Day 8 – La dolce vita
'If anyone could stay in Sicily for only one day and ask me, 'What must I see?' I would immediately reply, 'Taormina. This place is like a painting, but one on which everything on earth is painted that can captivate our eyes, our minds and our imagination'
This is what Guy de Maupassant wrote when Taormina was a much-loved winter resort for the gentry, princes and princesses, and the wealthy intellectuals. Even Empress Sissi liked to come here. The beautiful art deco train station was adjusted on her behalf.
And we had listened to him when we took our Mediterranean cruise a few years ago. We indeed had one day and never regretted choosing Taormina. It is with good reason that we spend our remaining week of vacation in Taormina. Taormina is still a favorite place for movie stars and the rich and famous. It is also called the Saint Tropez of Sicily.
Early this morning we are transferred to our hotel, the Excelsior Palace.
Getting up early one more time, and at just before 9 am our taxi comes to pick us up. When we leave the hotel, we get a fantastic view of Mount Etna, the clouds have dissipated. Mount Etna shows us all its splendor.
Half an hour later we are dropped off at our new hotel. Unbelievable but true, our room is already ready and we can move in immediately. The Excelsior Palace hotel was built in 1904 and is a beautiful hotel from the Belle Epoque era. The grandeur of that time is still clearly present in the hotel. We have a corner room and can admire the sea from both sides. One downside: the too small bathroom. To go to the toilet, we have to put our feet in the shower tray. And the shower tray isn't big either. But the hotel is beautifully situated. On one side, we have a view of Mount Etna, on the other side we look directly at the ancient Greek theater. This theater is, after Syracuse, the largest classical theater in Sicily.
It was built by the Greeks in the 3rd century BC, but almost completely rebuilt by the Romans 500 years later to host gladiator fights. From the grandstand we have a beautiful view of the sea and Mount Etna. It is one of the most spectacular views we have ever seen. Indescribably beautiful.
We spend the morning poolside and head into town for our lunch. The hotel is located right on Corso Umberto, Taormina's pedestrianized main street. Everything is on this street: chic boutiques, antique shops, restaurants and cafes. We take a walk from the Porta Messina to the Porta Catania.
Numerous attractions line the Corso, such as the cathedral, several other churches and the beautiful bell tower.
We take a short walk after lunch, and on the way back it turns out that a wedding is taking place in the church on Piazza I April. We see a steady stream of guests arriving and we wait for the bride. Our patience is tested : guests go in, then come out, new guests arrive, the guests who have left, go back in. They kiss, call (Italians clearly can't function without their smartphone), one of the mothers is closer to crying than laughing... In short, a bit of chaos. The stairs in front of the church are beautifully decorated with romantic bouquets of flowers and when the 'white carpet' is finally laid, we suspect that the bride is approaching. In the distance, an antique Rolls Royce pulls up… People crowd around the car to see the bride and suddenly bodyguards appear from all sides. Mmm, bodyguards with guns? Is this a marriage of 'friends of the friends'? In any case, the bride is beautifully dressed in an adorable lace dress and she is radiant…. And despite the bodyguards, I still manage to take a photo.
This wedding is a lot more stylish than the parties we've seen so far. Weddings were taking place in a number of hotels we visited this week. As Eddy briefly summed it up: 'if hell exists, this is what it looks like'....
These events were one big mess, wedding guests who spend hours at the reception of the hotel waiting for the bride (without being presented a drink) , guests who ran inside and outside the room even when the cake was rolled in, cheering children who were out of control, and after they were literally dragged into the event room by their mothers, would be back out again half a minute later. Italians yelling against each other from one side to the other side of the room, which we could clearly hear in the bar/restaurant where we were sitting. In other words : one big chaos. We have dinner at the hotel. We eat in the restaurant where we are presented with a menu of choice. There is a great choice, we can choose from about 4 to 5 starters and main courses. Our plates are dressed at the table where we eat with grandmother's silver cutlery, silver bowls, silver pepper & salt shaker. The grandeur of the beginning of last century is indeed still obvious at this place.
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