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Monaci delle Terre Nere
Hello friends!
We just returned from our summer vacation in Europe where we spent time in both London and Sicily, both new destinations for us. You might recall that we were supposed to be spending time on our canal boat in France this summer, but the boat ended up needing repairs and not being available. We had non-refundable round trip tickets to London (which we had planned to visit first), so we needed a new European plan for the rest of the trip. It was a fun problem to have.
We looked at Flight Connections (an invaluable tool for finding direct routes, if you don’t know about it) to see where we could go. Our criteria—someplace warm where we’ve never been before within a few hours non-stop flight from London. And since we were booking only two weeks before we were leaving, we needed to find hotels with availability.
The winner: Sicily.
With such limited time to research the area, we reached out to Kristen Kellogg from Salt & Wind Travel for help planning our last-minute itinerary. Elie worked with Kristen on his first trip to Mexico City and she set him up with some great tours and restaurant reservations. Since Salt & Wind specializes in travel in Italy, we thought they could help with this last-minute trip. Kristen was amazing, immediately jumping on board with ideas, helping find hotels and giving us a detailed bucket list of what to do and where to eat in each area. She also set up a few tours, which ended up being some of our favorite parts of the trip. Usually the research part of the trip is half the fun for me, but in this instance, her expertise was invaluable. I highly recommend using Salt & Wind.
(Fun fact, many years ago, I wrote a few travel articles for their website. You can still see them here.)
Here is a mini guide on where to stay, what to do and where to eat in Sicily. We were only there for 10 days, so this is in no way an exhaustive list. But it gives you some ideas.
I feel like I should start by saying something that I haven’t heard anyone talk about in their posts and reviews of Sicily. It feels very run down. When we first arrived, we were really surprised at the amount of trash piled on the sides of the roads and the general feeling of neglect as we drove through the smaller towns. It was a little shocking and we worried we’d made a mistake by choosing Sicily. By the end of our trip, we’d discovered a lot to love and we ended up having a great vacation. But if you’re going to travel there, you should know what to expect.
If you love Mediterranean seafood (including small fish and shellfish), olives and capers, wine, architecture and history, and you love driving (often on windy roads) to explore, then I think you’d love Sicily. I could see spending a few weeks visiting wineries and some of the beautiful small farms and traveling through the more picturesque towns like Taormina, Ortigia and Noto. Food and wine would be two main reasons to travel. We didn’t have a bad meal, and all of the food was fresh and felt nourishing.
We didn’t want to move around too much, so we stayed at the base of Mount Etna, near Taormina (made famous by White Lotus, Season 2) and near Syracusa and its historic center, Ortigia. If we had the trip to plan over, I would have spend 3 nights in Ortigia and then moved to a hotel near Noto, so we could also explore Ragusa and Modica.
Okay, with that out of the way, here you go.
pool at Monaci delle Terre Nere
at the bottom of a crater on Mount Etna
the amphitheater in Taormina
view from Taormina to the sea
Taormina - Mount Etna
We flew into Catania, rented a car and then drove about 45 minutes to the base of Mount Etna. When renting a car in Europe, be sure you check the size. Most European rentals are small, and there might not be enough room in the trunk for all of your suitcases.
Where to Stay
We spent the first part of our stay in Sicily at Monaci delle Terre Nere, an organic farm and winery at the base of Mt. Etna, close to Taormina. I can’t say enough good things about this property. It’s beautiful, with views over the olive groves extending to the sea. The staff—every single person—was welcoming and gracious and eager to make our stay absolutely perfect. The food in the restaurant was amazing, and the wines delicious. We lingered over breakfast on the terrace every morning, a gentle way to ease into each day.
It’s a very kid-friendly estate. Theo spent his time chasing lizards, playing in the pool and learning to beat Elie at backgammon.
One thing to know about Monaci is that all of the rooms are built from volcanic rock, so it’s very cool but rustic. Our bathroom needed to be updated, but our room was one of the oldest buildings on the property. It did have stunning views over the olive groves to the sea.
What to Do
One day, we trekked some of the lower craters of Mount Etna with a guide, a geologist. It was beautiful and really interesting to hear about the volcano and its impact on the island. (After our tour, we were supposed to go to an olive oil farm for a tour and lunch, but Theo was carsick from the driving, so we canceled.)
Another afternoon, we explored Taormina. We did an audio tour of the Teatro Antico di Taormina, and I was surprised at how much Theo enjoyed it. It’s a beautiful town to walk around, with some great shopping. We ran out of time to take the cable car down to the beach, but it looks lovely. Taormina has several great hotels (including the Four Seasons and the Grand Hotel Timeo. One thing to note about Taormina—if you’re driving, park in one of the garages outside of town and take the shuttle in to the city center. Parking in town is for residents only.
Where to Eat
We had dinner in the restaurant at the hotel one night, which was excellent. We sat on the rooftop patio as the sun was setting, and if felt magical. Most of the food they serve is grown on their organic farm or sourced locally, and they serve biodynamic wines from the farm as well. Another night, we just ate snacks by the pool.
On the afternoon we went into Taormina, we just popped into Bistro Du Monde and had an early dinner outside at a table perfect for people-watching. Taormina is supposed to have many great restaurants, and if we’d had more time, I would have gone back to eat at Tischi Toschi.
the rocky beach at Minareto
happy fisherman
Noto
View from W Villadorata
Syracusa - Ortigia
Next, we drove south to the town of Syracusa - Ortigia. Syracusa is the modern town and Ortigia is its historic center. We found Ortigia to be so charming. It’s not at all touristy, so feels like a place to get a taste of authentic Sicily.
Where to Stay
We stayed at Minareto. For the first three nights we had a pool room with a stunning view over the water to Ortigia. The second three nights we moved to a villa with a private pool and garden. (One drawback of booking last minute is that we couldn’t stay in the same room the whole time. But, not so bad with two great options). Both of those rooms had been recently updated and actually had comfortable beds! Rare in Europe.
Minareto has its own small private beach that is very protected. You could walk for quite a ways and only be waist-deep. Theo could snorkel to his hearts content without us having to worry about him. We spent quite a bit of time at the beach, just reading or playing in the water. Even me! Although I embrace a cold plunge, I don’t enjoy playing in cold water. The warm waters of the Ionian Sea were perfect.
What to Do
On our first day, we went on a food tour in Ortigia that ended up being more of an architecture and history tour. But it was so interesting. We were surprised to discover the rich history of Jewish culture in Ortigia. Jews lived in Ortigia from the first century AD, or maybe earlier. They could only live and worship within a certain part of town, but they had a prosperous community, mostly as lawyers, accountants and merchants (although often persecuted, mostly by Christians). They lived there until they were expelled in 1492 with the Spanish Inquisition, forced to leave with only the clothes on their back. Many went to Greece and Turkey.
On our tour, we got to see the oldest mikvah in Europe. It was discovered in the late 1980s by a woman who was renovating a hotel located in the old Jewish neighborhood. She found a door that had been bricked over, and as she began the excavation, she discovered steps that had been chiseled out of limestone. She didn’t know what it was, and it took 10 years to reach the bottom—56 steps in all. Eventually, they discovered a mikveh—Jewish ceremonial baths. You can still see the chisel marks on the wall where the Jews carved out this space, so they could practice their faith in private and peace. When the Jews fled Ortigia in 1492, they covered up the entrance.
Elie is 13 percent Italian and part Sicilian. We knew that some of his ancestors came to Israel through Sicily and Greece, so learning this history of Ortigia felt like a clue to his personal family history.
The next day we went fishing. A local fisherman picked us up at 6:30 in the morning at the hotel dock. Theo was thrilled—catching 13 fish. We took two—a snapper and a bream—back to the hotel and the chef cooked them for us for lunch. It was served with two sauces, one traditional olive and caper sauce and one olive oil sauce. Both delicious.
The following day, we spent the afternoon at the beach and then explored Noto in the late afternoon. It’s a beautiful city with incredible Baroque architecture, and the light in the evening is incredible. We toured the Palazzo Castelluccio, a must for design-lovers. I wish we had booked a guided tour of the city.
On our last day, we were going to book a sailboat for lunch and snorkeling, including visiting some of the caves. But the waters were a little rough and we decided to just spend the day at the beach. It wasn’t a bad choice.
Where to Eat
In Ortigia, we ate at Sicilia in Tavola. It’s located in the gorgeous central square of Ortigia. Sit at one of the outside tables and enjoy the people watching. Dinner was excellent.
Elie and Theo wanted pizza one night, so the hotel recommended Pizzeria Schiticchio. It's on a lovely alley with fun people watching. Elie and Theo liked their pizza. The gluten-free pizza wasn't the best, but they had a great wine list, so I was happy.
Our best meals were at Viva II Bistro in Noto (our favorite) and W Villadorata Country Restaurant. They are sister restaurants and both authentically farm-to-table. Villadorata is set in the hills outside of Noto. The property is gorgeous, and it would have been fun to stay there for a few nights if they had availability.
There were a couple of nights when we didn’t feel like driving out for dinner, so we just ordered room service at the hotel—served outside by the pool at our room. It was pretty stunning and the food at the hotel is very good.
All in all, we loved our trip to Sicily, simply living la dolce vita.
To see more photos and videos from the trip, check out Instagram. Much of the stories I shared on the trip are saved to highlights.
Next week, I’ll be sharing a mini guide to London. And over the next few months, I’ll be sharing recipes inspired by this trip. I have to say, I was in a bit of a rut over the past couple of months. My lupus diagnosis really threw me, and I was feeling quite sad and a little isolated. This trip was like a salve for my soul. I have a hard time resting when I’m at home, but on vacation, I love being lazy. We did a lot of lying in the sun and reading books. I’ve come home with a newfound energy and can feel the well of creativity bubbling again.
Thanks for being here, friends. Your messages mean the world. See you next week!
With love,
Lisa