Actually, I compared it with my existing choice, and decided that it's better and cheaper.

http://www.hotelvillasonia.com

and it's got a pool.

but it certainly feeds the temptation to keep looking!

annhig,
Go for the better, cheaper option!

but I can't help you with the temptation to continue to search....my only advice for managing the planning addiction is to plan another trip!

Oh Annhig... I'm so sorry. You've had a relapse?

not really, Julie - I have been very busy at work this week so no time!

Modica is all up and down stairs. Not so Noto. But in Modica there is a little tourist "train" that takes you all around the side with the churches. Takes about 45 minutes to do the whole route. We took it up to the top and walked down, much easier whether you can do stairs or not!

Progol - glad to hear your trip is coming together, it sounds great!

pthomas, I noticed that you wrote about a tourist train and tried to find info about it, but found limited info about it. Do you know if it's daily? We'll be there during the week, not a weekend, so I hope it's available when we are there. Sounds like fun! I've been saving your report -- lots,of good details to help me in my planning!

Wtb-- thank you! I'm so looking forward to the trip! And with less than 3 months to go, it does feel real!

progol:

eccolo!

http://www.quotidianodiragusa.it/201...-barocco/15008

it says that it runs every day from 10am to 7pm and costs €5 pp [with reductions for the young and old] which entitles you to hop on and off all day.

it has not been without incident:

http://www.ragusah24.it/2015/05/18/i...contro-unauto/

according to this YouTube clip it was still running in August '15:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwvkJtw1efk

though the TI doesn't mention it at all:

http://visitmodica.com/en

hope that helps!

annhig,
Many thanks for the link - I had read about the trenino's introduction but not much more than that. Here's hoping it's still running when I get there! And without any accidents!

Paule

Progol - I was doing some more research yesterday and discovered that there's a michelin 2 star in Ragusa:

http://www.cicciosultano.it/chi-sono/

Who knew? [certainly not me].

I'm hoping that it'll be within walking distance of our B&B so we can waddle home after our €175 each dinners [in my dreams!]

in fact I just found out there are two:

http://www.locandadonserafino.it

now to start working on DH!

Annhig, perhaps the "sacrifice" would be to do a lunch in one, dinner in the other?

Waddling home is right! Both look amazing!

good idea, progol, though as we only have 2 nights there that might be a little difficult to fit it all in.

Did you see that the Ristorante del Duomo has a new "cheaper" restaurant called I bianchi?

Perhaps we should forgo the trip to Agrigento and just stay in Ragusa and eat!

[and have you seen the Locanda's beach restaurant? how am I going to fit that in????]

annhig,

How you want to celebrate your birthday and what kind of restaurant experiences you enjoy are known best by you, but there are so many negative reports of high-end Michelin meals in Italy -- and so much joy from those who eat traditional Sicilian food at agriturismi and the like -- you might want to do a lot of research reading reviews of these places before committing yourself to the price tag that Michelin 2 stars demand.

I think that for some very well-heeled travelers, they are rather afraid of Sicilian food, view it a low-end, and gravitate toward Michelin restaurants while on the "exotic" island. It's a bit like those ski bunnies who go to the Alps and eat in Michelin restaurants. They have no intention of getting mud on their shoes eating cheese and stew in a mountain rifugio.

But since you speak Italian, and have plenty of Italy under your belt, you have the opportunity to walk through doors where others fear to go and get the real deal Sicilian cooking (and wine) on its own turf. I think I might pay through the nose to get the best restaurant lunch possible in Taormina (food there can be really bad) and enjoy a bottle of the best white wine from Etna to go with it.

But between now and September, I'd have my ear on the ground for the beloved home-cooking meal near Modica, or on the seaside towns where you will be swimming, or around Agrigento (this is one of the oldest olive-oil and almond growing regions in Europe).

Also bear in mind that the heat in September might affect your appetite. You might want to join the Siclians in eating gelato and the exquisite granite the make from almond mils and gorgeous "gelo" they make with watermelon (yes, that's jello -- but it is out of this world)

http://blog.giallozafferano.it/cucin...31_2120441.jpg

or the also make it with the local cinnamon

http://www.seeracusa.it/cms/wp-conte...-seeracusa.jpg

or lemon with pistachios

http://www.mondopalermo.it/wp-conten...9/Cattura3.jpg

Really SL you should know better than to take my on-line musings too literally.

The closest we are likely to get to one of these high end establishments is a prix-fixe lunch and I wouldn't put my shirt on that. We will indeed be searching out the little local places in the hope of finding the simple tastes of Sicily though I suspect that not being a "jelly" fan, I'll probably be giving those beautifully photographed concoctions a miss. I'm sure that DH would like them though, and eating granita is certainly something I'm looking forward to.

as ever, thank you for your generosity in sharing your knowledge and experience.

annhig, I feel your pain! Too, too many eating options, of both the high and low end, kind! I'm all for the local, mom & pop place, but I sure wouldn't sneer at a Michelin-starred meal (if my pockets would allow it)!

SL, I appreciate your comments and look forward to perusing the links you posted. Gelato, granita and the watermelon 'gelo' sound wonderful!

Since we've moved to the topic of food from that of accommodations (annhig, stop looking at hotels right now! LOL), you might be interested in this website: http://www.homefood.it/en/percorsi/

I know nothing about it other than what I read on the site, but they seem to have numbers of home cooks who are willing to make a meal for visitors in their home. Some of them will combine it with a cooking lesson. At first glance there were three in the Ragusa area and others elsewhere in Sicily. Sounds like a lot more fun and interesting than Michelin rests.

Looks interesting, shellio! I just started to look at it, but looks like it could be a wonderful experience. It's not clear to me how exactly it works yet but I haven't had a chance to really review the site.

I think that I've heard of this before Shellio, but not been able to find anything as detailed as this before, so thanks so much for posting it.

it looks like a terrific opportunity to eat really local food and as you say, more fun and interesting than the Michelin experiences.

I wonder how far in advance one has to book?

I have no idea about booking, but I do see that there is a number of guests noted on each listing. I wonder if that is a minimum and fewer than that may not book, or that any booking would be cancelled if that number is not reached? Haven't had a chance to look at the site in depth yet.