If you listen hard, maybe you’ll hear me screaming
March 16th, 2005 | Posted by Shannon
OK, I am officially in love with Taormina (again.)
It is so unbelievably beautiful here! Today it is very clear and you can see Mt. Etna perfectly, covered with snow and smoking. And it is warm, a perfect day to sit and stare at a volcano with your face in the sun.
I am on my own today. The ladies all went to Siracusa. I did not go because a) I have been there and b) there was no room in the car for me. Also c) I am cooking for them tonight, so came into town to forage for provisions. Plus d) I want to play my music really super loud and run around the villa screaming for a while.
That villa is AWESOME. I think what is making me allergic is in my room. There are some ugly Picasso drawings in my room and that may be what is killing me in there. But in the morning everyone goes right outside my window to have coffee on the terrace, and I throw open my window and say Buon Giorno, looking all glamorous (not.)
I think those Picassos may be originals because they are way too ugly to be prints. Also in my room there is a framed thing that says “Love with Sex” and some other weird stuff. I think it was decorated circa 1967. Some kind of bizarre love nest. I am having crazy dreams.
Yesterday, we walked around Taormina and then ate a huge lunch (at Rosta-whatever, Tom) and then went to the ancient Greco-Roman theater. It was so hot. Between the pasta and the sun, I could have laid right down on that ancient rock and slept. But then we went next door to the Grand Hotel Timeo, all faded elegance, and had a bottle of white wine on the outdoor patio there. The view was killer and the wine good and not too outrageous.
There are ghosts everywhere. Ghosts in the crazy fish market in Catania, ghosts in the Greek Ampitheater. There are ghosts in the Grand Hotel Timeo. I am high up on a mountain surrounded by ghosts, in search of the perfect Salsiccia. God, I love it here.
March 16th, 2005 at 12:37 pm
Shannon: There is a really great little wine bar in Taormina on the way to the public gardens. Small and with good snacks. Sorry, I don’t have the name. But definitely a local hangout. We were the only people there that were not regulars.
March 16th, 2005 at 8:40 pm
Shannon, it is such a treat to be able to read your blog while you are traveling. Keep posting every chance you get! The 60s are responsible for a lot of bad decorating…
March 17th, 2005 at 6:03 am
Hey, just one more day. I know Sammi is counting down, are you??
May 21st, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Only four years later….I saw your link on Slow Travel (you responded to a post I made about Blood Oranges). I am lovin’ your old blog…excellent writing…you should be in the business. Thanks for letting me travel a week early through your experiences. Jim