Sicily - Taormina and Riposto

I am slowly getting through photos now that the summer is here and there is a little less work for an old teacher. Which means you get flooded with my past holidays, sorry, kind of not sorry. Here we return to Sicily, ahhhh my beautiful Sicily. I wish I'd learned Italian at school, or just from some of my Italian friends when I was growing up.

Here we visit Taormina, a place made famous by many famous people all the way back to dandiest dandy, Oscar Wilde. For me though, it didn't have the appeal, maybe I was having a bad day, but it just felt bland and cliche.

These stairs were pretty though

The side alleyways are nice.

Nothing like a pothead.

Even though these are smoking related, something I detest, they are still displayed in a nice way.

Our old buddy Etna just hanging around.

So after Taormina and a few stops along the coast on our way back to our accommodation, we decided we would like fish for dinner, so stopped at a lovely little seaside village Riposto. Probably once a grand town, not is it just a series of boarded up houses and some recently updated holiday cottages. That said it was full of rugged beauty. That and the fish was super fresh, super cheap and exquisite when I cooked it in a little olive oil. Alas, it was so lovely I forgot to take photos.

The new

vs the old

If I labelled this modern art I could probably sell if for a fortune.

At the end of the day we decided to make an environmental survey and came up with these lovelies, that are now pressed and dried as a momento. Ahhhh the simple life.

Let's take a walk outside, down by the Royal Castle.

The end of summer is a great time in Warsaw, long balmy evenings and sweaty days strolling about the New town and Powisle districts. If you head to the "bottom of the garden" of the Royal Castle you find some old relics that have been dug up after the bombing/dynamiting of Warsaw as well as a lovely little garden, you can then stroll through to Mariensztat for a coffee and cake or a lounge around in the old Market square by the fountain and watch the grannies walk the dogs or their husbands which ever allows them.

One of the most filmed locations in Warsaw, that is because so many TV shows, movies etc use it. They are called Kamienne Schodki, the stony steps. They must be at least 500 years old the cities women would go down these to get the water from the Vistula for washing and cooking.

As you can see they still film here frequently.

It is quite well kept and nearly impossible to buy a property here.

Some of the wild grasses that pop up around the place

Recovered Relics

More relics, I think this is some kind of animal. Yes I do believe it is a fish

This appears more griffin like

I think he needs a pedicure

The labyrinth in the Castle gardens

And in colour for good measure.

You may remember how it looked in winter when I came to the Arkady Kubeckiego, if not click here on this link. To think for two years I went past this area on the tram or bus on the way to work in Praga and never once came to visit. Now I have been 3 times in 6 months! So many hidden treasures in Warsaw.