Getting around and in Sicily
May 18, 2008 is the date of the day when we departed for the unknown, yet the enchanting island of the Italian south peninsula: Sicily. Bubu slept throughout the flight. After months of research on the Internet and stalking too many people with my e-mails, I sat stiffly like a statue with apprehension and anxiety. What would Sicily be like? Little did I know then that a miracle was about to happen. This would be the second time, after my trip to Mexico 2 years ago, that I would call a happening a miracle.
Getting off the plane at the Catania International Airport, little did I also know that miracles come with vices and challenge. Waiting for the bus, which would take us to our first stop, Taormina, Bubu and I were trying to figure out through Tarzanian ways (body language coupled with my italianglish) the most convenient place to get off the bus to reach our destination. Crumbled over maps, we kept waiting for the bus.
The bus arrived almost 2 hours after we had landed in Catania, which gave us enough time to have a bite of breakfast and relax. We walked with our luggage towards the bus’ baggage compartment. There, in his blue uniform, was who we thought was the bus driver handling the the placement of people’s luggage into the little compartment. He told Bubu “Venga venga,” which in Italian suggests to come forward and place the luggage into the compartment. Yet, Bubu would not budge or could not budge an inch with his luggage, because apparently, the driver would secretly push him back even as he said, “Venga.” It was a single moment amidst the drivers’ itinerants ‘vengas’ and ‘hoos’ that Bubu shrieked, “someone’s hands are in my pockets,” and the man who was seemingly the driver vanished with that.
After finally having placed our luggage safe and sound, we moved up into the bus, from where we could see the so-called driver and his fellow friend meeting way out of the bus station around some bushes. Luckily, we were spared from any assault or theft.
Having had enough bit of adventure, we settled down into our seats for the drive. The road leading to Taormina was not essentially interesting. About an hour and a half later, we got off the bus, right in front of our hotel: Hotel Palladio. A small, family business, the owners of the Hotel were friendly, helpful people. They had already contacted us through e-mail with information on their hotel and its surroundings, the beaches and transportation methods. They were one of a kind in Sicily with perfect written English. The hotel is not a five star luxury resort. It is a small, decent, clean place, overlooking the bay with a terrace for tanning or relaxing. With rooms much larger than the standard, Hotel Palladio allows its guests to enjoy the ancient Naxos with comfort and peace.
© Hotel Palladio Giardini
Hotel Palladio is in the bay of Giardini Naxos. Before the 1970s, Giardini Naxos was a simple fishermen’s village. Decades have made it a popular tourist resort for Italians and Internationals alike. Nevertheless, it has kept its simplicity and authenticity as a fishermen’s village.
The beautiful town of Taormina is actually situated above the hills overlooking Giardini. The land that we know as Taormina today was inhabited by the Siculi in the ancient past -even before the Greeks had arrived on the Sicilian coast in 832 BC to find Naxos (Wikipedia, online encyclopedia). Taormina’s prominence as a tourist resort dates back to the beginning of the 19th century. People who spent their vacation in Taormina around that time included: Oscar Wilde, Nicholas I of Russia, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Nietzsche (who here wrote his Also sprach Zarathustra) and Richard Wagner (Wikipedia, online encyclopedia). However, Taormina gained further prominence in the late 19th century as the place where Wilhelm von Gloeden worked most of his life as a photographer of predominantly male nudes. Also credited for making Taormina popular was Otto Geleng, best known in his hometown of Berlin for his fine paintings, which he composed and painted in Italy, but exhibited in Germany (Wikipedia, online encyclopedia). In the 20th century, Taormina remained to be a home to many more artists, as well as writers and intellectuals.
Taormina, up on the hills, is easily reached by car or public transport. The taxi ride costs about 18 euros single way. Setting our feet in this ancient little town, Bubu and I were initially delighted by the colors of the town and its mystifying view. However, we were more than dismayed after we had walked from one end to the other. In fact, it took us less than half an hour to discover the little town. It is typical summer resort that has become way too touristic, such that brand rooms (multibrand boutiques), and well-known italian brands have already opened their stores on the main road. The restaurants are also typical and very standard, food mediocre. In a nutshell, anyone who has already been to Alacati/Cesme in Izmir, Turkey, may spare themselves the trouble of traveling to this little town. They are so much alike, with Alacati being more unique, more traditonal and more sophisticated.
© Hotel Palladio Giardini
Waking up to a slightly colder day the day after, Bubu and I went for a run around the Giardini bay. Later, we decided to take a bus to the next bay where Isola Bella is located. Isola Bella is a small island, just a few meters away from the beach, that can be reached on foot. We walked to the island with all the other tourists and sat on its stone paved beach for a few minutes until the wind got harsher and colder.
Returning to our hotel, we picked up our bags for our next destination. Happy and satiated to have seen a new place in our lives, we knew we would not be back to Taormina for another leisure occasion.
For anyone relentlessly wanting to see Taormina, it is best to go during the Film Festival. The Taormina Film Festival is an historic film festival, part of the “festivaliero Italiano” that began in 1955 under the name Before the international Messina and Taormina (Wikipedia, online encyclopedia). The exhibition moved permanently to Taormina in 1971. Until then it has hosted many stars of international cinema: Elizabeth Taylor, Marlene Dietrich, Sophia Loren, Cary Grant, Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston,Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Tom Cruise, Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas (Wikipedia, online encyclopedia). The Festival usually takes place in June.
For the actual and rest of the miracle, follow my upcoming article.
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