August 23, 2023

A very Sicilian birthday weekend

Chiara Di EUROPE, TRAVEL Catania, European Summer, Noto, Ortigia, Sicily, Taormina, Wanderlust 0 Comments

There was no better feeling than finally stepping back into the mother land for my birthday weekend in Sicily.

My time in Sicily was spent wandering historic cities, cooling day in the sea, eating more raw seafood than ever, and eating very late dinners – I think 10.30pm was the standard. I felt like I was constantly eating but that’s what you can expect when in Italy with amazing hosts.

My Sicilian wander started in Catania before making our way down the east coast to San Lorenzo, Marzamemi, Noto, Siracusa and Isola di Ortigia, back up the coast to Giardino, Taormina, Castelmola, Letojanni, and then an unplanned trip to Terrasini and Palermo on the north coast after Catania Airport had a fire.

Following a 2.5 hour delay from Rome, I arrived into a very warm Catania night and was whisked off to dinner at local favourite Da Antonio Trattoria. I left it up to my friend Marica to order local delicacies for us including grilled verdura (vegetables), raw tuna on bread, a fried fish mix, pasta con bottargo do tonno (with tuna roe), pasta ai ricci di mare (with sea urchins), and of course pane (bread) until your heart’s content.

After a good night sleep, I woke up to a selection of Sicilian bakery goods including la cassatella di Agira (a soft biscuit with a chocolate mixture inside – yum!), chocolate brioche and brioche con lo zucchero (with sugar), accompanied by an espresso. I was already being so well looked after.

It was then time for our road trip adventure starting with a beach day in San Lorenzo at Agua Beach, approximately one hour 15 minutes drive from Catania. We pre-booked two sun lounges with an umbrella for €54 and settled in for the day. We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon with service to our lounge. You could also dine in a restaurant back from the beach. It was a sandy beach and the sea was nice and flat and a perfect temperature. It was quite windy too which made me feel better about the summer sea breezes of Perth.

We visited the fishing village of Marzamemi for a sunset aperitivo at La Balata overlooking the marina. It was a sweet town which Marica tells me comes to life at night.

We then settled into our Air BnB for the night in Noto, a beautiful ancient city of Baroque architecture in the south east of Sicily. The city centre becomes pedestrian only in the evenings when the city comes to life.

We dined in the heart of Noto at Rosso Tannico on antipasto, pasta con vongole and wine, watching the night go by. There were artisan night markets where I purchase some smiling sun earrings, very well suited. I finally had my first gelato – the perfect digestive. Once the clock struck midnight we had a tequila shot to celebrate the arrival of my birthday.

We were out in the morning and off to Isola di Ortigia, in the historical centre of Syracuse, for breakfast. It was a very hot morning. We found a café with a nice shady courtyard for breakfast and enjoyed a simple croissant, coffee and orange juice.

We wandered through Piazza Duomo and browsed the shops. I came out with a new dress bag to match my birthday dress for the evening. We walked along the sea front back to the car to try and keep cool, admiring all the super yachts. Ortigia was a beautiful baroque seaside city with great shopping and culture – I would definitely visit again during the cooler months.

It was then Taormina time – the beautiful hilltop town with the Ionian Sea and Mt Etna as it’s backdrops. It was a one hour 45 minute drive north from Ortigia to our apartment in Taormina. We then got the birthday party started, going out on my family friends’ boat and cruising along the coast of Taormina and past Isola Bella with prosecco in hand. There were so many incredible super yachts around! It was so nice being by and in the sea to cool off from the high temperatures. We repeated this the following day too, cause why not.

I was spoilt to a beautiful birthday dinner at Il Giardino di Babilonia – among an almost secret garden in the middle of Taormina. We ordered a cooked fish platter and a raw Mediterranean fish platter to start – I’ve never eaten so much raw seafood including raw prawn for the first time. I tried another Sicilian pasta delicacy for main – La Busiata Trapanese – a tuna pasta with olives and capers. I was also surprised to a nocciolo gelato (my favourite) birthday cake. We ended the night with a walk through Taormina’s art street and a night cap at Hotel Metropole lounge bar. Then it was back down the hill on scooters in our fancy dresses. A truly special birthday I will remember forever.

We were staying at the base of Taormina next to the train station and the centre of town was a 1.5km drive or walk uphill. We decided to do a morning hike up, trying to get out of the house by 9am, but temperatures were already soaring. It was a very slow, sweaty walk up but a very rewarding feeling once we made it to the top where Taormina’s beautiful Public Gardens were. Lucky we brought sweat towels!

We enjoyed the locals summer breakfast of brioche and granita at the famed Bam Bar. It’s walk-ins only so you have to line up but luckily it moved quite quickly and we were cooling down on granita before we knew it. I could get used to this breakfast combo.

I was well looked after for lunch at home too – dried bacala (cod), fresh sword fish, raw gamberoni (red prawns), sliced tomatoes with chilli and olives complemented by a cooled Syrah with yellow peach – it was giving me sangria vibes. It was then lobster and cherry tomato pasta for dinner with Sicily’s famous ricotta cannoli for dessert. I think I’ve almost eaten all the delicacies!

I woke up the next morning to a message from my airline saying that my flight to London was cancelled for that day. I didn’t realise at the time that it was due to a fire at Catania Airport. So I frantically booked a new flight for the next morning, realising later that the airport had a planned closure of two days. More about that later.

So what to do when stuck in Sicily? More wandering of course. It was a Monday and Marica was back to work so I hopped on the back of her Dad’s scooter and we went to visit Castelmola, a small town above Taormina. It had amazing views over Taormina and the bay. We walked around the town and visited Il Bar Turrisi – a famous bar for many reasons – for a souvenir almond liqueur shot. I also enjoyed some time shopping in Taormina buying some swimsuits – I’m loving the options in Italy – and an Italian linen scarf.

In the afternoon we visited Letojanni, a small beach town, for a brioche and granita lunch (yes you can dine on it all day) and a swim at the beach. It wasn’t as comfortable a swim as jumping off the boat as my feet were two precious for the pebbles – something I forgot about!

We went back to Catania that night and the extended stay allowed me to enjoy a little wander around the city centre through Piazza Duomo, and along the main pedestrian street to old town Catania. Catania is known as the ‘black city’ due to Mt Etna’s volcanic ash darkening it’s buildings. I enjoyed a very flavoursome pre-dinner arancini al ragu snack at Prestipino Duomo which seemed like a bit of an institution – before finally some delicious pizza at hip venue Botanike.

I then discovered my new flight was cancelled for the next morning and was starting to feel very anxious about being able to leave Sicily. I spent most of the next morning finding a solution and ended up booking an early morning flight out of Palermo the next day. It meant only one day in London instead of three but I was so determined to get there.

I was very grateful to my family friends for driving me the three hours to Palermo for the night to be able to catch my flight. I stayed at an Air BnB and enjoyed dinner in Terrasini, another picturesque seaside town – they definitely do them well. We enjoyed a beautiful seafood farewell dinner at Ristorante I Faraglioni.

My airport transfer picked me up at 4am and I arrived to the chaos of ITA Airways check-in at Palermo Airport for my 6am flight. There were huge lines, no order and the air-conditioning wasn’t coping. I felt very faint. I eventually skipped the queue and checked in after my flight was called out specifically. It was a very stressful end to my time in Sicily and I can’t explain the relief I felt arriving into Milan for my connecting flight to London.

I really did have an amazing time wandering the west coast of Sicily with my Italian connections. I was treated so well, like family of course, and ate some of the freshest food I have ever experienced. I will never forget how special my birthday in Taormina was, it is one for the memory books and I am so grateful.

It’s crazy to think but I am off on a girls trip to Bali this weekend, so will be back to share this and more European wanders soon.

LWL xxx