Travels with Louise-Taormina
By LOUISE HUGHES

Slept like a baby with the French doors open so I could hear the waves. I'm getting exercise as there are circular stairs to each floor or outdoor stairs also no elevator-the floor above mine is Lello's private sanctum and the one above that is the main floor with huge living room, sitting room, dining room, big lovely kitchen, dinette and balcony plus four bedrooms, baths and maid's quarters. Dee stayed up here- the gorgeous floor above was Madams-complete-she came down for meals when she wished but had everything on that huge floor. I never saw the fifth floor but it was for guests, many from Milan.

I talked Dee into a walk about town and we took photos, sat in the park and ate Gelato which is Sicilians favorite thing after wine. We saw no tourists!

I bought a few lovely ceramic pieces and we walked home enjoying the views of the sea all the way, very picturesque.

Today there will be a large family dinner welcoming us and primarily renewing Dee's relationships with the added joy of several children born since her last visit.

This turned into a great party which lasted through the evening with dancing outside on the patio. My personel best was the gift from Gustavo of a giant coffee gelato cake. All mine as he brought others for the dinner! How gracious-it lasted all week-I'll never taste anything like it! Gus owns a four star restaurant which we all visited on other evenings.

One thing about Sicilians is their love of good food and hours is average for dinner and lunch is a lighter meal but still semi-formal. No real breakfast which is normal and suits me anywhere. At home also.

Tomorrow Aida wants to drive us to the beautiful city of Taormina which is very close to Mt. Aetna and is Sicily's most dramatic resort. It was home to the famous Greek theatre which is partly Roman as you can see by the Arches. The natural setting is lovely with the sea on the craggy coast and Mt. Etna on the other side waiting to erupt!

Aida is a delightful lady, very tiny and has a distinguished air. I'm happy that she is taking us as she likes shopping and this is tourist's paradise. The ferry to Italy is at Messina. Unfortunately with the highest crime rate in Sicily, is Catania a few miles south of Taormina and we avoided this city.

A lovely day, and after I heard faint sounds of movement I showered and dressed. Ready for our excursion. Aida is a good driver, a necessity here where basically there is one highway going all around the island with only a couple of real highways crossing the interior. A skyway was being built along side the "ring road" which should be completed now and relieve the awful truck traffic.

The drive to Taormina was a very nice drive and as we neared Messina we could see snow capped, fiery Mt. Etna, an imposing sight. Lava slides are on the right! This is a volatile volcano which erupts quite often but farmers rebuild as orchards grow amazing crops in the mineral filled ash plus earth. We parked and took the

area. This is a gorgeous place and attracts so many that a shuttle is a necessity. What a great shopping street-it has shaded benches where Dee sat and watched our purchases! We both bought a lot of pretties and Aida enjoyed it too as she doesn't come here a lot. Palermo is closer and has every designer shop in the world plus her friends an relatives are there.

After a couple hours of spending we collected Dee who loved people watching, and went in search of a restaurant. A European custom I love, is menus in all windows. We finally chose a lovely one which pleased us all and were seated at a table with a beautful view.

The place was full of flowers and there was an outside terrace with a garden. We had a long friendly conversation over the delish meal. The town is so pretty and truly had some bargains among the more souvenier type things. Top notch shoes.

Mt. Etna looked down upon us all day and we got a closer look near Messina on the way back to S. Stepfano. This was a perfect day for all of us.

A long social evening was ahead of us so we were happy to arrive at the gate and ring the chime to get in and park the Lancia. I had three stairways to walk down to the apartment and take a little rest and look at my purchases.

Fatima had done more ironing and everything was in order. I am starting to enjoy being spoiled!

Several friends were here at dinner which is normal and such a happy custom. There are no fast food places here!