Hello From Sicily Italian Studies, A Pottery Lesson And

Hello From Sicily Italian Studies, A Pottery Lesson And A Hike Up Mount Etna

On a gorgeous morning following a good sleep after last nights cooking lesson I woke up at about 6 am and stepped out on the balcony of my hotel room. The sun was just coming up, and the sky was filled with shades of purple and pink. Far away I could see the outline of a strip of land: the Italian mainland, more precisely the Region of Calabria, was visible on this clear day for the first time. The aerial distance between Taormina and the southern tip of Italy is about 40 kilometres, and this sunrise view across the Ionian Sea was simply gorgeous.

I decided to get up early and take a stroll through beautiful Taormina, before the hustle and bustle of the day would kick in. My hotel, Hotel Villa Nettuno, is located on the north side of town on Via Pirandello, outside of the citys gates. I really enjoyed the location since it was quieter and yet just steps away from the amazingly busy Corso Humberto, Taorminas main street in a pedestrian area.

Having strolled through the northeastern Porta di Messina I reached a still quiet piazza in front of the Palazzo Corvaja, seat of the first...