November 5th – 8th The morning is clear and sunny albeit cooler after the rain of last night. Today we are de-camping from Taormina and heading to Syracuse-Ortigia, a 120km drive south. We are taking the quick route as we have been able to get into our AIRBNB early. We have a view of Mt….Continue Reading “Taormina to Siracusa (Ortigia)…..a Baroque extravaganza”
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November 3rd and 4th Our last 2 days in Taormina, the time has flown by, but we have accomplished most of what we wanted to do…today we are going to check out Isola Bella considered to be Taormina’s most beautiful beach. Before we start down to the shore, we must say a word about the…Continue Reading “Taormina…our last few days”
November 2nd We are up early, a bit nervous but excited and after a hearty breakfast we are on the road by 08:30…today we are driving to Rifugio Sapienza on the south side of Mt. Etna about 55km from Taormina. As we drive up from sea level on seemingly endless switchbacks, catching glimpses of old…Continue Reading “Taormina… an outing to Mt. Etna”
November 1st Taormina is an extremely cute and photogenic town, touristy yes, expensive yes but if you are in search of a romantic super nice place then this town is it. We are here for 5 nights and hope to do a mix of adventuring, touring archeological ruins, and plain old relaxing. Wow, today is…Continue Reading “Taormina….. Greek and Roman ruins”
October 29th – 31st Today we are moving from the heel of Italy toward the toe, a drive of about 320 km which should take between 4 and 5 hours. Sunny day, a pleasant temperature as we roll on secondary roads through hill country covered in mostly olive groves then transforming to flat land with…Continue Reading “To Tropea…..and onwards to Sicily”
October 27th On the road again on another sunny day and we are driving to Matera some 225 kilometers from Otranto. We had originally planned to overnight here but decided to stay an extra day after we had read some travel blogs about this town. On the way, Geeps was up to her old tricks…Continue Reading “Otranto to Matera….an incredible riches to rags to riches story”
October 24 -26th Another gorgeous day as we head down the coast, the goal being to visit Santa Maria di Leuca on the southernmost tip of the Salento peninsula. On the way, we will be passing through a number of small towns geared toward the fishing and tourism industry. As well, the area around Otranto…Continue Reading “Otranto …our last few days in Puglia”
October 23 rd Today we are heading to the heel of Italy, Otranto some 150kms south of Martina Franca is our destination. A warm and sunny day, our intent is to stop en route, in Lecce, as our AIRBNB check-in is not till mid-afternoon. Lecce’s history goes back a long way – you can still…Continue Reading “Martina Franca to Otranto…..and the heel of Italy”
October 22nd It is a sunny day with the promise 0f 20c plus by mid-day, the game plan is to visit Lorotondo, however, after looking at google maps we decide to include Cisternino as well. It has a population of about 12,000 and like its sisters, Cisternino, boasts a small, utterly charming old town center…Continue Reading “Locortondo, Cisternino….and some more Trullis”
October 21 st For a change of pace, we are going to visit the seashore first stopping at Monopoli (and no, the name has nothing to do with the game) a 45-minute drive from where we are staying. Still another lovely day with temperatures peaking at 23C. An uneventful drive first through the countryside and…Continue Reading “Monopoli and Polignano a Mare ….a bit of change of pace”