We drove to the toe of Italy today to catch the ferry across the Straits of Messina to Sicily; arriving in Taormina about 4.00pm - enough time to look around the town before dinner. Taormina is perched 200 metres above sea level on the side of a mountain overlooking the Ionian Sea on the east coast of Sicily. The views are breathtaking and Mount Etna rises up in front of you. Corso Umberto, Taormina's pedestrian-friendly medieval main street is full of small shops, art galleries and café-bars. This is a very pretty town and I'm sure I'll enjoy my 4 night's stay.

Dinner was in the hotel tonight . The first meal I've had in a hotel on this trip and, I hope, the last. The pork chop was as tough as an old boot but the vegetable soup (entre) was very good. It was nice to get a vegetable other than spinach. The coffee was disgusting.

The coffee culture in Italy is so different to that of Australia. Here you have and espresso standing at the counter that is drunk within about 30 seconds. At home, having a cup of coffee is a social activity that is frowned on in Italy.

Everything closing for about 3 hours in the middle of the day is a pain in the arse. I know I've stated this before, so it must be really annoying. But it can't be good for the economy. It didn't happen in Venice but that could be because it is so much more touristy than down south. However, it does have a plus side - forces you to stop shopping and to have a rest.

What I learnt today...
> You can catch the train to Sicily - the train goes on the ferry.
> D.H. Lawrence wrote 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' whilst living in Taormina in the early 1920s.