Last day in Siracusa- Hello to Taormina!

Thursday March 10 was our last full day in Siracusa.  We wandered around our favourite haunts, packed, and went out for an aperitivo and dinner.

We started with a walk through the market followed by a coffee at our favourite cafe.  Still can't get over paying just four euros for an excellent expresso, macchiato, and two cornettos.

At one end of the market, cleaning sea urchin

Alonso with macchiato- guy behind was already having an aperol spitz at about noon

Building across from the caffe

We spent the mid-afternoon packing.  We then headed out for an aperitivo at about 6:00.  There was a blinking beacon at a lighthouse.

Lighthouse at dusk

We went to Tinkite, recommended as an interesting place for a drink.  It had a lovely outside patio, but it was too cool to sit outside.   We were the only people when we ordered our glasses of wine.  The bartender recommended a Sicilian Syrah, that was one of best wines we have had so far.  We also had a plate of aperitivo snacks, that was lovely.  The bartender's mother had made the caponata.

Outside of Tinkite

Appy plate-- gorgeous tomatoes, caponata,

Inside of bar

Alonso with aperitivo snacks-- 

After our lovely glasses of wine, we wandered some more and then went for dinner at Osteria Mariano which featured the cuisine of the Iblei mountains (southeastern Sicily).  The place was recommended in the Guardian as a classic good-value Sicilian trattoria with interesting dishes.

Sign outside restaurant

Each table was given a plate with a orange, onion and olive oil salad to start.  Very good- of course, the oranges in Sicily are awesome.

Orange-onion salad

Alonso waiting for his food

We shared a wonderful octopus in a tomato sauce and an incredible pasta made with mint, basil, pine nuts and fennel.  It came with a bowl of pistachios to sprinkle on top.  Very green.  We also had an insalada mixta.

Octopus in a tomato sauce

Green, Green, pasta and pistachios for the topping

After dinner we were given a plate of candied ginger and sesame treats with a carafe of sweet wine.  Out entire dinner, with a bottle of water and a carafe of house wine came to 28 euros.  Very good food and reasonable.  Mix of locals and tourists.

Treats for dessert that went to every table

Outside of Da Mariano

We walked back to the apartment through the Piazza del Duomo.  It is lovely at night with the white stone and Doric columns.  It was almost deserted.

Duomo on the left side of photo

Doric column on one side of Duomo

Building opposite Duomo

Square with Church with Caravaggio picture  (green door)

On Friday March 11 we awoke to pouring rain.  We finished packing and Alonso went out to get us an amazing sandwich for our train ride.  A friend had just sent us an article from the San Francisco Gate newspaper about Siracusa.  It mentioned Caseificio Borderi, a small deli and cafe near the market not far from our apartment.  It tends to be full of locals.   The sandwich maker prepares the house specialty with some variations  (one can pick the cheese and meat).  It takes about five minutes to make the sandwich with has meat, cheese, chopped up vegetables and herbs in a crunchy bread.  There is usually a line-up.

Explaining the sandwich

Chopping the vegetables 

Our sandwich being put together

The rain stopped and the sun came out just as we left the apartment.  We ended up walking to the train station, as the shuttle bus didn't seem to be coming.  We caught the 12:53 train, which was virtually empty for the first half of the trip.  At Catania and the following few stops, lots of students got on and off.

Girl on the Train- eating her half of the giant sandwich

 We got to the Taormina railway station at around 3:00 p.m.  The station is located at the seaside, down from Taormina, which is located half way up a mountain.  We took a taxi up to the square where our host Antonello met us.  The apartment is located on a street a taxi can not go on.  Antonello helped us with our luggage and introduced us to the apartment.  It is located on the main floor of a small apartment building.  One enters from the street.   It is very bright and clean and well organized.  Antonello and his family use it themselves for part of the summer.   They live in Massina.

View from entrance- living room with bedroom in the distance

Dining room table looking at kitchen and bathroom

Bedroom

Dining room and part of living room-- door to outside.

Kitchen looking at bathroom

Our door is the first on the left of the picture

Just down the street- a hotel that hasn't yet opened for the season

Near the place the taxi left us off was the small Chiesa di Sant Antonio Abale.  The church had originally been built in around 1300, but was almost totally destroyed in 1943 by Allied bombing.  It was rebuilt from 1945-48.

Chiesa di Sant Antonio Abale

Even thought it was quite gloomy, we took this picture of the sea from an outlook near the church.

View of the sea

We unpacked, went to the supermarket, and then headed out at again at around 6:00 p.m.   As in the rest of Sicily, most stores are closed from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. They usually open from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.  

 The light from a bell tower in a nearby church was lovely.

Light in a bell tower

We started to walk down Corso Umberto, which is the pedestrian main street of Taormina.  While we were looking at a map, a young woman from New York who is Taormina for a month studying Italian, asked if we needed help.   We got to chatting and she took us to her favourite cheese and charcuterie shop down a narrow street.  Absolutely an amazing store-- all the cheeses were hand made.  The store also sells wine.  We got some sheep ricotta cheese, some bread and some prosciutto.  The woman from New York told us where the daily market is located and also told us where a good butcher could be found.

Cheeses up close

Counter at La Bottega del Formaggio

We decided to stop for our first coffee of the day at Mocambo Cafe and Tea Room.  We had the coffees at the bar.  The Mocambo has been around since 1952.  It has lovely outdoor seating, but it was a very chilly evening.  Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams both frequented this Cafe back in the day.

Alonso with his macchiato

Outside of Mocambo Cafe and Tea Room

We started to walk back to the apartment, but stopped at the luxury jean shop Jacob Cohen.  Even though a made-up name, Jacob Cohen has been selling up-scale jeans from 1985.  Since 2003, the son of the owner upped the ante on style.  They use Japanese denim and the jeans are hand-crafted in Veneto, in northern Italy.  There was a sale and Alonso found a cool pair for himself.

Alonso in his new jeans

We went back to the apartment for a pasta with pistachio sauce and salad dinner.  The apartment is very bright and comfortable.  We will explore more of Taormina tomorrow.