino
- 10:00 – Paolo calls official registration office in Giardini-Naxos
- shows us how to go there
- Chris’ dad was born there
- 10:30 – check out – no charge for any food!
- this is one of the best places we ever stayed! service off the charts!
- 10:50 – drive to Giardini-Naxos
- 11:20 – arrive Ufficio Anagrate
- taken back to archives – metal cabinet w/ledgers
- 1916 – page w/Nov 15th births
- makes us a copy to take
- no charge!
- 12:40 – drive through town to Archaeological Park – $2 Euro pp
- nice walk to stretch legs
- 1:15 – drive to Siracusa
- **2:10 – arrive & drive around
- find huge park w/greek ruins
- 2:50 – lunch @only place we find w/parking
- Pizzeria Don Chisciotte – order 4 cheese pizza – turns out its 4 items – ham, olives, mushrooms & peas – diet coke – $8.50 Euro – pretty bad
- 3:20 – drive to Noto
- ***4:15 – arrive
- 1:45 – finally get to old city – JTC!
- wish we would have come here to eat
- nice sidewalk cafes
- +5:00 – head to Ragusa
- 6:30 – arrive Hotel Villa Del Lauro
- free parking on street (more like an alley if you ask me)
- Domenico checks us in
- ask for room on 1st floor – he says not as nice as 2nd floor room
- he is so right
- beautiful big room w/french doors to patio
- overlooking big grass yard w/swimming pool
- ++carries our bags up for us
- was originally a palace
- free mini bar – water, beer, snacks – JLT!
- 8:30 – short walk to new town
- +++9:00 – dinner @ Konza – mixed salad w/olives, carrot, mozzarella, capers, tomatoes, corn – tagliatelle w/mushroom & sausage – pretty good – 2009 Baglio Caruana, Vilucchio cab/merlot – $19 Euro
- 10:05 – walk back
- internet & email works here! (hotspot is the provider I don’t like)
- 11:45 – night night
JTC – just too cute!
JLT – just love that!
What I DON’T LIKE
- *pretty disappointing – not much to see
- can’t find city center for lunch options
- put piazza in GPS but nothing there
- ***once again – crazy one way streets – no clear signs to old city center
- +GPS wants to take us on back roads – don’t want to do that!
- more confusing road signs
- ++no elevator (3 story)
- +++couldn’t find recommended ones on map
FUN-fact – The theatre in Siracusa is one of the largest ever built by the ancient Greeks: it has 67 rows, divided into nine sections with eight aisles. Taormina’s is the second largest of its kind in Sicily.