Taormina

Taormina, a set on Flickr.

Italy- the clothing rules

I am the worst blogger ever!!!! Seriously I haven't even finished editing the pictures from Sicily yet! I will tell you one funny thing about life in Italy right now though. So this weekend it was +25C, which where I'm from in Canada is summer. Well everyone here is still walking around in toques and scarves, coats and sweaters!!!!!! I am NOT KIDDING they look like they are sweating to death. Apparently its all because there is a magical date in Italy and you DO NOT put your winter wardrobe away before that date no matter how hot it gets or you'll get the dreaded "congestione"!! Now I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that stifling yourself up in as many layers as possible in +25 and sunny weather will absolutely weaken your constitution and give you the "congestione!" They look absolutely RIDICULOUS!

They look at us like we're insane though because we're in t-shirts and shorts and dresses with no sweaters or coats. The looks I get are of alarm and worry for Reese, like I'm this awful mother who lets her child out in shorts at +25!
I feel like running around with a sign on me saying "Sono Canadese!" As in, this is as good as it gets sometimes in Calgary!!!
I honestly just can not get over it, it is the strangest thing! I've been told that on or about the 1st of May is the magical date that they can all shed their layers and bring out the summer wardrobe.

Apparently "dressing for the weather" is a totally foreign concept in Italy ;)

Lipari, Aeolian Islands, Sicily

Well our trip over to Lipari on the Aeolian Islands wasn't the best. The ferries hadn't been running all morning because of bad conditions. We got on one of the first ferries heading out and WOW, it was rough!!!!! Poor Reese went like a sheet of paper about 3/4 of the way over and then went clammy and threw up. Thankfully I'd recognized all the impending signs of puke and I'd thrown my north face rain jacket in front of her and she puked all over that. CHARMING. She recovered quickly as soon as we were off the boat though. Lipari is a beautiful island, however I think our opinions were dampened by the poor weather and the fact that we visited in the off season, on a SUNDAY. So hardly anything was open, and we wandered around in the streets which were empty and quite dreary looking with all the businesses closed up!!!! The  hotel we stayed at, Residence Hotel La Giara was lovely, and we if I returned in the summer we would stay there. It had groves of citrus trees in the gardens, and a swimming pool, plus it was very close to the port and the main street with all the shops and restaurants.  There had been a cancellation with the first hotel we booked, they had to close due to some sort of emergency and this hotel was recommended to us. I'm certainly glad it was!!! The trip back to the mainland in the boat wasn't that bad. I think you definitely need more than one night here though. Because we would have liked to have explored Vulcano( the island next to it) which is actually a volcano, and Stomboli which is an active volcano, but we just didn't have time.
ALSO...if you ever decide to go here and have a rental car, you can park it at Garage delle Isole in Milazzo and they pile you into an old car without seatbelts( yeah kind of scary!!!) and drive you to the port and pick you up. It was dirt cheap to do and they had EXCELLENT service!!!!!!!

The streets in Lipari(LEE-pah-ree). I'm sure these islands are awesome in the summer,but they seemed quite  desolate and  depressing in the winter!!!! Lots of the businesses were closed until the "season" started again and the weather was crappy the day we arrived.

Had lots of little alleyways though :)

I adore these steps!!!!!

The cliffs on one side of the island

a peek into the main harbour of Lipari. The ferry comes in and docks just below where I was taking the picture

my artsy shot of a lemon tree in the gardens of the  hotel we stayed in. 

Reese standing among the lemon and orange trees that were EVERYWHERE at the hotel!! It was pretty cool.

Cefalu, Sicily

Cefalu was a beautiful little town on the north coast of Sicily about an hour away from Palermo. We stayed at the Hotel Kalura, which was a very nice hotel, but it was a little too far out of the old town for our liking. It was kind of a resort in itself so if you wanted to go and do that kind of thing in the summer I think it would be a nice one to stay at. If I ever returned to Cefalu though I would stay closer to the main beach/town. 

Cefalu is a town that is mentioned in the histories as far back as 307BC. It sits on a rocky part of land jutting out into the sea. It has a beautiful beach just off the old town. 

It has also been named as one of the most beautiful villages in Italy!!!

These were the mountains we could see driving from Palermo to Cefalu on the North Coast of Sicily. 

The towns are so cool!! This one is built up on the ridge going up a mountain. 

This was the view from our balcony at the Hotel Kalura!! So stunning!

The outdoor eating area viewed from our balcony

Looking along the balconies towards the cliffs that had castle ruins on them. 

Reese getting some park time in at the resort

She also decided that she needed to lie in this chair in the sun for a bit. We were uber paranoid though because if you look in the background there isn't much stopping a two year old from throwing herself over the cliff, which is why Richard is holding onto her!!! They move quick at this age!

The cliffs going down the path to the "beach"

Richard and Reese hanging out on the rocks down at the hotel beach

The "beach" There was a rocky beach type area at the far end, but I imagine that the sun loungers are probably set up here and its probably packed in the summer. There is also a very large pool so I suppose you could sit by that too!

The beach in Cefalu, with the old town in the background. 

Reese and Richard drawing with sticks

It was some serious work

She wouldn't put that thing down!!!!

artsy shot, sunset and beach

Here's your alley shot Karen!!! The streets seemed to go up forever!!

Old Roman healing baths

A archway/tunnel leading from the old town streets out to the beach/docks

Richard and Reese in silhouette

I actually have no idea what we're doing in this picture!!!

I just really liked the lighting

And I absolutely ADORE this shot

The Cefalu Duomo- built in 1131 in Norman architecture style. 

The apse is decorated with what is known as a "Pantocrater" which is Christ represented in a very specific way
"It depicts Christ facing forward, looking melancholy/stern and with his right hand raised in blessing. In his left he always is holding a book. Generally against a gold background and in a semi-dome type of area"

I just liked how the cathedral and statue looked against the cliffs

End of the nice weather, this was the next morning when a huge storm had rolled in overnight and there was gale force winds!! Unfortunately that was also the morning we had to take a ferry across to the Aeolian Islands!!