Carols Birthday

I must start by saying Tanti Auguri a te, Tanti Auguri a te, Tante Auguri Mia Dolce Moglie, Tanti Auguri a te. That is Happy Birthday to my sweet wife. This is the second time we have been in Italy for Carol’s birthday. The last time we were in Orvieto which is a wonderful hill town north of Rome, in southern Tuscany. Today we will stay in Taormina.
We start out with a nice breakfast being served by Fabio. Then we decide to walk around and see some of the town. The weather report is not good for today so we are going to see if we can beat the rain with a somewhat early start.

Roman Theater

As we round the corner from our place, we notice an old Roman Odean or small theater located behind the Church of Santa Caterina. Between our trek here and the evening rain, we did not even notice it yesterday. It was built by the Romans in 21 A.D. And was discovered in 1892 by a blacksmith who was digging in the area. A Greek colonnade, perhaps from an ancient temple was also discovered here. We continue our walk towards the Greek Theater to see if we can see it from the street. Since we saw the one in Siracusa and this one did not get rave reviews because of its lack of information, we are not planning to plunk down 10 Euros a piece to see it. We enjoy walking along the street and peeking in the many tourist shops. We also pass several men selling a slimy plastic thing with eyes that they splat on the ground in front of you and it retakes its original round shape. Who buys this stuff? Then we pass by men with belts and then hats for sale. It is all very touristy. We cannot see the Greek theater from the road and turn back around for more exploration.

My Birthday Angel

We wind down a few streets and alleys toward the communal gardens. This garden was donated to the town by a wealthy Scottish lady who fell in love with the town. Lady Florence Trevelyan was “invited” to,leave Britain after a publicized romance with the future King Edward VII, son of Victoria. That is how she ended up here. The gardens are very beautiful with some old pavilions and memorial statues. The real payoff is the view down to the sea. As we are enjoying the views, the clouds have found us again and it starts to rain. We take shelter under some trees as the heaviest rain comes down.

View from the Gardens

We have an umbrella from the BNB so when it lightens up, we walk back up to the main part of town. We check out the inside of the Church of San Giuseppe and then look for some lunch. Carol wants pizza and since it is her birthday, she gets what she wants. Actually, she always gets what she wants, but today it will just be easier. We go back to the Shelter Pizzeria and order a Diavola Pie to go. We bring it back to our room and enjoy our lunch indoors but with a view of the area. Her next wish is for a cannoli, so I head out in search of a good one. The one she had last night was good but they do not fill the shells fresh and it was a little on the soft side. I find a small pasticcheria off the tourist route and go inside. I order two cannolis and the man goes in the back to fill them fresh. It is all open so you can see this and his wife making other treats. I order a small mix of pastries as well to further pamper my beautiful wife. They wrap it all up like it is Christmas and back to the room I go. When I get back I tell Carol the place was closed for siesta so she will have to wait for later.

Birthday Treats

A few minutes later, I surprise her with her birthday treat. She makes some tea to enjoy her birthday treats with. Since it is raining, Carol just wants to stay in and read while I work on my journal. We have not had a lot of days where we just sit in our place for hours and do nothing. It is a rather enjoyable afternoon.
For tonight, we have dinner reservations at a place called Malvasia, which had very good reviews. It is raining lightly as we walk to the other side of town where the restaurant is. We order an mixed veggie antipasto, home made lobster ravioli with a pumpkin sauce, and lemon pasta with pistachio. Some White House wine will balance it out. We sit outside on a small covered patio and enjoy the fresh air. They bring us some panelle, fresh out of the fryer, as a free appetizer. Panelle is the chick pea flour treat that is very common here in Sicily. The antipasto arrives and it is a nice mix of stuffed mushroom, stuffed pepper, sun dried tomato, olives, cheese, and salami. Then the meals arrive and the ravioli is just incredible. I do not particularly care for pumpkin ( yes, no pie for me) but this is really tasty. The lemon pasta is bursting with flavor as well and has little bits of fresh lemon in the sauce.

A Happy Birthday Girl

As we like to eat early, the place has filled up behind us. A party of six wants to be seated but our table is in the middle of two other tables for two. The owner asks if we would mind moving and since we are done, I tell him no problem, we will just get up and take the bill. He says are you sure and I tell him not to worry. Carol heard him say in Italian that he will take some money off our bill for the inconvenience. I did not hear that so it was a pleasant surprise when I go to pay. We take a leisurely walk back to the BNB after our wonderful meal where I provide more room service with a evening aperitif for my wife. This is our last night in Sicily and we can’t believe that this time has come. We have throughly enjoyed the island and it’s wonderful people.
Expenses
Pizza from Shelter Ristorante 7.5E
Birthday Cannolis and pastries from I Dolci di Nonna Rosa 8.5E
Dinner and wine at Malvasia. 40E
Cielo di Taormina BNB 87E
Walked 6.5 Miles