Trip report: Taormina, Ortigia/Siracusa, Sorrento
Jun 19th, 2023, 07:41 AM
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Trip report: Taormina, Ortigia/Siracusa, Sorrento
This will be ongoing. I’ll be back from time to time to add stuff. I normally don’t travel in the summer, but a family obligation made it necessary that we go in June. Yes, there were lots of crowds.
TAORMINA
We flew into Rome, then to Catalina. The plan was to take the bus from Catalina airport to Taormina. The proprietor of the B&B there assured us that there was a bus stop a few meters from the door of her place. (She was right.) The scene at the airport bus area was utter chaos. We managed to find the tix booth. However, there are several different types of buses arriving at the area, and considering that most of the people are out-of-towners, no one was quite sure which bus was theirs. The result was that every time a bus arrived, people would rush to the door only to find out it wasn’t their bus.
Anyway, we finally did get on the right bus. I speak decent Italian, but I usually ask if the other person speaks English. If they say yes, I speak English, If no, I speak Italian. So I asked the bus driver, and he said yes. I then asked about our stop and its location. He cut me off: “No informacione!” OK. Later, I noticed that Italian speakers were asking for info about stops, and he was quite accommodating in Italian. I was sorely tempted to aim a slur at him when we left the bus at our stop, but I let it go.
We got off at our accommodation, Maison Blanche, run by a local couple. Really nice place. Really nice people. Great room, great view. Excellent breakfast. After we got settled, she gave us the name of a restaurant, Rosmarina, which was great. The funny part was her directions getting into town, and a lesson in language. She said there would be “three steps.” We figured out after walking a long while that there were three very long, very steep outdoor staircases you had to climb to get into town. (The next a.m. another guest said to us, “She should tell people there are three long ladders.”) I give this B&B a strong recommendation, but make sure you have good mobility or be prepared to pay for a 20-euro cab ride.
(I’ll be back.)
TAORMINA
We flew into Rome, then to Catalina. The plan was to take the bus from Catalina airport to Taormina. The proprietor of the B&B there assured us that there was a bus stop a few meters from the door of her place. (She was right.) The scene at the airport bus area was utter chaos. We managed to find the tix booth. However, there are several different types of buses arriving at the area, and considering that most of the people are out-of-towners, no one was quite sure which bus was theirs. The result was that every time a bus arrived, people would rush to the door only to find out it wasn’t their bus.
Anyway, we finally did get on the right bus. I speak decent Italian, but I usually ask if the other person speaks English. If they say yes, I speak English, If no, I speak Italian. So I asked the bus driver, and he said yes. I then asked about our stop and its location. He cut me off: “No informacione!” OK. Later, I noticed that Italian speakers were asking for info about stops, and he was quite accommodating in Italian. I was sorely tempted to aim a slur at him when we left the bus at our stop, but I let it go.
We got off at our accommodation, Maison Blanche, run by a local couple. Really nice place. Really nice people. Great room, great view. Excellent breakfast. After we got settled, she gave us the name of a restaurant, Rosmarina, which was great. The funny part was her directions getting into town, and a lesson in language. She said there would be “three steps.” We figured out after walking a long while that there were three very long, very steep outdoor staircases you had to climb to get into town. (The next a.m. another guest said to us, “She should tell people there are three long ladders.”) I give this B&B a strong recommendation, but make sure you have good mobility or be prepared to pay for a 20-euro cab ride.
(I’ll be back.)
Last edited by vinny32951; Jun 19th, 2023 at 07:43 AM.
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