First Stop on the Grand Tour: Taormina

We made it to Sicily! We flew into Catania airport in the late afternoon and rented a car. I have read so many things about how challenging (terrifying?) it is to drive here. We have driven the Amalfi Coast (insanity) - they sound pretty comparable. I tried to avoid a car rental but the public transportation schedules (mainly buses as the Sicilian trains are known to be unreliable) were just not working for us. We took preparatory measures. Preprogramming the GPS, I carefully mapped out where we are driving. To avoid the worst area to drive - Palermo - we return the car before we get there. But the smartest thing we did was get zero deductible insurance. It immediately takes the majority of the stress out of the ordeal.

We drove to our first stop, Taormina. Perched on a rocky promontory high above the sea, it has a lot of curvy roads. Cars take the whole road every chance they get. We witnessed an accident - the dumb car went up against a bus (on a turn), and lost. It made us double-relieved we have insurance!!

View of sweeping Ionian seascapes from our hotel in Taormina

We are staying in a hotel above the town so that we can enjoy the amazing view. They provide a shuttle into town but we prefer the walk, which takes about 10 minutes.

From our hotel is it a 10 minute walk down these stairs to get to Corso Umberto, the main pedestrian street in Taormina

Taormina is one of the most beautiful and popular tourist destinations in Sicily – and has been for many centuries. It was one of the stops along the Grand Tour.

Fun Fact: The term Grand Tour is used to define the phenomenon, already widespread in the first decades of the century in northern Europe: the trip to Italy, France, and Greece that young offspring of aristocracy undertook in order to deepen their knowledge in arts, politics and culture.

Our mini Fiat 500. "I'm glad we got a small car," announced Greg after 2 minutes of driving.

Arriving late in the day we really only had time to walk the town's main pedestrian street and eat a yummy pasta dinner. We will explore more tomorrow.

Narrow stairs splinter up and down off the main street

Pizza Aprile is a main gathering place in Taormina


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