Castelmola is located just above Taormina and is reachable by bus, or if you’re ambitious you can walk. The small town has amazing charm and some really fun restaurants and bars to visit. It’s topped off with a castle at the top with some truly amazing views. Watch the video to see some of these breath-taking views.
Visit www.giannihouse.com for more information about our hostel and the surrounding areas.
Gianni House Hostel – www.giannihouse.com
Sea, sun, sailing, my three favorite things in the world. And now I enjoyed all of them at once here in Sicily, in this perfect warm weather. The boat trip, booked directly via Gianni, started on the harbor of Giardini Naxos that is just a 10-minute walk from Gianni House Hostel. In the harbor our captain Antonio was waiting for us. And it’s our very own private boat, nice!
The views here amaze me all the time. From the sea the whole beach boulevard, mountains and Mount Etna opens in front of your eyes. During the trip we went in a small cave that was amazing, and we saw also Taormina, Castelmola, and “The pearl of the Ionian Sea” (Isola Bella) that is now turned into a nature reserve. The boat swung from the waves and warm wind blew nicely on my face. The sights were great and so was the swimming, although at the time the water was ice cold. There was some sort of lemon wine offered by Antonia, and it tasted so delicious even though I usually don’t like sweet liquor. I was so happy and my smile was so wide that it almost hurt. I am already waiting for the next boat trip.
Tip: Remember to take with you: sun glasses, swimsuit and sun cream.
Watch Mount Etna – Taormina,Sicily in Travel & Culture | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
Watch Norman Castle In Sicily (Messina Province) in Travel & Culture | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.comA
Here in Palermo I encounter local women of all ages who seem to consider themselves somewhat “worldly” because they’ve spent money on what look like overpriced clothes and have taken a group tour to someplace like Egypt or Thailand. Let’s not dwell on the fact that few can manage a complete sentence, let alone a conversation, in English. Right now, the number of women wearing fur coats in a city where it hardly ever snows is astounding.
Back in December 1994, when I first met Princess Urraca de Bourbon of the Two Sicilies, who in childhood had actually known Queen Maria Sophia (the queen, a sister of Empress Elizabeth ‘Sissi’ of Austria, died when Urraca was 12), I was struck by her simplicity. During the day, instead of fur she wore a simple goose down coat. There was no need to “impress” anybody with false attempts at sophistication. She was the real thing.
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Today Palermo witnessed a historic event of sorts as Sicily’s first “real” department store opened. Now I know this may seem a little silly to most of you. Yes, Sicily already had a few bona fide shopping malls. And a few “foreign” brands have shops in Sicily; in Palermo’s Via Libertà shopping district there’s Louis Vuiton, Hermes, Tommy Hilfiger, Timberland, Sephora and a few others. But the new Rinascente at the corner of Via Roma and Piazza San Domenico in central Palermo is the first actual department store of the type you’ll find in New York or London.
Not that department stores, in themselves, represent the epitome of civilised living. I’m not suggesting anything of the kind. But it’s nice to have choices. Convenience is not a bad thing, even if it’s fast food: Sicily’s first McDonald’s opened about ten years ago, and a Burger King opened this week at Palermo’s new shopping mall – the Forum in the infamous Brancaccio district. On a different level, the last few years have seen a number of sushi bars open in Palermo and Catania. The point is that until the late 1990s, when satellite television and the internet began to take off, Sicily was in many ways less than a friendly environment for most expatriates. Isolation would be a good description, and backward (though perhaps an unkind characterization) would not be entirely inappropriate. That has changed over the last decade.
The new store is a modern structure built onto part of a 19th century Baroque palazzo – bringing together Old and New Palermo.
Rinascente offers a number of “international” brands, including Burberry, Calvin Klein, Gant, Brooks Brothers and Ralph Lauren, which until now were not widely sold in Sicily. Of course, it’s good to sell local products too, and Rinascente has those as well as a terrace restaurant specializing in Sicilian cuisine – and the store itself is right next to the historic Vucciria street market. One of the benefits of such a store is that a visitor in need of a particular item can find it easily without having to search an entire unfamiliar city. Oh yes, Rinascente, in stark contrast to most shops in Sicily, will be open continuously throughout the entire business day, from 9 in the morning until 9 in the evening – without the annoying afternoon closing from 1 until 4. Evolution.Posted byVincenzo Salernoat1:26 PM
If you’ll be in Sicily for Easter this weekend, read our recent Easter article first. It may give you a whole new perspective on how to enjoy this fantastic holiday in Sicily. (Shown here is a paschal lamb made of marzipan – a typical Sicilian pastry sold around this time of year.)Posted byVincenzo Salernoat9:23 AM
In a recent New York Times article, Jim Lewis wrote about a visit to Palermo. In it he describes a city that some of us would barely recognise. While his observations are not actually inaccurate, they may be colored by certain preconceptions and a rather haphazard itinerary. What is most striking is that he fails to mention the extensive restorations of historic buildings in the older part of town, and it seems that he didn’t bother visiting the more important sights most people come to Palermo to see: Monreale Abbey, the Martorana Church, Saint John of the Hermits Monastery. Nothing in the piece suggests any awareness of the various sights around Palermo: Segesta, Erice, Cefalù.
Most large cities have their “seedy” side: certain parts of New York’s Bronx and London’s Brixton are less than inviting. That’s obviously not what people come to see. Palermo is no different. The city is not without its problems: high unemployment, political corruption, mediocre public services, organised crime. This is no secret. Best of Sicily has published articles on all these topics.
But the thesis that Palermo offers no social life is simply illogical. I recall, for example, attending a performance of the Kirov Ballet at the Teatro Massimo, one of Europe’s most beautiful opera houses. The ballet and music were excellent, the setting superb, and the ticket prices were far less than what you would pay in New York, London, Paris or Milan.
I’m struck by the author’s observations about some of the restaurants. An important point should be made for visitors. There are some “quasi-legal” restaurants in Palermo – the kind without written menus. By law, all restaurants in Italy must have written menus, with prices clearly indicated. That is true of all the establishments reviewed in the restaurant pages of Best of Sicily and See Palermo. Most of the restaurants in Via Orologio and Via Bara all’Olivella should be avoided, while those in Piazza Olivella nearby are compliant with regulations. The same is true of those in Piazza Marina. Restaurant reviews (for any city) are written precisely to ensure that the reader has good choices.
Palermo is an unpolished gem waiting to be discovered, but we’ve never said that every single part of it is flawlessly beautiful. What’s important is that you plan your trip to focus on the more interesting things. (Shown here is the recently-restored Basilica of Saint Dominic.)Posted byVincenzo Salernoat7:30 PM
Italian Culture Week is the most anticipated cultural event of the year, and Sicily is certainly not slack in its contribution – from April 16th to the 25th dozens of museums, galleries, archeological sites, government buildings, and places otherwise closed to the public all over the island will be open for visitors to enjoy a rare glimpse of certain monuments and get guided tours from experts. For more info, go to the following link and click on each individual province for schedules:
http://www.regione.sicilia.it/beniculturali/dirbenicult/areariservata/eventi/settimanaeventi2010/menu.aspPosted byConchita Vecchioat8:34 PM
