Hey Sea Lovers,

I hope you all enjoyed our Puglia Dreaming and that we inspired you to plan and book your next seaside adventure. I am excited to share our Sicily itinerary with you all.

We had heard great things about Sicily, and when we planned our overall Italian escape, we decided to hire one car for the whole trip and not be bound by plane, train and bus departure times, but rather to take it slower and drive between each location at a pace that suited our 13 travellers most of whom were teeny tiny people.

So we drove 4 hours from Puglia to Tropea (stayed overnight) and 2 hours from Tropea to Taormina to get to the island. I say island, but it's really like its own little country. We arrived via the 20 minute car ferry, which was a real eye-opener for our country kids. Ferries travel every 20 minutes from port to port, and it was super easy to get a ticket and jump on board with very little waiting time. From Messina to Taormina, it was an easy and beautiful drive.

We were recommended Taormina over and over again. However, closer to our trip, rumours of the island's north side were tempting us to split our trip between sides. Scopello was calling. We decided to spend the full 7 nights we had in Taormina and just relax, which we don't regret. However, we would love to return to Palermo, Cefalu and Scopello another time. It seems if you have a week, it's best to pick a side as they are a 4 hours apart…

So Taormina. We stayed right on the edge of town in a fantastic Airbnb with panoramic views of the mountainside and the beaches just south of Taormina. The bonus was that it had a car park for all 3 of our cars, a little practical win. Here's what we did.

On our first night, we settled in, made some pasta and relaxed pool side. My baby girl Camille turned 1, so we put a party hat on her and sang her happy birthday, don't tell her she didn't get any presents. She doesn't know.

Day 1.

We ventured into town and found the best little markets (google Mercato Comunale) open daily with fresh produce, meat, seafood and free espresso (if you are friendly and are carrying a baby). We spent the entire day poolside, eating, reading books and relaxing. Sometimes when you travel, the pressure to see it all can take over. We booked spacious accommodations because of the size of our group and didn't regret it, as some days, the kids (and adults) just needed to relax! In saying that, that evening, we put the kids to bed and headed into town!

We had an aperitif at a cocktail bar in town, you have to try a Limoncello Spritz at least once in Italy, and we went to dinner at Mama Rosa. While the reviews weren't great, we had the best time and meal. It was a dream to sit in a crowded back alleyway on cobblestones and enjoy the hustle of a late-night meal under the stars. It's been a while since I've eaten at 11 pm with my boyfriend (jokes, we've been married 11 years), and to top the night off, street performers were singing Opera… I loved it.

I also came across this great shop. If you love sneakers, it's for you.

Day 2.

Ok, so we innocently thought Taormina was seaside, and while it technically is, it's a good 30 minute hike to get to the water. We packed our towels, sorted the huge amount of children that we were travelling with and ventured out for a beach day. It was hectic. We walked 15 minutes through the crowded town to get to a cable car. We cable carted down to the beach and walked into Taormina Beach, only to find out that there was no public beach there and the only option was a beach club. The $100-$300 euro cost per couple isn't too bad on your own, but when there is 13 people it adds up, we only did this 2-3 times in the trip. So! We hiked back up the stairs and decided to venture to Isola Bella (which was our first choice anyway, but the kids couldn't possibly dream of walking any further). We walked the 200 steps down to Isola Bella and found a public spot with shade, and we were winnninnnnngg again. We sipped on granita, hired stand-up paddle boards and snorkelled around the islands and into the grotto nearby. It was a dream day in the end, and we forgot the pain of the walk as quickly as the children did. We took the kids to Bam Bar on the way home. It's 100% a must, daily if you can. Eat the brioche with the ice cream like a local and use it to motivate your children back up the stairs.

That night we left all 7 kids sleeping with the grandparents and headed out again into town. Take. Me. Back. I can't remember where we ate and didn't take any photos. I was losing track of the days. I was the island, and the island was me.

Day 3.

We ventured up to Mount Etna, having an active imagination. I was a total mother hen who was planning evacuation routes the whole way up. It's apparently a totally safe volcano, and I had nothing to fear. The kids loved it. We just drove to the base, where you can see the most recent lava flow. We had friends climb it who said it was pretty amazing up the top, but it took hours of grey gravel to get there, not for us. We had espresso, took a little walk, and headed back to one of the restaurants in the forest on the way down. There were so many beautiful vineyards, and we tried to go to a few for a tasting, but they were all closed with no reason why?

We had dinner in town at the gardens - Villa Comunale di Taormina to be exact, it was pizza and beer, and the kids played and played and played. I can't recommend these gardens enough for a stroll, laze, play or wander. It was well worth it.

Day 4.

We visited the Greek Theatre and loved it. So incredibly fascinating, we did the tour, and I honestly found the Wiki page read over breakfast more informative, and strolling at your own pace was much less stressful. Save the euro and walk around yourself, I say. The film festival was on while we were there so we didn't go to any shows, but we would have loved to as we have heard it's amazing.

The afternoon was spent with more granita, more Bam Bar, more pasta…. more more more! Eek, I started googling how to make granita cause I can't live without it now.

Day 5.

We decided to visit a new town for the day and picked Syracuse - Ortigia. It's an 80 minute drive if the traffic is right, and it's this beautiful ancient town built on a peninsula, the old part of town is where to go, and you can drive right up to it and park, then walk in, and it's super pram friendly. There are markets and alleyways to explore, a beautiful old fort on the edge of town and great restaurants and shopping. Most locations have vistas out to the sea and boats coming and going. We loved it. We planned on swimming because we love swimming and it's hot. It was such a mission. But there are two swimming locations on the north side of the island that are relatively easy to find. I highly recommend this location for a day or stay.

Day 6.

We ventured back to Isola Bella for the day and floated allll day, snorkelling, sipping limoncello, eating granita and listening to music from one of the beach clubs. In total denial that we leave the next day and that there are 200 stairs, a cable car and a long walk home.