Two Cents Suarez: December 2013

This past summer, before making the move to Miami, the Buccios took an unforgettable trip (roadtrip included) to the beautiful country of Sicily. Or as I like to call it, Coco's motherland. We absolutely loved Sicily. My husband's family hails from Ragusa so we really wanted to get to know the country and all it's fabulous towns. We went for the sole purpose of exploring the beaches. I definitely recommend renting a car. That's what we did and we are so glad we did it. We got to see so much more of the country and see the landscape, sit in traffic with the locals, go up and down winding roads, drive by vineyards and flower fields. Plus we got to go at our own pace. We flew to Rome and from Rome we flew into Catania. We rented the car in Catania and drove to our first stop- Taormina. It was my favorite city. We stayed at a wonderful hotel in town and it had transportation to the beach so it was perfect or us. It's called Villa Paradiso. They were very hospitable and charming. We explored on our own, asked the hotel and some locals for suggestions. The piazza overlooking the sea with a view of Mt. Etna was glorious. Here are some of the restaurants we visited: Il Gatapardo, Ristorante da Lorenzo, Il Baccanale. The last was owned by a Cuban family that left Cuba and had made Sicily their home. They were absolutely lovely. The best part of eating in these quaint restaurants in the middle of side street was that while we waited for our food, I was able to walk around and play with Maya in and around the winding roads.

Our next stop was Siracusa. Another beautiful town. The hotel where we stayed at, was one of our favorites. It was called Hotel Minareto. It was located in the beach section of the city and when we wanted to go into town, we would drive the 10-15 minutes to get there. Siracusa is a great town with lots of great restaurants and piazzas and churches. The streets are narrow with so much character. One of my favorite places was this little wine bar in one of those streets where we sat outside and just people watched. It was called La Vinera Cafe. Dinner was even better at Trattoria La Foglia. It was such a nice dining experience. On another night we went to one of the most popular pizzerias with the locals and we could barely walk once we finished eating. It was unreal. I recommend it. Called Castello Florentino. We caught a concert while walking through the piazza and took some incredible pictures of Maya by the marina.

The next pit stop on our itinerary was a day trip to the town of Ragusa where my husband's family is from. Tons of rich history and we literally saw the whole town on foot. It has some of the most breathtaking views when you make your way from New Ragusa to the Old Town of Ragusa. The cathedral of Saint Giovanni is definitely a must- see. Once we had lunch and finished our sightseeing of the town, we made our way to Agrigento. We stayed on Agrigento's seaside at a hotel we definitely DO NOT recommend. Bahia Ulyssees. It prides itself on being a wellness spa but i dont see anything "well" about having to pay for lounge chairs at a hotel you are already paying to stay at. We didn't explore the town center since we were seaside, so there's not much I can tell you about it. However, the seaside promenade had some great seafood restaurants and some of the best gelato in town. It reminded me a European Atlantic City boardwalk- a little classier, just as unpolished but still fun to be a part of.

Our last and final stop was Palermo, which grew on me after a day. It's a grittier and less refined version of Rome but still with lots of personality and some impressive architecture and buildings like the cathedral and the Teatro Massimo where The Godfather 3 was filmed. We had one of the best meals at this local spot called, Al Vecchietti and Il Biondo another night. But I mean, does anyone ever have a bad meal anywhere in Italy? I think it's virtually impossible. Cooking good, hearty food is in their blood. On another day, we drove to Cefalu beach which was so amazing because the beach and the picturesque town coexist within the same landscape. There you are, laying on your lounge chair, soaking up the Sicilian sun, and there's a 300 year old church right behind up. It was a nice getaway only an hour and change from Palermo.

And with that, we concluded our Sicilian holiday vacation! We were there for 8 days and felt we got to see and do a lot of this great country. If it's not in your travel radar, what are you waiting for?! It's a must see country ready to be explored and loved!