Taormina

Taormina. It’s the perfect day trip with a few girlfriends or a great way to spend the afternoon with the kiddies. The ice rink is closed now, but we’ve found some other family-friendly spots. Of course, we added some of our favorite stores. (We know kids and ceramic shops don’t mix, but throw in some gelato and you’ve usually bought yourself 10 minutes of shopping time). There’s also a lovely park near the Greek Theatre (down a few steps, near the Bank of Sicilia), so you can take turns watching the kids and shopping. Finally, there’s a huge piazza and kids bring small tricycles, toys, and balls and run around. In the summer, it’s very busy, so now is a good time to go and let kids run free. In Italy, people seem to love babies and toddlers, even when they are knocking down a few old women in the piazza on their bikes. (Check out our video). Take advantage of people’s love for children here because in the U.S. you’ll hear lots of “shhhing” and "watch it!"

Now, on to shopping! We LOVE Marco Monforte’s work. His store, Ceramiche Di Taormina, is on Corso Umberto, the main street. His address is: 198 Corso Umberto. He creates delicate paintings and vibrant mosaics of trees—very unique. He can also make Benvenuti plaques or “Casa di ______” plaques and awesome lava tables. We love his scenes of Etna too. He closes during riposo, so go early (10-1) or after 4 p.m. He speaks fairly good English as well.

We also like D’Agata. They sell “professional” titles, which make excellent gifts. Check out the dentist and muscian titles we included. They have several different professions all written in Italian. They have a rustic look which we like. It’s located at 120 Corso Umberto. These are a little pricy (between 50-85 euro), but we’ve never seen them anywhere else.

The restaurants in the center of the square are pricy and not that good. Gran Duca is good food, and they have high chairs. We like it for lunch on a weekday. There's a beautiful view. If you go on a weekend, be prepared to wait unless you call ahead and make a reservation. There’s another good restaurant called Piazza Taormina right near the piazza. The name is on a brown sign. You have to go down a few steps (which can be a hassle with a stroller, but totally do-able). It has a great view of the water, and they love kids. They also have A.C. in the summer so you can sit inside. If you ask, they will bring you pasta right away for the baby, and our kids have been known to finish the entire plate by themselves.