Once in town, the winding, cobblestoned streets are charming. Off the main Corso Umberto I, there are some beautiful piazzas...particularly Piazza IX Aprile...always in the shadow of a church and with glorious views out to sea and along the coast. The town is bookended by ancient stone doorways...Porta Messina and Porta Catania.
We are finding our holiday groove...aiming for an early start each morning while the air is a bit cooler. Breakfast out, exploring till lunch, siesta, and then out again late afternoon. The hilly walk to and from town...about 15 minutes...is giving us plenty of aerobic exercise and toning up the calves!
To make your way from town to the beach you can take a series of hillside steps or the funivia (cable car). We took the funivia to Mazzarò Beach...well, to the carpark and then down the steps to the beach. The beach is cordoned into three sections, with sun lounges and umbrellas set up for rent. One section belongs to a restaurant...if you rent your spot in their sandy space, you can order food and drink delivered to your sun lounge. There is another space for public rental, and the remaining section belongs to a hotel for use by their guests. At the far end of the beach, sandwiched between the boat tour operators and the hotel section, is a tiny bit of beach where you can drop your towel and enjoy...if you can find enough room!
After a short sit we climbed back up the steps, and headed up the hilly road to Isola Bella beach. The beach is pebbly and the steps down to the beach are lined with vendors selling "water shoes" which enable you to swim and stand without worrying about the pebbles. The beach is all public beach (no sun lounges here!), and a short walk takes you to Isola Bella, a tiny island nature park with an interesting story. I had only enough energy left to re-climb the steps to the road, so Isola Bella will wait for another day.
To make your way from town to the beach you can take a series of hillside steps or the funivia (cable car). We took the funivia to Mazzarò Beach...well, to the carpark and then down the steps to the beach. The beach is cordoned into three sections, with sun lounges and umbrellas set up for rent. One section belongs to a restaurant...if you rent your spot in their sandy space, you can order food and drink delivered to your sun lounge. There is another space for public rental, and the remaining section belongs to a hotel for use by their guests. At the far end of the beach, sandwiched between the boat tour operators and the hotel section, is a tiny bit of beach where you can drop your towel and enjoy...if you can find enough room!
After a short sit we climbed back up the steps, and headed up the hilly road to Isola Bella beach. The beach is pebbly and the steps down to the beach are lined with vendors selling "water shoes" which enable you to swim and stand without worrying about the pebbles. The beach is all public beach (no sun lounges here!), and a short walk takes you to Isola Bella, a tiny island nature park with an interesting story. I had only enough energy left to re-climb the steps to the road, so Isola Bella will wait for another day.
2 comments:
Such cross stitchable patterns on the doors! Are you thinking what I am thinking?
Fi
Your holiday groove sounds perfect. Taormina looks very beautiful - bookended by ancient stone doorways - spectacular.
Lils
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