Maureenm
Reged: 03/19/03
Posts: 185
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I'm thinking of planning a trip there for September. Can anyone advise of good places to stay , say in Taormina? And can you see most of the island with that as your base or would it be best to divide the trip between there and maybe Agrigento(sp)?
I did hear some rather nasty things about the Grand Hotel Timeo which is supposed to be a five star. Anyone have any experiences in Sicily that they would like to share? Many thanks.
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daniela
Reged: 11/05/03
Posts: 42
Loc: Duesseldorf, Germany
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Great place to stay in Taomina is the Hotel "San Domenico", gorgeous old convent but quite expensive. Villa Doidoro is near the old center and nice, but not compareable to the Domenico. The island is too big to explore from Taomina, so you should change the place. Agrigento is a must!
Sardinia is very nice island as well.
Have a great trip.
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Mike R
Reged: 05/26/03
Posts: 15742
Loc: Stinson Lake - New Hampshire
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we stayed at the Lido in Taomina which was just alright but the San Dominico was truly awsome looking....I loved Sicily and have plans to go back many times.....it is the same as it always has been which is a rare treat these days to find....Syracusa....the whole Taomina area...Mt Etna area...they are all beautiful....and if you get to the northwest side of the island...a little town called Alcamo ( which is my family's namesake and of course where they lived) is a quaint little village surrounded by even more quaint little villages.....the only part of Sicily that sucks is Palermo...the rest is magnificent!....you will never taste and smell lemons like you will in Sicily...and there is a local wine called Donna Fugato....they dont export at all...they only bottle for Sicilians...and the wine is to die for...you must try it
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karma is a beautiful thing at times
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Maureenm
Reged: 03/19/03
Posts: 185
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Thanks Daniela and Mike. The San Domenico is outrageously expensive ( I usually save my real splurges for St. Barts) and as we are going to SBH in April, those kind of prices will probably be out of the question. Palermo holds no interest for us either. My husband's family was from Corleone, but I think we might pass that up too. He doesn't know of anyone there anymore and his family name is associated with a former mafia chief there so I think we will skip that area. Any one know of good hotels in Siracusa or Agrigentro. We are planning on renting a car and getting around ourselves as we usually do in Europe.
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Sandy
Reged: 09/11/03
Posts: 220
Loc: South Philadelphia
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I'm sorry, but I can't resist posting this joke in regard to Corleone -- the town featured on The Godfathers, of course. I think it was Jay Leno a couple weeks ago who said, "The people of Corleone want to change the name of their town because it's notorious for the Mafia, made famous by The Godfather movies. They want to change the name to 'Bada-Bing.'"
OK, I thought it was funny ... ;)
Haven't been to Sicily yet, but if you change your mind about Palermo, I have a close friend who lives near there, in Carini. Close to beach and mountains. Just duck when you hear a popping sound. (Kidding, kidding!)
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South Philly vs. St. Barth -- Hmmm ...
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SELES
Reged: 03/15/03
Posts: 1826
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Dittos Mike R...you stuck it perfectly. Cannot say more. Ric
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Maureenm
Reged: 03/19/03
Posts: 185
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Okay, my trip to Sicily is planned for the end of Sept. but a hotel i booked in Agrigento called Villa Athena gets very mixed reviews. Some travel books love it but reviews on tripadvisor.com are pretty negative. It seems that the location is the draw here, anyone been there ? Or should we be staying at another hotel there or just out of the area that would be nicer. I prefer four stars when I travel.
thanks
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Mike R
Reged: 05/26/03
Posts: 15742
Loc: Stinson Lake - New Hampshire
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We stayed at Colleverde and loved it....Agrigento is a great place...the temples are a must see...they are in amazingly good shape.....and dont forget to sample Donna Fugato wines...they are the best of what Sicily has to offer....and staying true to themselves...they dont export..I miss Sicily so much.....we re trying to put together a trip in 05
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karma is a beautiful thing at times
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Maureenm
Reged: 03/19/03
Posts: 185
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thanks Mike R. I an looking to changing from Athena to Colleverde so we will see if they have availability. I will definitely check out Donna Fugato and my hairdresser is from Sicily so he knows a lot about the Siracusa/Taormina area.
Any good restaurants you would recommend? How's the restaurant at the Colleverde or is it better to try something not connected with a hotel. We like the feel of a place that locals go to.
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Mike R
Reged: 05/26/03
Posts: 15742
Loc: Stinson Lake - New Hampshire
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We didnt eat at the restaurant at the hotel.....We ate a local place whose name I've forgotten.....most of the places I ate at were little local joints and all were beyond good....I remember when we were staying in Taomina, everyone wanted to go to where the "main action" was, and I wanted no part of that so I walked by myself to the next town...it was a quiet quaint little fishing village.....and I went into this place...right on the water.... it looked like a dive...there were old crusty fishermen.drinking wine and playing dominos outside at a table....and I had the most magnificent lunch you could imagine, served by a beautiful woman who was the daughter of the cafe owner, and she spoke just enough english and I spoke just enough sicilian to have a very pleasant conversation about her little village.....and they made their own wine and poured it out of a decanter into regular water glasses..the wine was incredible....later that day when my friends and family got back and were all complaining about the lines to get into the "good places" to eat.....and asked me what I did and where I ate etc,......I just smiled and told them I did nothing noteworthy that afternoon....
you will be just missing the chestnut harvest when you go...too bad....
Edited by Mike R (05/24/04 08:04 AM)
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Maureenm
Reged: 03/19/03
Posts: 185
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Thanks Mike. Just what I thought. When we went to Capri years ago, we left the crowds at the plaza and went up to Anacapri--
found a little restaraunt surrounded by huge sunflowers, they were hosting one big local family for lunch and we knew we hit it right. The kind of places are such gems and the memories we have from them are special.
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Mike R
Reged: 05/26/03
Posts: 15742
Loc: Stinson Lake - New Hampshire
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I think I know the place you went to...i was there too!!!!!!!
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karma is a beautiful thing at times
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