andreadee

I will be bringing my 3 daughters and my husband to Sicily. We did Italy/Sicily in 2011. This time we want to visit it in a different way. We are "churched out." We went to many museums, ruins, etc...this time we want to visit olive groves, pick olives, figs, whatever is in season. Go to olive oil places...take a cooking class...shop little towns..walk beaches. Eat at wonderful local places. Stay in the little towns that are inviting.

We have family in Polizzi Generosa. We will spend 3 nights there. I love that location! I want to picnic in the mill area where my grandfather worked. (The mill is gone). WE will have a car. I am guessing that since we are going to Polizzi we should limit our trip to the Eastern side of Sicily. I am a bit worried that it will be too touristy. I hear Cefalu is a nice place. We drove through it and swam in the ocean in March. The beach was dead. We did not see the sites of Cefalu...this time we will.

I hear Taormina is beautiful but is it major touristy?

I need some hidden treasures. I read about Giardini Naxos and Ortigia. I read that the ceramic place isn't a necessary visit...

I want a little italian lady to teach us some local dish to make...we are not looking for fancy accommodations...just clean and sufficient for a family of 5. We will have a car but love to explore on foot. We have 3 girls so shopping is a must. We are all foodies!

We will also visit Palermo as we have many relatives there too....we are staying a bit quiet about that as they want to see us every part of every day. tee her

Mondello was the perfect spot for us...if you have been to Mondello area you will know what we like. Little villages with local cuisine is just what we are looking for.

If you haven't been to Polizzi...try it out...it's in the clouds and just heavenly!

andreadee

So...any secret places in Sicily that are a must?

kybourbon

I haven't been to Sicily yet, but have a language school in Cefalu on my "to do" list. They also have a location in a more remote area, but I think it's closer to Palmero. You might get some ideas for things available around Cefalu from their website.

http://www.solemar-sicilia.it/en/

Michael

Taormina is overloaded with tourist. They are its main industry. But there are towns around Etna that not filled with tourists. We stayed in Randazzo, a town built out of black volcanic rock.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...th/4785193552/

Bronte is another possibility.

TDudette

I was going to say Mondello. DH and I took a bus there from Palermo where we stayed.

We really only went to touristy places but enjoyed the town of Agrigento--we had time to walk to the summit of it while waiting for bus back to Palermo.

May I presume you saw Monreale already? Even though a church, the mosaics are too spectacular to miss, imho.

txtree

We stayed in a house near-ish to Taormina on the slopes of Etna and I would highly recommend that area for experiencing the more quiet joys of Sicily. The property had tons of fruit trees and I took lovely hikes up through the vineyards, chestnut trees and olive groves. We were close enough to everything that we could be touristic on days when we felt like it, but our house was in a rural location and certainly felt off the beaten track.
Here is the house: http://www.thinksicily.com/il-palmen...-castagni.aspx

ira

Hi A,

>this time we want to visit olive groves, pick olives,...

You do NOT want to eat an olive right off the tree.

cymraeg

Yes, Taormina is very touristy. Probably the most touristy place in Sicily. When cruise ships are around you can hardly move.

<<I need some hidden treasures. I read about Giardini Naxos...>> If these two sentences are in any way connected they are a contradiction in terms. Giardini Naxos is a modernish and busy beach resort below Taormina.

I found another slight contradiction in your post: "live like a local" vs. "we are all foodies". In the present economic climate over here it is well known that Italians are cutting down on eating out.

kja

Taormina is incredibly touristy. It is MUCH nicer after day trippers leave, but still clearly a place that survives because of tourists.

I find it hard to imagine that you will find hidden treasures in Giardini Naxos or Ortigia - both are well on the beaten trail. (And at least in the case of Ortigia, deservedly so.)

I read that the ceramic place isn't a necessary visit... Do you mean Caltagirone? No, it isn't necessary. Some of us enjoyed it.

Jean

I would think your family on Sicily would be a better source for generally unknown/secret/hidden treasures.

jill_h

We will be visiting Sicily soon - Scopello specifically. We will be helping our friend harvest his olives and with the process of making olive oil. We also plan to visit Erice and Segesta while we're there. I'm hoping to get in some hiking in Zingaro Nature Reserve which is very near where we will be staying.

Scopello is so small you have to live like the locals!

andreadee

Thank you all! I will look into Scopello. We loved Mondello and my husband said it was one of the most beautiful places he has ever been. The dinner we had there might have caused that vote.
I cannot believe that the price of airline tickets doubled and then some since 2011. What the heck!

jill_h

Just returned from Scopello! LOVED it and where we stayed. Completely unobstructed view of the ocean.

Here's a link to where we stayed.

http://www.homelidays.co.uk/scopello...-192135en1.htm

We tried a different restaurant each night; however, since we were with friends who live there part-time, I didn't pay attention to the names.

We visited Erice and enjoyed that too.

TDudette

Neat-looking place, jill_h. Hope you'll do a trip report about the olive visit.

Also looking forward to reading about where you end up, andreadee!

Dickie_Gr

I am not sure about the one liner " live like a local". They have been shooting each other for 150 years.

The coast south of Siracusa is beautiful. Look at Vendicari, it is easy get get to Noto, Modica and Ragusa.

Taormina is a diabolical place, cruise ships and tatty shops. Yes, it has stunning views but so does my house in Scotland.

jill_h

TDudette - surprisingly there is not much involved in making olive oil, except you have to have A LOT of olives!!! "Our" trees did not produce much this year so we ended up buying some olives from a friend.

1. Put cloth down on the ground to catch the olives

2. Use little plastic rakes with long poles (reminded me of a kid's toy) to reach into the trees to "rake" the olives off the branches. It doesn't damage the olives.

3. collect the olives into baskets or sacks and take to the olive pressing facility (no need to pick out the small branches and leaves)

4 put the 200 kilos (~440 lbs) of olives you picked into a much larger container so they can be weighed. (The trees we picked this year did not yield enough olives so we had to buy some from a friend.

5. Wait your turn (patiently!) for your big bucket of olives to start their transition into oil. They first go into a tumbler that somehow separates the olives from the branches and leaves.

6 Once separated, they are rinsed and go into a masher that mashes the olives into a paste-like substance

7 Then this paste goes into a centrifuge that miraculously separates the water from the oil.

8 Once the oil is separated, it goes into a container that filters it and you put your buckets under the spout and out comes your oil!!!

9 The oil must sit in a dark cool environment for a couple of months before it is ready for use. It comes out tasting somewhat bitter, but the color is beautiful!

That's it -- somewhat elementary in my explanation, but it was fairly quick and easy.

We got about 10 gallons of oil. The process is completely natural - I was very surprised at the simplicity of it all - well, there were some pretty sophisticated pieces of equipment, but the basics were quite simple.