Taormina, Wine, Water and Etna

Mornings are for exploring.  We drove to Taormina to see the sites.  A very old town that has been a tourist destination since the 1900’s.  The town is set high above the Ioanian Sea.  The views are amazing.

There is one major road that people walk through where no cars are.  Then you can make your way down into the small alleys that lead into other sections.

Of course, every Italian town has a church.

We did go off the beaten track to find the best cannoli in town.

At the end of the street is a Greek Theater built in 734 BC as the Greeks arrived here first. Incredibly beautiful from up there.

We made our way over to lunch and hit up a fruit stand beforehand.

Lunch was simple fish and a few Sicilian specialties like Pasta Norma made out of eggplants and tomatoes.

Gelato is a must after lunch in Italy.

The following day it was all about the water.  We are big fans of doing a day on a boat.

Really spectacular seeing the coast from the water…and of course taking a dip in the sea.

The next day we did a morning at Mt. Etna on the south side.  It is pretty amazing.  The different times that explosions have happened and you can see it in the colors.

It is hard to really see the beauty and how large this is in the photos.  In the distance, you can see Jessica and Scott walking the ridge.

On the way down we saw this home that had obviously been taken out at one point.

We then hit up a vineyard for a little wine tasting at Benanti.  Everything is still done there by hand.

We walked the property.

Then had a tasting with some local cheeses and meats.  This place is fantastic.

Afterward we went to another vineyard, that was not good.  We were supposed to have lunch there and after two dishes we all decided to opt out.  We definitely prefer the smaller more intimate settings.

Back to hang.  At dinner we gazed out at Mt. Etna that was putting out some pink smoke for the evening activity.