Spending the first few days of my Sicilian holiday in Taormina turned out to be a wise move. I went there because I’d heard that it was beautiful and ~ strangely enough ~ because it was popular with tourists.
I don’t often go to places that are popular with tourists as I hate crowds. But I was traveling solo, a woman alone, in a totally unfamiliar environment. It also didn’t help that I stuck out like a sore thumb in Sicily, because I look Northern European. So while I blend in when visiting countries such as Norway, Germany or the Netherlands, it is completely obvious that I am a foreigner in southern Italy. Which can be a problem if sometime decides to target you for your money, or because they believe that you have come all this way to Sicily to have an affair with them!
But in Taormina, I was able to relax as I took in the incredible beauty of Sicily, from the snow-covered peaks of Mt. Etna (with its sulky spill of smoke off to one side), an enormous jar from a nearby park, the local fresh fruit market, and a local mansion that proclaimed (in Latin) PARVA DOMUS MAGNA QUIES, which translates as small house, great peace.
Wandering around taking it all in was reassuring, as I found the young men to be extremely polite (probably because I was old enough to be their mothers.) The men who were my age were another matter ~ but I managed. I was careful to wear clothes that looked ladylike, bring a photo album which featured my husband, and even claimed to be older than I was.
If you have never been to Sicily before, you are in for a treat.
