Monday, November 25, 2013

Taormina…Bellissimo!

Back in September we made our way about an hour north to a town called Taormina.  It's beautiful city placed on the side of a mountain right on the ocean.  It quickly became a family favorite and we knew we'd have to take all of our visitors there.  
We got there right as the riposo was starting.  That's the time in the afternoon when most things in the cities close down and everyone takes a break.  It's anywhere from 1-4 ish.  There were still a few shops open, but many were closed. We didn't mind because it made our walk less crowded.  



The views were amazing!  


We made our way to the city Piazza (plaza).  There always seems to be a church in the city centers along with a couple little food shops.  They call the little cafes here "bars", which is kinda funny.  
No Italian outing is complete without gelato.  Benny always, always gets just plain ciaccolato (chocolate).  Lucy and Graham seem to always get stracciatella (chocolate chip) or another favorite is nutella flavored.  
This is my new favorite treat.  It's almond flavored granite, which is kind of like Italian ice.  It reminds me of the icing my mom puts on her cinnamon rolls.  The downer is that granite (pronounced graneeda) is usually only served during the summer.


Benny is all about the funny faces lately.



In the city there are ancient ruins of an amphitheater.  It's incredible!  We paid the arm and the leg (7 euro each) to get into it.  It was worth the money just to see the amazing views from higher on the mountain. 




The kiddos and my large and in charge pregnant self.  




Taormina Bellissimo  (lovely Taormina)

2 comments:

Aimee said...

A break from 1-4?!? I live in the wrong country.

Nancy said...

This is such a beautiful place!