Sunday, July 12, 2015

Sicily in June

The first week of June we had an amazing 8 day trip to Sicily. The main theme of the trip was beach and relaxation, and it was wonderful! We spent the first half of the vacation in Giardini Naxos, near Taormina, and the second half near Syracusa.

In Giardini Naxos, the Hilton hotel upgraded us to a sea view room. From our balcony we could see the hotel's private beach.


The beach wasn't sandy, but instead it had tiny smooth pebbles. The boys were still able to run and play frisbee, while Hope dug in the pebbles near me.



Richard and the kids enjoyed throwing pebbles into the water.



This is the view from breakfast overlooking the pool and the sea.


In Taormina, there was a cute street that had plenty of shops and restaurants. I grabbed another Christmas ornament as a souvenir, matching my red/gold theme of course. I loved the popular Sicilian colors and designs, which included lemons and greenery in yellow, red and green.


Located at the top of the hill is an old amphitheater called Teatro Antico di Taormina (Ancient Theater of Taormina) which is still in use. From the top of the theater steps you have a great view of the sea and Mount Etna, which is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. Due to the frequency of its activity the soil around it is very rich, making it a great place for vineyards and orchards.



Part of our lunch in Taormina included this rainbow of mouth watering bruschette. This plate was just too pretty not to take a picture.


Our sea side view from dinner one night. We had the best table, which was right by the sand, and we watched an orange moon rise up once it got dark.


We had plenty of fun pool time!


In Siracusa we stayed at a resort, so most of our days were spent at the beach or the pool, but we took one day to go into the historic part of town called Isola di Ortigia. This is really like its own little island, and there is a castle at the very tip. Here we are at the Duomo di Siracusa.


Just a nice view of the green/blue water.


Back at the resort, the kids played pinball for the very first time.



The beach here was sandy so we had fun digging holes and putting kids in them.


And our little dirt baby enjoyed rolling around in the dirt.


The food at the resort was amazing. Fresh fish, octopus (Gabriel's favorite) and mussels. The mussels were so tasty I ended up getting three servings! Hey, don't judge me.




Overall an amazing trip. I highly recommend Sicily. I'm sure there are many more places to visit in Sicily that are just as nice as where we were. We had great food and plenty of sun and relaxation. A successful vacation indeed!

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