Visit to Taormina's Public Gardens

We awoke to sun, though the day became a mix of sun and cloud.  Still cooler than normal with a high of only 13C.  We are slowly adjusting our schedule to Sicilian time, which means going out late morning and coming back to the apartment for a mid afternoon rest and then heading out for a pre-dinner stroll when the stores are open in the late afternoon/early evening ( 4:30-7:30 p.m.).

We wanted to check out the location of the bus station which is past Porta Messina at the other end of the Corso Umberto I.

Finally some sun- my favourite view 

Modern ceramic heads

We walked back from the bus station and decided to get a sandwich from Lucia's- a salumeria recommended to us.  We had sandwiches made up from scratch to take into the nearby Public Gardens (Giardino della Villa Comunale also known as the Parco duca di Cesaro).

Outside of Lucia Salumeria (pic from Internet)

Gorgeous meats and cheeses

View of the Metropole Hotel

The Public Gardens are a lovely quiet spot to sit and look out at the sea.  They were created by Scottish born Florence Trevelyan (1852-1907)  between 1890-99 and bequeathed to Taormina. They are dedicated to Duke Colonna di Casaro.  Lady Florence Trevelyan was a Scottish noble woman who "was invited to leave England" after she had an affair with the Duke of Windsor, the future Edward VII.  She settled in Taormina around 1889 and married a local professor/pathologist Salvatore Cacciola, who was also a mayor of Taormina.  She was an early conservationist and birder. She built a number of "follies" or "beehives", strange structures similar to Chinese pagodas that are found in the gardens.  The gardens were filled with Mediterranean and tropical plants.

Alonso with his sandwich

Part of the garden contains a memorial to Tarominians who died in both World Wars.

Memorial with the names of Taorminians who died in service in World War I and II

There was also a strange human torpedo that was used in World War II.  Apparently, two men in wet suits would propel the torpedo near a target and then detach the warhead and ride away.

Human torpedo

There was an interesting plaque honouring one driver who was killed in 1942 and honoured 50 years after his death.

One of Florence's follies or "beehives"

Three's Company  (sculpture of Florence and Salvatore)

Florence Trevelyan Cacciola 1852-1907

Small fountain 

A rather large "folly" in the gardens

Another "folly" or "beehive"

We continued our walk outside the gardens,  noticing interesting ceramic heads in gardens.

Two's company

A store near the BamBar had some lovely ceramics.

We stopped at BamBar for a small dish of granita and a coffee.  It started to turn cloudy again.

BamBar sign with flavours of Granita

I had a coffee and almond granita and Alonso had strawberry orange.

Caffe and granita

Alonso outside BamBar

We walked back to the apartment.  The light at Piazza IX Aprile was perfect for a picture.

Piazza, Chiesa San Giuseppe and mountain

We rested up and then went for a walk before dinner.  We are still feasting on leftovers from our cooking class.  We had another small pizza before sharing the last of the hand-made macaroni with eggplant and tomato sauce.  We think we'll go out to eat tomorrow.