#46 Side streets of Taormina

Diana the godess of hunting

Hello Friend,

It is fun to explore the side streets at Taormina; they are always filled with exciting nooks, tiny little stores and snippets of everyday local life away from the crowds and always more authentic than the main streets.

The same can be said of most Italian cities, moving away from the main tourist sites and a little off the main roads. There are always cute little courtyards, family-run trattorie, private gardens or endless surprises to discover.

I love this photo of a store on a Taorminian side street filled with typical food products easily consumed on your walk or taken home in individually wrapped packages and jars.

I was struck by the handwritten list of their curated products, which can serve as a list of things you need to taste and places you need to visit while in Sicily.

It reads pistachio from Bronte, Capers from the island of Pantelleria, sun-dried tomatoes from Ispica, Chocolate from Modica, Almond wine, Lemoncello from Etna, honey and jam of Etna, Salt crystals from Trapani, Tuna bottarga (which is an intense tasting salty way of preserving tuna) and anchovies under salt—a pretty great list of the tastes of Sicily.

I hate to be long-winded, so I will stop here now.

I'll keep trying to write something worthwhile, well thought out and new here every week, perhaps more often if I get in the zone.

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Mille grazie

with love from Sicily

Rochelle