Exploring the tiny towns of Sicily

After two wonderful days in Taormina, we decided to explore some other nearby ocean cities.  The next day we went to Acireale. We arrived after breakfast but were surprised to see how quiet it was there.  It was a Sunday but none of the shops were open and few cafes were open.  After a quick walk around the city, we settled in at a cafe for two rice balls (Jack demolished the first one) and some pastries as a mid-morning snack. 

The architecture was beautiful

Wish things weren't closed:(

As we wandered around this fairly deserted city, we stumbled upon a neat walkway which led to the water.   After a ramp, an odd spiral staircase, and a long cobblestone path, we finally got to the main walkway to the Sea.  The zigzagged and uneven cobblestone pathway was extremely long.  After huffing it down a third of the path, we realized that it was going to much more difficult getting back up with the double stroller so we turned around.

Poor Carl hiked it up with the stroller.  Blueberries and raspberries greeted us at the top of the hill.   Carl could not reach them on his own so he used his little helper to grab the berries:)

Look at my strong hunky husband!

Jack thought it was hilarious that he would eat all of the berries before he could give them to the rest of us

There Jack goes again

On our way out of the city, we walked through the residential area.  Sophia was so excited to walk all by herself.  She didn't want to be in the stroller anymore.

From Acireale, we left and went to Acitrezza, which was a neighboring city less than 10 minutes away. We all preferred Acitrezza because the city was more lively, had a beautiful seaside village, and lots to do.  After being pretty bummed about Acireale, Carl decided we needed to liven up our afternoon.  Jack and Carl's bathing suits were still in the rental car.  I had left mine at the hotel.  He convinced me to buy a bathing suit from a street vendor and spend the afternoon swimming out in the sea and lay on the rocks.   It was WONDERFUL!

Jack and Mommy waiting for the boat to take us out

This was one of my favorite little cities in Sicily

Sophie sleeping through the boat ride 

Look who is up! What a great sight to wake up to!

Everyone rents boats for the day.  There are paddle boats, sail boats and motor boats.  Everyone is sunning on the boats, and lots of teenagers use them as hangouts and jump into the water from there.

The color of the water was so beautiful.  It was so clear and you could see all of the fish.  On a hot day, this is so refreshing.

POTTERY GALORE...CALTAGIRONE!!!

While we were in Taormina, we stumbled into a shop that sold beautiful Italian ceramic pottery.  I found an antipasti dish and decided that this would be a great souvenir from our trip.  On some weekends when we are home (which rarely happens any more) and the kids are napping, we treat ourselves to a Mediterranean lunch of olives, cheeses, fresh veggies and dried fruits.  We drink a bottle of wine and relax outside by our little river.  I thought it would be special to have something that we could use and also served as a memory of our wonderful vacation.  After talking to the salesperson, Carl realized that all of the pottery was made in a small town 20 minutes away from the military base.  On Monday morning, Carl drove Jack, Sophia and I to this remote little city for a day of pottery shopping.

In all honesty, I am not sure what made me think this was a good idea.  Carl basically drove us over an hour away from the hotel, dropped me and the kids off to play with extremely expensive Sicilian pottery and left me there for eight hours by myself to explore.  We couldn't figure out where the city center was so he kind of just left us "near it."  With a few words of Italian, some hand gestures and nice people, I found my way.  On my way to the shops, an old couple stopped me.  They wanted to greet the children.  The woman told me the children were beautiful, smiled at me and then with her whole hand reached down and grabbed my butt.   She was about 85 and found this completely appropriate.  I giggled and we were on our way.

When we spotted a trackless tourist train parked in the center of the city, I sighed with relief!  I knew our day was going to be great!   Of course Jack saw the train too and reminded me that this was a must-do during our stay at Caltagirone.  After going into a few stores and having no luck finding my antipasti dish, we decided to stop for a mid-morning snack.  Feeling a little overwhelmed, I indulged in my absolute favorite dessert, a homemade nutella crepe, and Jack had a limon granita.

They had wifi at this cafe so I was able to use the ipad to figure out where to head next.  

Jack and Sophia were troopers.  Being in Europe, Jack has really enjoyed leaving the stroller and walking around the city like a big boy.  Parts of the city were kid friendly.   I loved how the city buildings and architecture had mosaics and pottery tiles on the walls, stairs and statues.  

You can see the mosaic tiles on the walls.  Each one is unique and beautiful

I would love to have just one of pieces that line the walkway.  They really add to the character of the city and show how important the pottery industry is to the city's economy.

After exploring a few more stores and getting more frustrated that there were TONS of plates in Taormina to choose from and here in the place of origin I couldn't find one, we decided to hop on the trackless train for a little excursion through the city.  Jack and Sophie both loved it, and I got to explore some more areas than I could by foot.    The kids were zonked after the train and so I put them back in the stroller for a nap.  I stumbled upon this beautiful park.   It felt like being in a storybook.  It was so perfect!

It was really nice that the park was pedestrian only.  Sophia was able to explore.  

When the kids woke up, they needed some strawberry applesauce.  They love that stuff!!!

These photos turned out this way because of the fog that developed on the hill.  Sophie loved climbing these stairs.

While the kids slept, I was able to walk into the pottery museum that is next to the park.  They have such beautiful historic pieces.  

Carl came and met us at the park, and we got to show him the beautiful trees and mosaics on the buildings.  We took him to the city center, and showed him one of the city's main attractions, the 142 mosaic stairs in the city center.  Carl, Jack and Sophia actually walked the whole thing while I watched.

After the stair climbing, we all had worked up an appetite!  We were able to find a quaint cafe that was willing to open early for us.  Dinner normally starts at 8 pm but they opened an hour early to serve just us.  The owner had a young daughter, Jack's age.  He was quite smitten with her, and they played mickey mouse ipad games while we waited for our meal.    After dining on some fabulous pasta, we made our way through the city.  I finally found the perfect antipasti ceramic dish and Carl fell in love with some local art.  We gathered up all of our new art souvenirs and headed home after a long day.  We had lots of fun exploring, and we didn't break a single piece of pottery!