Exploring Taormina

It’s another amazing day outside! As I munch on my giant chocolate croissant that I bought at the gelato store. I’d better get some steps in or I may need to buy some new clothes and not because it’s cold outside, but because I don’t fit into them!

Locating houses is a mystery. How anyone can know where each place is just baffles me. This is the gate outside the small courtyard to our apartment. There is a mailbox outside the gate with a name on it, but not a name that we are familiar with. 

The entrance to the courtyard where we are staying

Upon opening the gate and entering the courtyard, there is a shuttered door. OK—- strange for us, but practical to keep the sun and heat out. 

The shuttered doors to the apartment

This is the tiny white sign on the door that indicates we are at the correct place. 

The sign for the apartment

Opening the shutters we get this door, which has a funny locking system, but we have figured it out!! 

The doors to the apartment

And this is the walkway beside the green fence marking the courtyard. A very busy street is just in front of that walkway. 

The walkway beside the apartment

So different from back home where each house would be clearly identified with an address or the name of the building, etc. I’m not complaining - just showing you how different it is here. We will suggest that she have the name of the apartment OUTSIDE the courtyard because in our polite Canadian way, we would never walk into a courtyard to check if we are in the correct place!!!!

We did some walking around and we are pretty comfortable (more or less) with our surroundings. Let’s just say we didn’t get lost once! There is no way I would drive a car here —- it’s totally crazy. 

I was so cold in the morning - I just wanted a big sweatshirt, but after we had lunch in the sunshine, I came back to get shorts and I was fine for the remainder of the day. 

There is a wall around part of the city. Well, maybe there was at some point, but the two main gates remain and between those gates no cars are allowed. Everything is delivered on a hand cart. But somehow this little car got in. I don’t understand all the workings of these places. 

A tiny car

There is one main street (more or less) in Taormina and if you look to the left, you go up and if you look to the right you go down or vice versa depending on which direction you are walking. There is a restaurant on the steps part way up that hill. 

Looking up the mountain

That’s where we decided to eat. Here’s a closer view. 

There is a restaurant on these steps

This is our view looking down to the street. 

My view from my seat

And yes —- those chairs sit on two steps. Yikes. They gave me that chair to sit on and if you slip, then you fall down the stairs! But since heights aren’t an issue, I’m good with that!!!

Unique chairs to fit on the steps

This was the view from one of the look out points which are all along the street. There are some beautiful hotels in the area which I’m sure aren’t cheap! 

Beautiful view

We have walked up and down the street several times and each time we see something different. There is such a mix of shops —- high end brands selling watches, clothing, etc, and then the shops that sell hand made items. We spotted a shop that sells hand carved items with the Pinocchio theme. 

The Pinocchio store

And shops where you can buy hand made items with your name stitched on them. Or anything else you want stitched on. They were handing out cards with Sicilia on them. 

Sicilia stitched on the card

And of course, there are the shops with souvenirs - we have seen T-shirts, magnets, ceramics, socks, and so much more. We will need to settle on one magnet before we leave. It has to be a magnet that has some meaning to us - like the gelato or at least something ceramic. We’ll see. 

I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but traveling with four people can be challenging. Not in a bad way- but it just takes a lot more coordination to get everyone ready on time or to figure out what we want to do etc. But all is good and lots of good bonding time with M and Dillon. I wouldn’t trade it for the world!

As per European architecture, thee are balconies galore and some of them are so beautifully adorned, while others remain a blank canvas. 

Beautiful balconies

We took the furnicular down to the beach and when we arrived, I realized that it was NOT the beach that had the geocaches that I wanted to find. But no worries - I might have some time myself to do that today. 

Heading down to the beach

We were lucky on the way down and the way up that we didn’t need to wait for the cable car at all. And it only took a few minutes to get up and down. I’m not a fan of cable cars as they tend to swing when it goes over the support, but these were pretty stable. 

The beach is pretty pebbly and a lot of large rocks in the water. So we didn’t really go in, but at least put our feet in the water. I believe that is called the Ionian Sea. In the far distance you would find Greece. 

Standing in the Ionian Sea

We watched a couple jump off the small rock just behind my head. He seemed to have no problem to dive off, she was a bit hesitant and it took quite a while before she got the courage to jump! I wouldn’t be up there to begin with!!!!

OH — I found the picture with my HUGE chocolate croissant. It was yummy, but I much prefer the flat ones we found in Spain. They are much easier to eat!!!

The chocolate croissants

I’m getting the hang of blogging on the iPad and moving pictures, etc. around. OK — so perhaps I’m glad I didn’t find that little keyboard. I would NOT hike with the iPad, but I would certainly bring it on a trip like this in the future. 

This is how small some of the walkways are between buildings!! Yep —- there are steps behind me that lead to somewhere!!! No wasted space!!!!

A tight walkway

When I was in Europe some years ago, I discovered these Ritter chocolate bars. YES — I know we have them in North America, but I had never seen them at that point in time. Now, they are my favourite and I happened to bring one along with me. I like to have snacks and don’t typically bring chocolate because of the melting factor, but I brought one. When we were at the grocery store the other night, I discovered them. The same flavors as what we have at home. Can you tell which one came from which country?

Ritter bars - my favourite chocolate bar

Maybe by the end of the trip, I will have figured out to rotate pictures on the iPad. It’s OK —- you can see pretty well which is which. 

After our visit to the beach, we came back to the apartment to have a nap. And then I read for a bit while the others had longer naps. I will say that this morning I’m feeling pretty good after a good sleep. I think we are now set to the new time and so should be good for the rest of the trip. 

Then it was time to head back to the pizza restaurant that we ate in the night before for the welcome dinner to the wedding festivities. I’m glad we went on two different occasions because the experience was totally different. First there were about 50 or 60 of us last night and we were tucked into the perfect spot. 

If you look close, you can spot me in pink!!! Yep — my travel fleece is pink. I’m like the Queen (god rest her soul and happy 100th birthday!!!). She always wore bright colors so she would stand out. I agree!!! 

The welcome dinner last night

We sat with some of my SIL’s hiking friends and that made for an interesting visit. They are going on some short hikes later this week and I had the opportunity to join them, but I’m glad I didn’t. While they all seem like vey nice people, I would feel like the odd man out and hiking with 14 people and getting ready with 14 people? Not my thing. I’ll be happy to be on my own and do what I want, when I want. 

My goodness, you would almost think I’m anti-social. Nope —- not at all - I just like total freedom. 

Anyway — the food experience from one night and the next was totally different. We got to try five different appertizers, and if I had to choose my favorite, I wouldn’t be able to do that. They were all amazing. Then we got five different pizzas. I will say that the first three were fabulous and the last two not so much. I’m not sure if we were all getting full by then, but it was an amazing dinner. And we got to meet more family members on both sides and of course the friends. 

By the way — we didn’t each get five pizzas. They were passed around and you took a slice if you wanted. 

This is how we are progressing in our familiarity with the neighborhood. On the first night, we needed Google Maps to get to that restaurant. Last night, between the four of us we managed to get there in a shorter manner than Google had done the night before. And on the way home, I walked by myself and it’s like a one-minute walk through the back street. Yep —- a “seasoned” tourist. Hardly, but it just seemed so far away on the first night. 

There is this massive tree in that restaurant and I meant to take a picture of the trunk before we left. But I got a picture of the tree top. It’s huge —- I”ve no idea how old or what kind of tree this is, but it’s huge! 

The tree in the restaurant

I think I got the phone thing figured out. I had done all the typical steps - turned on roaming, installed the eSIM, but nothing worked. So support told me to ensure the APN was working. It was not and I struggled the first day to install it. Then I tried again yesterday - NOTHING. So I asked DH to spell it and OH — I spelt it PHONE, not FONE and it worked. Hopefully all will continue to work while I’m here. I had to type that in - it didn’t come up automatically. 

But I will say that the support people were on the ball and responded to my messages very quickly. So while I was very frustrated, all was good. 

I took loads more pictures, but that gives you a good overview of what happened throughout the day. I’m up early and I think I’ll get dressed and go for a walk this morning. That will help me to warm up!! 

So much to see and so much to do!!! The wedding is today so I’ll switch my pink fleece for the pink jacket!!!

On one of my trips to North Battleford, I spotted a very long charging cord with three different connectors. I really only need the one, but I am so glad to have it. The plugs are not always close to where you want them and this way, I can lay on the couch and read my book and charge my phone at the same time!! Long charge cords are good!!!

On that note, I'm out of here!!!! Have a wonderful day!!!

Ciao!!!!!

Again —- no grammar checker or spell checker —- take it for what it’s worth!!!!!

An interesting travel day - I entered the country without registering!

 It seems like forever since we have been traveling and it’s exhausting!!

We left the house a wee bit earlier than we would have to but that’s so DH could visit his beloved fancy lounge at the airport. We needed to eat before the flight so I was OK with that. I love this large black sculpture at the airport and as you walk through it has a very cool echo, which sounds great when you say ROME as you walk through! 

The black echo sculpture at the airport

And YES - I am wearing pink for travel!! It’s not that pink is my favourite color to wear, but it just so happens that the fleece that I bought for travel several years ago was pink! I’m not buying a new one. 

M and Dillon were flying in from Vancouver, so we met up and got to our next flight. They had a bite to eat before they got on the plane. It’s just so weird to meet them like that. I mean we knew they were coming, but just weird to meet them at the airport and then get on another flight together.

Hmmmm —- so I’m on my iPad at the Airbnb and I did forward pictures to myself, but then realized that I don’t need to do that because through Google I have access to everything on my phone. It’s all a learning experience! But it is nicer to use the larger screen and keyboard, and since I’m not carrying a lot, I guess it all worked out OK. 

Here I am in my seat and yes we had a bit of extra leg room on the flight. I’m OK with that. My hair looks a mess and we haven’t even gone anywhere. 

Settling in for a very long flight

We could see lots of thunder type clouds as we drove to the airport. I am not a fan of turbulence and was expecting a bumpy ride. There was turbulence when we took off, but nothing much. However, we were somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean and I had been sound asleep when we got turbulence. And while it wasn’t severe, it was bad enough that I couldn’t sleep. ACK!!! And there is nothing you can do, but hope there are no major air pockets. 

Eventually I went back to sleep - whether from exhaustion or from being rocked to sleep by the turbulence. 

And then we were in the Rome airport! Yeah!!!! 

Rubber duckies in Rome

Rubber duckies of every imagine able size and color. Rubber duckies are NOT on our radar screen so we did not buy one. But what an airport. They must have a store for every high end fashion brand. And the airport is huge - I would have expected nothing less since I believe it is the busiest or one of the busiest airports in Europe. 

We had to go through passport control, but before that we need to register - fingerprints and photos. That didn’t take long, except I failed! The machine would NOT register my finger prints and the young person standing there, said, No problem. Which became a problem when I couldn’t go through the automated passport control booth because I wasn’t registered! 

I had to see the police in person and no big deal. Thankfully at both of these spots, there was hardly any line-ups so all was good. 

Then we had to wait for our next plane to Catania, which is on Sicily. Getting a gate for that flight is like waiting for a train. The gates are not announced until 30 minutes before the flight, which is just bizarre!!

We had to wait a bit for this flight, but that was OK since we wouldn’t be able to check in until 4 PM. As we flew in we were on the wrong side of the plane to see Mount Etna, so I asked the ladies across the aisle to snap this photo for me. 

Yep - it looks just like my puzzle that I recently finished. 

It was interesting as we drove to Taormina that the vegetation was just like the puzzle and we could see loads of buildings on the hillsides just like the puzzle. I do not know how to rotate the pictures and may figure that it by the time I’m ready to go home. 

And there is me who has been tooting how good the eSIM card is and my darn card would NOT work which frustrated me to no end. You know me and technology so I wasn’t surprised. I think it finally got fixed last night but I’m still not trusting it. 

OK - if any of you have been to Sicily before and specifically Taormina you know what I’m talking about when I said this place is build on the side of a hill. This town is CRAZY!!!! And I don’t think pictures will do it justice. 

It’s not that I am desperate to be connected to the internet at all times, but we desperately needed it for getting to this location. I had hired a driver to meet us and that worked out OK except we didn’t expect him to be waiting for us at the airport one hour in advance, but there he was. However, we needed to get in touch via phone and of course I couldn’t make that happen. 

But DH was able to get through to him on the phone and soon we were whizzing along to this location. I knew the house was on a very small street and that we couldn’t stop to unload so the driver let us out a little ways down the road, except there are no house numbers per se and every square inch of town is used up, so we did have a little bit of trouble finding the house. 

We needed DH’s phone again to find the house by sending photos of where we were to the owners! They definitely need a bigger sign. No numbers, no street, no sign. It was a bit frustrating, but it all worked out. They had sent a video of how to unlock the door —- good grief - but it was needed - a multi-part thing and then we were in. Then to go back to get all the luggage. Now I travelled very light so it was easy to get my stuff, but M and Dillon? They don’t know how to travel light. Dillon had to lift the bags over a car in order to get to the house. 

There is no sidewalk in front of the house and the cars were parked tight against each other! All in the life of living in Europe. 

The house is TINY!!! And it’s two-story but it’s not a stand alone house, but within a building. OK — I guess that’s why it’s called an apartment, not a house. DUH!!!!

If you think the garbage system back home is complex, think again. This is what we saw on the wall outside the kitchen. It was probably posted outside the kitchen because there is NO room in the kitchen. 

The recycling schedule

And YES — there is a bin for each category. 

The garbage bin area

And the bins are in the kitchen!!!!!

They take up a LOT of kitchen space

Tiny bins, but efficient. Unlike back home where we would whisk all the garbage out between guests, the bins all have stuff in them and once they are full, the bag goes out as directed to be picked up. God forbid if you screw up because there is a 500 EURO fine for that and we would get charged. So we shall be very careful how we sort our garbage!!!

I know that Europe is miles ahead of us in the space utilization and recycling, but we are also on an island somewhere off the coast of Italy, so I imagine they are even more strict, hence the 500 EURO fine. 

M and I were supposed to go to a henna part as part of the wedding events, but I was done by that point. With the issues of my phone, traveling for so long, and finding the apartment, neither of was interested in getting a ride to take us 30 minutes to the event. We gleefully bailed out. Besides — who wants to sit in a room of girlie girls in matching PJs, who are mostly strangers for henna. I gladly opted out!

As anyone who has been to Europe can attest and especially in the smaller towns, every square inch of real estate has something on it. And the streets are willy nilly - I have no idea how they find anything. I think the worst with any place is getting yourself orientated which was another reason I wasn’t thrilled to go out last night. 

We ventured out for pizza to a local restaurant and it was on our way home that we realized how much there is around us. I don’t get the town and even if I looked at the map, I still don’t get it. Maybe after a good sleep and a clear head, I’ll feel more comfortable. 

The pizza was amazing though and they put all kinds of sauce on the pizza that is NOT tomato. I think mine had eggplant on it. 

Very fresh and yummy pizza

Then we took a different route home as we wanted to stop by the grocery store. And there are lots of little shops on that street. And it was then that we found the street for the apartment, so all is good. 

We were going to plan an excursion for today, but I was so tired last ight that I didn’t trust myself to make the arrangements so we will plan that excursion for Thursday. 

Taormina is very hilly

This is how far UP the mountains we are. We spotted that building behind me from way down below in the car and it seemed so far up. Driving here on the roads that seemed suspended in air was interesting! 

DH wanted cannoli and coffee and he had both on the first day. Now what does one do for the rest of the vacation? 

The cannoli place was right outside the grocery store so we had cannoli and then bought some food. 

Two of our cannoli

You had the choice of three different shells and then many types of cream. Totally decadent and I may have one more before I leave, but I really want a chocolate croissant! 

There are tiles everywhere!!!! We might suggest that they make a pretty little sign for outside the apartment. I will take a picture of the sign so you can see what I mean about the size. 

Without having direct contact with the owner there was no way we would have found this place. And our driver, who did not speak English pointed in that direction, but where to go exactly? And the door, which doesn’t look like a door was inside a small courtyard. M was the super sleuth who connected with the owner to get that information. I bet the owner didn’t realize she was in communication with three different people!!!

I may need to spring for a heavier jacket. The temperature here is warmish, but we are on an island and it seems to be similar to San Francisco. It’s COLD. I’m wearing big socks and I could use a jacket. My wedding jacket is not warm and it’s small. What I wouldn’t give for a BIG sweatshirt. 

And now we’ve all had a good sleep. I went to bed right after arriving back at the house and unpacking our meagre groceries and putting them in the tiny fridge. I woke up once in the middle of the night and I had some snacks and read my book for a bit and then I fell back to sleep. I’m sure my Fitbit wouldn’t be happy - wait - I got a score of 76 so that’s not so bad!!! 

I feel rested and we’ll just see what the day brings. The wedding event of the day is a dinner at the pizza restaurant we were at last night. So that’s encouraging that it’s close by. How the heck would you even tell a driver where to pick you up? 

There are all kinds of joy in traveling in another country where you do NOT speak the language and everything is very foreign to our very spoiled and luxurious ways in North America. I swear everyone needs to live or at least visit Europe one time to truly appreciate the frivolous North American way of life. 

On that note, we hope to make it to the beach today. I’m not going to give you more than that, but it should be interesting. And I hope to share a lot more pictures. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!! (That fits our location today)

By the way —- travelling with four people is complicated. I can’t wait until it’s just me, although all this bonding time is good. 

And I do NOT have a grammar checker so if there is anything crazy, well, you will figure it out. 

On the road!!!

My bags are packed - yes - even the toiletries! The emails are sent, and contact information is shared. Several blog posts have been written and scheduled. The only thing missing from my organized preparations is retrieving that darn small keyboard. 

However, I'm not going to let that ruin my vacation. I've packed the iPad, and with all the cords, snacks, and geocaching information, the backpack weighs 7.7 lbs. The suitcase weighs 16.1 lbs. A little bit heavier than I typically pack, but it's a different vacation. 

I am going to miss the trilliums. When I was walking with the girls this morning, I noticed they are just starting to bloom DRAT!!!!! But such is life. I will just have to watch the rest of the forest come alive when I'm back. 

I don't know how much geocaching I'll get done while I'm there, but did you know it's a GREAT way to discover unusual places in a strange land? I've got several of them highlighted, and I don't care how many I find, but I need at least ONE. 

There are many interesting cemeteries as well, and I plan to visit a few. I have no set plans beyond the wedding, and I'll be on my own, with limited luggage, so I can really explore wherever I want. I'd love to take my backpack, but that won't happen. I can live with a small suitcase - I'll find a small hotel and park my stuff there for a couple of days at a time and then move on. I've no idea what to expect, and that's often the best way to travel. No expectations, no disappointments!!!

Today's post will be short because I've also posted a second blog post, which you should find right after this one. It's all about potential classes for the fall. Take a look if you're interested, and provide me with some feedback via email. Even if you don't plan to attend, I'm curious what classes are popular these days. 

Compared to some people who are teaching garment making, I'm very inexpensive. I've heard of TWO people teaching garment-making classes (at least one was CDN), and the fee? Do you really want to know? $250 - 260 US$$$ For something that doesn't really need a class. I get it that I'm more experienced. But still!!!! 

After my presentation to the Thames River Quilt Guild, one of the members, who I knew from a local guild, wrote about what she learned or how she compared quilts to business. I thought it was quite profound. I don't think you can see the article unless you have a LinkedIn account. So I'll steal some of it. The person's name is Camilla Bagnell. 

I'm not going to copy the entire article, but if you have a LinkedIn account, here's the link to the rest. 

Yes—life is all about simplicity and not overthinking things, especially our hobbies!!! 

So many life lessons to be learned and to continue to learn from everything that crosses our daily path. 

By the time you read this, I shall be on the other side of the Atlantic, and I can only imagine the stories and the trials and tribulations that may or may not come my way!!!

I'll be blogging every day unless there are some major issues, but you may have to be patient!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

CLASS IDEAS starting in Fall 2026/2027

 

Here is a group of quilts suggested by some of my current students for a scheduled sew-along starting in fall 2026 and running to 2027. Providing feedback does NOT mean commitment. Sessions will be ONE hour per month ON ZOOM to accommodate everyone regardless of the geographical location. The classes will be on Saturday morning. 

I have NOT culled any of the suggestions, but here are some things I consider when selecting a pattern for a 9-month-long sew-along. Some of these quilt patterns will likely NOT make the cut based on my criteria, but they may make a good single or two-part class.  

• Variety of blocks: the class/sew-along will last 9 months, and there needs to be at least 8 different components/techniques, so each month we have something new to learn.
• Cost is important: I don't want to suggest a pattern that requires multiple rulers, templates, or other fees. It will be your responsibility to procure the pattern (trying to keep it under $50 CDN), fabric (hopefully from your stash), and my class fee of $60. 

I'm looking for additional suggestions if you have anything to throw in the mix. You can be brutal in your comments about the suitability of the pattern - hate that technique, hate that fabric choice, too expensive, or whatever. I will never satisfy everyone, but if I can find one or possibly two patterns/techniques that work for the majority, that is my goal. 

You can email any comments to me (elainetheriault@gmail.com). Please include "2027" in the subject so I can find it. Note that I will not be checking email regularly until May 1, at which time I'll evaluate your feedback and make a decision. 

Some people saw these quilts over the weekend, and I totally forgot this first one. This was MY choice, and I never included it. DUH!!!!!! 

Someone has also suggested this quilt - 

While this quilt is too simple for a 9-part sew-along, perhaps there is a need for an improve-your-quilt-skills quilt like this one. It could be a 3-time multi-part. Anyone interested in that kind of class? 

Someone also threw Jacqueline DeJonge quilts into the mix. Is there a desire for that kind of quilt? 

You may want to try wool appliqué, but are afraid to tackle a large quilt. Let me know, and we can work from a kit and do a small project so you can determine if you would like that style. 

I'm super flexible and have taught for over 25 years, and I've seen it all. I've taught over 80 of these sew-alongs, and the feedback from my students is extremely favorable. I have mostly chosen the patterns in the past, and now I'm asking you! 

Please note that ALL classes will be on Zoom. And remember - expressing interest is NOT committing to the class. 

Feel free to forward this blog post to anyone you think might be interested in a class. 

I will also be running a multi-part class on SCRAPS - how to generate them, how to cut and store them, and how to use them, and I'll provide many patterns to help you get them under control! 

So put your thinking caps on and let me know what you like and dislike. You do NOT need to comment on all the quilts --- and if you dislike or like, let me know why!

Have a super day

Ciao~!!!!