Breakfast in the courtyard at hotel l'abbye

Waiting for that car

Midnight in Paris

Paris!!

Easy plane trips and professorial cabbie listening to opera from CDG into Paris!

Out to explore!

WindJet: belly up-O

Postings all over Catania airport!

Marco e Marco

The first Marco is at the travel agency in town. It's a small operation-not air conditioned and a lot of fans roaring. Marco is in charge and when we tell him we have tickets on a Windjet flight tomorrow morning he says "ayyyeee". Which we assume is the Italian version of "Oy". He tells us "this is a problem" We know. There are several options. He tells us we need to call the airline and they will get back to us but that seems unlikely based in our attempts last night. In the end Marco helps us out and manages to purchase us new tickets- there goes that dinner at Arpege- Alitalia to Paris via Roma. Not exactly what we intended when we were originally planning the trip but now there is no choice. There is another choice that would have been about 300 Euro cheaper- fly EasyJet through Milan but we would have needed to change airports once in Milan. Lol. We secure new tickets and will visit Marco later in the day to print our boarding passes. We head back to Villa Carlotta. It looks like a day of poolside relaxation is in order (refer to Sarah's posting). Later in the day we walk back up to town to see Marco and also the famous amphitheater. There is ballet there tonight- NY Ballet Company. But we can't interest the girls. Isabelle??
For some reason we have a wine tasting scheduled for us. Something to do with Small Luxury Hotels membership that Marc must have joined during some 2AM work session. We think that 7pm would be good. We think that they will just bring some wine and cheese to the room but it turns out it is formal wine tasting with accompanying snacks up on the rooftop terrace. Marco (different one) is our server. We taste two wines (local) and some olive oils with accompanying cheeses and snacks. Good enough to count as dinner when we are through. We head up the hill after dinner for one more taste of cannoli.
Early to bed (before 1am) because our taxi to the Catania airport is coming at 7:30. Alitalia (read "not WindJet") to Rome at 10:30.

Aloha, Taormina

Let's just say the most physically strenuous thing I did all day was walking back and forth to the snack shack to order more poolside service. Unfortunately, this means my FitBit did not rack up enough steps to compete with my previous bests this trip (which were well into the teens and twenties). I didn't even get enough steps to compete with the average American (five).

But that was the day's only downside. We started off the morning lounging on the chez-lounges in the garden, which are shady and relaxing but ultimately less desirable and competitive than those by the pool. We spent an hour or so keeping a close eye on the pool-side setups (most of which were uninhabited except for towels reserving them for their owners, who selfishly saved the lounges without using them for the rest of the day) to see if any would open up.

Two finally did, and the next few hours were spent relaxing in the chairs or enjoying the refreshingly cool water. There was also a snack shack that delivered right to your setup. We had bruschetta, insalate caprese, and a norma panini.

We also enjoyed a wine and cheese tasting later in the evening. Our waiter gave us a lecture on his love life.

Tomorrow we'll be in Paris! (fingers crossed, because who really knows with that plane debacle). If we do make it, I'll be sure to get in any old-fashioned car that comes my way at midnight.

p.s. the trailer for the new season of Downton Abbey is out. Cora has a new flapper-esque haircut.
p.p.s. This is Sarah.

Breakfast

Not sure it really qualifies but yum!

Train to Taormina

We get the 1pm train- but this one stops in Catania and we have to change trains. Probably should have taken a non stop but they weren't at good times (too late or too early). The train to Catania (1hr) leaves 10 min late from the station so our 11 minute connection in Catania isn't looking good. The conductor/ticket taker takes pity on us and we think he calls ahead because when we get off he is shooing us down the stairs and across the tracks (under the tracks!) to the train to Taormina. The ride is another hour and we get a cab up the mountain to our hotel. The hotel is lovely and one room
Has a large terrace with loungers. The city is up he hill further and filled with shops- some nice, most touristy and some feel just like the Ponte de Vecchio in Florence- a lot of tchotchkes but the views are just Magnificant (see photos). We have a late lunch and an even later dinner on the rooftop terrace restaurant of the hotel. Pasta for the Wishingrads and caponata for Deb. We all agree that Marc's "Norma pasta" is the best (eggplant, onions etc) but Sarah's gnocchi are so light and delicious too. We have a few problems with our room. The first is that there is a sewage smell that we can't get rid of. Pretty unpleasant but nowhere to move tonight. We sleep with the windows open. The second is that we can't figure out the TV so someone comes
up to turn it on and just as he leaves Marc catches something about "WindJet"- the local airline that we are booked on tomorrow morning for our direct flight to Paris. We can't understand he Italian so we google
it and sure enough, our worst fear- it's gone belly up in the last 24 hours- canceling all flights and stranding passengers all over Italy. We spend the next 3 hours (until about 1:30AM) trying to come up with alternate plans for departure. No one can help us on the phone so we give up, go to sleep and hope to wake up to find the smell gone and the news of WindJet a bad dream. No such luck.
We get up early and ask advice of the front desk- a travel agent in town may be able to help. They open at 9AM. So we go up to the terrace to wait and drink a ton of espresso. The buffet is the most elaborate of any we have seen so far (photos). Who ever heard of cannoli for breakfast? Really? Why not? The girls are still sleeping when we head up into town to try our luck with the travel agent.

Taormina

Details to follow

Beach

The oldest Mikva in the world

It's here in Siracusa- about a 5 minute walk from our hotel (if you don't end up walking in a circle and eventually need to turn on your data roaming to use your iPhone's GPS to find it- or for Sarah to find it I should say). It was discovered only 18 years ago as someone was doing construction for a small hotel in what is the Jewish quarter of Ortigia). It's now an archeological site under an upscale bed and breakfast with hourly tours. We walk down a lot of stairs and there they are 5 small pools of clear, fresh water. Stone steps leading into each. These fresh water wells were first known to the Greeks in 1200 BC when the city was first founded and then made into Mikvas in the first century AD. It's cool down there and the water is so clean. We finish the brief tour and walk around the city a bit more. It's such a small island that you can walk one side to another in about 15 minutes. Especially if you have no destination in mind and can't get lost in the labyrinth of cobblestone streets. Its hot and it's Sunday so we decide to go to the beach. It's a cab ride out of town but worth it for the scene: Italian Jersey Shore. The hotel sends us with umbrellas and towels but we can rent chairs and umbrella set ups on the private beach (Lido). It's crowded and hot but he Sea is clear and warm and salty. We stay for a few hours, wishing they had Santa Monica's 'no smoking on the beach' laws. Lunch is pasta and rice salads followed by gelato and the tiniest espresso you have ever seen in a plastic cup. Head back to the hotel for naps (for some). The girls noted earlier that several stores open up at 5:30- so three of us head back out after a bit to explore. Sarah buys a pair of platform shoes she has been eyeing and Em buys a dress. Later, dinner is a casual pizzeria which, because we ended up walking around in circles before settling on a place (that's another story), we end up around the corner from our hotel without even realizing it. Gelato (Em-kiwi and cantaloupe Marc-coco and fig) and head back home. Tomorrow is laundry and a train to Taormina for our final Sicilian city. Sarah is hoping for a couple of relaxation days at the beach/pool.

Sunrise Ortigia

Even at the beach they have espresso

In a tiny plastic cup!

Saturday dinner-Ristorante Porto Marina

Restaurant recommended by our tour guide.

Primi:
Sarah and Em- "tuna burger"
Deb-grilled local cheese on greens
Marc-caponata

Secondi:
Sarah- ravioli with langoustine
Em-homemade pasta with porcini and bay shrimp
Deb-homemade pasta with swordfish and cherry tomatoes
Marc-grilled calamari

Dessert- who knows, but it was great!

Great walk back to hotel- piazzas crowded with music and families out. Beautiful night.

Into bed at 1AM.

Day one in Siracusa

We are staying on the island of Ortigia-a small island connected to the mainland of Siracusa by a short bridge. This is the "old city", where the Greeks first landed. Roads are winding and streets cobblestone. The hotel is in the water and feels carved from stone 1000s of years old.
After another great breakfast (see photo of Deb's yogurt) we head out with Rosa, our guide at 9AM (it's already hot- really have to start early). She has perfect English given the fact she lived in Connecticut from age 7-18 before moving back to Sicily. Our guide on the other side of the island, Jackie, was born in LA and lived in Montebello, east of LA, until she was 16.
First we go to the Archeological park where she fascinates us with the history of the Greeks and Romans in Sicily. There is a Greek theatre (second largest in the world) built out of stone- pretty incredible. This is next to a Roman amphitheater built many years later. The Greek influence here is everywhere. She gives a great tour of the area- she's a great storyteller-and then takes us back to Ortigia where we go to the Duomo ( every city has one) and tour the underground passages built under a former Greek temple. It is so cool down there (18m under) that the girls would be happy staying down there for longer. Never seen them so interested by Greek and Roman history as when we were down in the tunnels.
It's now about 1pm and everyone is hot and hungry. Rosa steers us to a small cafe for lunch and shows us a great fish place for dinner. Lunch is spinach and mushroom tart things that are similar to spanikopata (Greek influence everywhere) and caprese sandwich.
Head back to the hotel for naptime (for 50%). We heard about Mitt's VP pick this AM and are trying to find it on CNN. Already missing the Sunday morning talk shows!

Update: Sarah finds CNN (linked to US CNN!) on the TV. We are watching Wolf Blitzer live. Lol.

More photos and Friday night dinner

Friday night dinner- after a casual happy hour on our terrace we decide to try the hotel restaurant (Michelin starred). Deb starts with a veggie couscous and then shares a farfalle with basil and wild mushrooms with Marc. We also have a grilled veggie plate with fresh ricotta and toasted pistachios. The girls share a potato cake with smoked salmon and the. Em has a potato terrine and Sarah has a octopus salad with fennel and pears. All terrific. Wondering if we need to venture out. But we will. Going to a fish place tonight.

Details to follow

Breakfast-first course

Yum!

Bus trip to Siracusa-8AM leaves from the train station.

We are up early to catch the bus to Siracusa. Another groaning breakfast buffet-pastries, meats, cheeses and the all important espresso maker!
The bus is 13Euros and takes 3 hours with one 15 min stop. What a deal. No car to rent (with reverse gear issues) no crazy traffic to fight and no getting lost! Nice ride. The girls are plugged into music and Marc sleeps as we make our way out of Palermo (is that that Zagarella on the left??) and across the island to Siracusa.
Speaking of The Zagarella-when I mentioned it to our our guide and driver they BOTH confirmed that it ABSOLUTELY was a famous (infamous really) mafia hotel. A place where many meetings took place between told cited officials and the mafia. It finally was closed and the place sequestered for a year before it was reopened under different management!!
We arrive in Siracusa. It is along the sea and we are on the historic island of Ortigia. It's connected to the mainland by a short bridge and is stunning. See attached photos from our outside terrace that has lounges, 2 couches, table and chairs and a jacuzzi. It's too warm for a hit jacuzzi but the girls are in it unheated! See photos!
We have a lunch in town-simple pizzas and pastas and head back to enjoy the deck overlooking the sea.

We leave the Agriturismo!

Our guide (Jackie) with driver (Frsncesca) takes us to the archeological site at Segesta. Here there is a Greek temple built in 500 BC. It was only partially completed (about 80%) and is incredible. It's early (9AM) so the air is cool with a great breeze. We walk around the site and learn from our knowledgable guide.
After that we take the windy road up to Erice- the medieval city on the top of a mountain overlooking the water. We view the Venus Castle and then walk the cobbled streets. It reminds us a slightly larger and a bit less touristy Saint Cirq Lapopie from last summer. Pottery and unbelievable pasteries. Their specialty is a type of almond cookie. We get a sampling for later. We have a pizza lunch (Sarah's has fried potatoes on it and Em's has eggplant) and then head for Palermo. We are glad not to be going back to Alcamo and the sweltering apartment at the Agriturismo. Our new hotel is on the other side of he city by the water. Our driver tells us about a terrific roasted chicken place around the corner but we think not to risk it. Crossing the road here has proved challenging!
After some napping, 3/4 of us take a walk around the area. Emily decides to sleep for 3rd hour.
Dinner is at an outside cafe on the neighborhood. The area is so lively with so many outdoor cafes to choose from. Crowded and people out with families. We choose a place with a lot of fish options. Marc- sardine balls (actually amazing and so much better than they sound. Sort of like an Italian gefilte fish stuffed with raisins and pine nuts in a tomato sauce) and a grilled white fish of some sort. We can't under stand the waiter and it's the special of the day and fresh so he orders it. Very simple and great. I share it since I get just a large arugula salad with grilled. Veggies. Sarah-pasta with Sicilian Pesto (almonds and basil) and Em- salt cod croquettes and then caprese salad. Everyone is happy. Wine of course. Em
loves being served wine by the way.
Walk home to hotel. We have to get up early tomorrow to catch the 8AM bus to Siracusa.

Around the Agritourismo

Before we escaped!

Was this once a lap pool or is Chav on the dinner menu?

Algae filled pool
And beautiful vineyards.

View from our inferno at the Agriturismo

Vineyards, sunset and the girls on the steps

Plano B

The girls nap the rest of the afternoon in he small bedroom with the AC. Deb somehow manages to ask the elderly Italian caretaker/cook if we can use the laundry. Palermo was so hot we went through 2-3 changes of clothes a day. On a separate note Deb short circuited her FitBit by sweating all over it the first morning out. Note to self. The laundry is an 'about to break down' machine with complicated Italian instructions and of course no dryer. Two loads later everything is hung on the lines to dry.
Dinner is between 7 and 10. We choose 9. We are the only patrons. The waitress (not sure who she is exactly but she was there at lunch serving and now for dinner) has donned a vest.
She asks us what we want. But there is no menu and we have no idea what there is! So we suggest pasta (seems safe and the pasta at lunch was incredible). She also brings us some antipasta to start: fried eggplant, sqush with olive oil and some fried cheese (a Sicilian specialty). Then the pasta. Even better than the lunch pasta. Fresh basil- sort of a very light pesto. Then some thin chicken cutlets and fresh tomatoes and basil. Dessert is fruit. The dinner is great. The local wine is excellent but we have resolved to leave by morning!
We all sleep in the small bedroom- three in the bed and one on a twin mattress pulled in from the other room. No one gets much sleep but at least it is cool.
The plan is for our guide and driver to take us back to Palermo after the day of touring the area and the. We will spend one more night there so that we can catch the 8AM bus to Siracusa.
The next morning we have some coffee and breads with locally made jams outside (we all agree this is a beautiful place between the hours of 2 and 8 AM!). We have our guide explain our early departure and arrange for a hotel in Palermo. We have to forfeit the night of course- since he couldn't rent it out at such short notice- but we are doubtful anyone is lined up to stay there there hottest month of the year.

Palermo onto Alcamo

After a day of walking (first exploration on our own that ended us up lost after the puppet museum) we met our guide for the afternoon at our hotel. Quick pizzas on an open square before setting off in the 99 degree heat (the hottest day of the year according to Jackie-our guide). We saw the opera house, duomo and the Jewish quarter. The girls peeled off and took a cab home soon after a cathedral visit. Marc and I continued for awhile longer and walked through open markets and heard more of Sicily's history. After a nap at the hotel we headed out to a late dinner at Bellotera. Mentioned but not starred in The Guide. We all ate well (except we think Marc's dinner was not what he ordered). We were happy to see English translations under each menu item but quickly realized they were so inaccurate that hey weren't particularly helpful. The best dish was Deb's "curly pasta with dried out tomatoes". Excellent. Emily and her chocolate dessert was posted.
The next morning we headed out shortly after breakfast. The hotel breakfast (included with the rooms) is a fabulous buffet with assortments of everything breakfast and something's not so much. There were meats, cheeses, breads, Nutella, cereals, yogurts and make your own eggs. They had a bowl of brown eggs and the first morning I didn't read the sign, assumed they were hard boiled and opened one up on my breakfast plate. What a mess. The next morning I put one in the cooker for the prescribed 7 minutes! Excellent "American coffee" by the way.
At 10 our driver (arranged by our guide) met us with her SUV-unusual for Italy where the cars are all matchbook sized) and loaded us and our luggage up for the trip to Monreale. We had a tour of the Duomo there- amazing mosaics. Did we visit this in '76?
Then our windy road trip to Agriturismo Tarantola. The road trip here made the car trip to Ward look like a trip to the Barrington Post Office!! Vineyards, olive trees and very isolated with no WiFi and no one anywhere in sight except the elderly-Italian only speaking caretaker/chef. This Agriturismo is supposedly owned by a real life Count (Count Testa) but he is no where in sight. We start to feel as if we have just checked into the Italian Bates Hotel. We are shown to our small apartment upstairs and it is hot-really hot. No significant windows for any cross ventilation. Marc goes down to inquire if there is a cooler room available (there are only 4 apartments on the property) we are told "turn on the air conditioning". So Marc runs back up to crank on the AC ( its probably 95 degrees outside in the shade and 105 in the upstairs apartment) The AC is in the bedroom and it is a small air conditioning unit but works. Right now the girls are huddled in there keeping cool. There is a fabulous breeze but it's hot. Very hot. No pool (we were misinformed) and a small inaccessible lake surrounded by a fence. We are ready to find a quick road out of here until we enjoy a wonderful multicourse lunch with local wine. We start with a penne in tomato sauce followed by local cheese, roasted tomatoes, peppers and a special type of Sicilian Pizza we are still discussing. We end with watermelon. So full of such delectable Sicilian food and not quite so ready to exit out of here but still thinking about it.

Photos

Dov'e il Aria Condizionata? (or, Where is the Air Conditioning?)

As it turns out, nowhere. The best part of my day was when I accidentally spilled cold water on my leg. It's so hot here it's suffocating. It feels like I'm walking through jello. Jello that's been in the oven. Emily and I woke up at 5:30, and decided to be proactive and get to know the area by taking a walk. During which we discovered stores don't open until 10am. Which is fine, because we still racked up a few steps on fitbit. After breakfast, we decided to walk to the puppet museum before our tour guide arrived at the hotel to take us around town. We left at 10 for the musuem, which should have given us plenty of time before our tour at 1, right? Wrong. When we told our tour guide later that we had walked to the puppet museum, she said, "well, that's not really a walk." Which we had just found out. We got lost on the way there (during which we asked a passerby where the "Musee de Marionette" was. He didn't understand us, probably because he didn't speak French). We finally stumbled upon the museum after almost an hour of walking in the blazing heat. But the museum, despite housing interesting puppets, was not air conditioned, so we left as soon as we could. We spent the next hour wandering around, looking for a taxi. Which, apparently, don't drive around the streets but sit in a taxi yard, waiting for people to come to them. We went through about four or five waters during that walk, counting the one I spilled (which felt extremely cold and nice). But in our greatest hour of despair, we stumbled upon the taxi yard. The car was not air conditioned, but was still cooler than outside. Unfortunately, by the time we got back to the hotel, it was already 1 (excuse me, 13:00) and time for our tour. So we had to delay it by an hour to have time for naps (this family knows its priorities). Even more unfortunately, our hotel is not air conditioned. (Are you seeing a theme?) The actual tour was really interesting. We visited a crypt, and stayed much longer than is normally acceptable, but was excuseable because it was so cool down there, and so hot upstairs in the cathedral. To cap it off, McKayla Maroney (WARNING: OLYMPICS SPOILERS)defied everyone's expectations and got silver on vault, and neither Gabby Douglas or Jordyn Weiber placed on bars, beam, or floor. On a brighter note, most shops are air conditioned. It looks like we'll be doing a lot of shopping in the days ahead. Love, Sarah

Palermo-they still clap when the plane lands!

Arrived in Palermo uneventfully.
Flight to Rome smooth-blood orange juice served in the morning!
The Reiner family was also on our flight (with their mini-dog in a carrier) but not near us on the plane. "sauce" as the girls would say.

Quick transit in Rome- huge airport but given that everything on Italian time is so much slower, we were fine.arrives around 3pm in Palermo. Hot and humid. Cab to hotel very fast. We don't want to drive here.

We check in and all fall asleep (except Marc and Sarah venture out for money and a first gelato-Marc coconut; Sarah-hazelnut)

After napping we head out to find dinner around 8:30. We stop at a outside pizzeria where we all have pizzas except Emily who has a pasta with curry)

Walk home via crowded gelateria. Em- cantaloupe; Sarah-kiwi; Deb-peach
And Marc all of the above)

Watching olympics on TV now but will drop off soon.

Stay tuned.

Tune in here for Sicily updates!

I will be updating this site with info on our trip to Sicily and Paris August 2012