A bit of a lie-in before we headed out to explore a bit of this area. Richard’s birthday, so his pick was to head to a beach. Our host had recommended Fondachello, so that’s where we set off for. Merrilee did a great job of getting us there, despite the challenges of driving here. It is definitely not for the faint of heart, between the serpentine routes and the crazy drivers! Arrived in Fondachello and had a walk along the beach, which was not the sandy type, but more small rocks. But there were still lots of people out enjoying themselves. And of course there is the beautiful blue ocean!
Since we were so close, we decided to visit Taormina, a city on the coast famous for its wonderful views and an ancient Greco-Roman amphitheatre that is still in use today. It is very touristy, and even in this shoulder season, still lots of people in the streets. Parking is also at a premium so poor Mer had to navigate the narrow streets to find a place to leave the car. Since we were a little peckish, stopped at a little cafe and had a most delish lunch - pasta for the boys and Mer and I had a yummy pomodoro (tomato) salad and cheese plate. We set out for the Teatro Antico, but when we got there, the lineup for tickets was longer than we wanted to endure, so Mer and Richard headed out to explore, Irv found a comfy bench to take a break, and I went wandering to see what interesting photos I could capture.
When we met back up, decided to take the cable car down to the bottom and check out the beach area. Great views again from the cable car but not much at the bottom besides a beach area. Took the cable car back up and headed back to the car to set off back to Trecastagni.
Because it was Richard’s birthday, Mer had wanted to go out for a nice dinner, but the restaurant we had chosen was unfortunately full, so we opted for takeout pizza instead. But that was an adventure in itself. There are several pizza places in Trecastagni, but some of them were closed permanently, or not open till 7. We finally found one around 6:30, and the owner took pity on us and took our order early, so our pizzas were ready by 7. A stop at the grocery store and then back to Casa Etnea for Richard’s birthday dinner.