Sicilia was everything we hoped it would be, and even in that week we knew in our bones that it’s a place we would love to come back to multiple times. We don’t necessarily feel this way about many places, even spectacular ones, but something about this rich, diverse, sultry, salt of the earth island tantalises me. I felt this way about Tunis too, so I think perhaps in a past life I was somewhat part of the Carthigian empire which I find so bewitching.

We started at Taormina to watch Andrea Bocelli perform at the Antico Teatro Greco which was a magical experience.

In Taormina we stayed at Hotel Lido Mediterranee which we chose mainly because it’s a beachfront hotel close to the Old Town and where the theatre was. Close meaning you need to walk about 900 metres to get to the cable car which will take you up to the Old Town in about 5 minutes. The hotel seems to intentionally want to invoke memories of its past with poor plumbing and decos of the 60s – 70s but it’s plus points are its beachfront location which most rooms faced.

Taormina’s Old Town is gorgeous. It overlooks the Ionian sea and the architecture is a mixture of Arab, Gothic and Norman facades. Cafes, restaurants, luxury brands, handmade leather slippers, Michelin restaurants- there is a reason why everyone describes Taormina as the most high end part of Sicily.

We ate at Cinqui Archi, a Michelin Guide restaurant specialising in seafood where the service was excellent, the view from the balcony sensational and the food somewhat mediocre.

The day after Bocelli’s concert, we drove for over five hours across the island from the east to the north west to San Vito Lo Capo a simple beachtown which we made our base for the next six days. It was heavenly because of its simplicity. There were so many beaches to choose from – the pebbly beaches with translucent waters or the sandy types with a more tropical feel. We explored three in our stay and were told there were many other gems. Sicilian beach photos are at https://thehigherself.blog/2023/09/07/aesthetics-sicilian-waters/ though my two favourites are below.

We stayed at El Faro E La Luna Apartments which we booked through booking.com. We chose it mainly because of its location which was a three minute walk to the public beach and a five minute walk to the main town square of San Vito Lo Capo which was spilling with local restaurants, chic cafes, a church, live chess games and jazz performances.

Food was divine – cous cous in seafood broth was a local speciality, squid salad and vegetarian pizzas were our daily staple after long long hours at the beach. Fresh seafood was a luxury we couldn’t pass up after months based in Amman, and of course the desserts were rich with creamy cannolis, cheesy brioche and gelatos. One of the restaurants we were recommended was La Stignone which seemed unassuming and quite humble externally but was packed with local diners and there was no wonder why – we had great squid salad and seafood cous cous there. We also had unforgettable and hugely portioned seafood cous cous at the restaurant next to the church in the town square and left thinking generally food didn’t go wrong in this town.

Before we left San Vito Lo Capo, we met a British couple who had driven all the way from London to spend three weeks in Sicily. They explained they had spent last summer in the island and returned because they were so taken by it and wanted to explore much more. It seems this is generally the universal sentiment for first timers in Sicily – you leave knowing you haven’t fully completed your holiday. So hoping very much this is only Part I of our Sicilian update!