Gael Arthur finds the good life on a beach in Sicily



Taormina is one of those places that, once you visit, you will wonder two things.  Firstly, why did it take you so long to find this place and secondly, could you extend your trip. 

SICILIAN STYLE

Taormina, 

Mount Etna 
And a beach to die for 




As the largest island in the Mediterranean, it is strategically placed, generally finding itself considered as just that – a useful, strategically placed piece of land.  

This is the curse and the blessing of Sicily:  For more than twenty-five centuries, marauding cultures have left evidence of their claims to this island.  

Valued for what it could contribute to its overlords, regardless of the desires and dreams of the natives, Sicily has always been a separate entity.  

Sounds pretty much like a curse and not really a blessing?  Well, if you put it in the context of the world of tourism, the blessing of Sicily’s history comes into play in this century.

For the tourist who has visited Greece, marveled at the Acropolis and looked into the bay at Santorini, wondering if Atlantis really lies beneath those brilliant blue waters, Sicily goes one better.  

The Greek ruins in Sicily are in much better shape and fit in much more comfortably with their environment. 

Mount Etna offers a study of a volcano in action, rather than a
geohistorical perspective (all right, that one is definitely in the eye
of the beholder, not many of us really want to see an active volcano up close and personal).

Early Christianity in Sicily took its influence from the Eastern side of the church; then, after a few hundred years of Arab rule, the Normans moved in.  The Spanish had their turn as well – each invading force expended a lot of energy building both fortresses and churches, generally using materials and foundations of the societies they conquered. 

  For the lovers of Baroque excess, Sicily is like a jewel-studded Fabergé egg, astonishing on the outside, but even more intriguing if you can find the latch that will open it up for you.

For lovers of architecture, Sicily is like being a kid in a candy store.  For photographers, the challenge is to soften the often harsh sun, preventing it from bleaching out the subtle colours, the pale sage green of the olive tree leaves, the shades of beige and brown that delineate the buildings.  

For gourmets and gourmands, the seafood is above reproach and the desserts positively addictive.
The wines of Sicily offer the full gamut – simple of subtle, light and amusing or dark and brooding.  The quality to price ratio is exceptional.

Sicily is a country that demands you take your time – there is no point in rushing, it simply won’t help you get there any faster.  Ideal for a vacation, particularly if you have already had a day or two to start the slowing down process.  

It’s hard to know where to start, but there is no question where to make sure you have a few days – Taormina is one of those places that, once you visit, you will wonder two things.  Firstly, why did it take you so long to find this place and secondly, could you extend your trip.  Of course, when you get home and get your pictures back, you will wonder when you can manage to get back there again.

Taormina is perched on one of those perfect see-for-miles mountains that afforded those old marauders views of the oceans to the north, east and south for miles and miles.  The terrain leading up the fortress gave ample protection as well.  

Today, the town is not a place to bother with the hassle of a vehicle.  Instead, a quick gondola ride is the smart way to arrive at one of the beautiful stone entry gates.  

Taormina is a walker’s paradise, with its archeological treasures calmly waiting for the visitor, eyes agog with the beauty of the successful marriage of architecture and geography.  Even if you don’t have an engineering bone in your body, the logistics of getting all those building materials up the steep face of the mountain will stagger your imagination.  From Greeks and Romans to Arabs and Spaniards, all contributed to this treasure trove high above the sparkling ocean, often borrowing foundations from predecessors, the first of which having snagged the best vantage points.

 I digress, I was supposed to be telling you about beaches.  Sicily has a varied coastline, lots of jagged rocks and deep water ports.  But, count among your many reasons for visiting Taormina the fact that you can spend a long day walking and looking and breathing in the wonderful air, glancing over at Etna in the distance, foggy with the steam she generates pretty much all the time, knowing all the while that the best of all worlds awaits you down at the foot of Monte Tauro.  

The Grand Hotel Mazzarò Sea Palace has the kind of name that makes you wonder whether they can deliver.  They can – as soon as you walk in, you know you will be looked after.  Check-in is effortless, the room is perfect. 

  Most perfect of all, the patio that looks out onto the private beach, the place to spend the next day.  This is as close to having your cake and eating it too as a beach resort can be.  Cake starts at breakfast, where the array of Sicilian specialties both abound and overwhelm. 

  I tend to be a fruit and maybe an egg kind of breakfast eater, but the pastries and cakes demand a taste.  Coffee is, of course, the best imaginable, served by a wait staff that is as attentive as they need be, not more, not less. 

The private beach stretched along on a perfect little bay.  You can have attention from staff or oblivion – hotel personnel seem to have a sixth sense about the level of service you want.  The chaise, the umbrella, the drink.  About all you need to worry about is your own reading material (they probably have that as well, I didn’t ask). 

  For those who simply want to relax, it’s easy, but the opportunity to get in the water beyond paddling about is also there – water skiing, scuba, whatever you want, they will organize it for you.

To me, this is the kind of place for people who have a lot of different interests and are happy leaving each other to explore things individually, but are also demanding on comfort and service.  

The volcano aficionado can spend a day tromping about Etna (depending on the level of activity, different roads and hiking trails are open – this is the sort of thing you definitely want a local to guide you on), while another can lounge at the beach or go shopping. Did I mention that Taormina has an amazing array of international shops interspersed with local things – it is a terrific place for window shopping, although I can’t recommend the place for bargains. 

Oops, back to the water.  For a lot of people, the beach is a place you get sandy and sticky.  The Mazarrò Sea Palace, like other hotels along this strip of sand, had the foresight to place a large swimming pool just above the beach, so that if you want to do the poolside thing, you also get the view and feel of the beach, without compromising your pedicure.  

I could write another thousand words about the restaurant, but figure I am better off giving you one of their recipes. 

The restaurant “Il Gatopardo” is deserving of a spread in Architectural Digest and the food would make William Grimes or AA Gill sit up and take notice (maybe it already has).  The magical feeling of heading past the piano bar into the restaurant is one I intend to repeat as soon as I can manage it.  Of course, now that I have been to Sicily, I am aware of all the things I missed and have to see, but it’s always important to revisit the highlights.

http://www. taormina.it

http://www.mazzaroseapalace.it