Lulu and I will try to remember to take pictures and post our meals here this week. We’re totally bushed right now, but very happy on a gorgeous day in Taormina. Having been in North Carolina with 90+ temps, I find it comfortable; she’s been in New England, and thinks it’s hot. Started with welcome drinks from the hotel on their terrace.
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Che bello! Looking very much forward to your trip report & photos 
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Lulu is catching up on sleep while I do my thing (which very much includes looking for postcards and having a drink). Our family is obsessed with the show Below Deck (bet that’s a surprise), and on the drive up the hill Lulu noticed that the St David, the yacht on the current season, was here. A little sleuthing confirmed it was the same boat. So exciting! Anyway, I add my current view. (Patio of Hotel Metropole)
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Stunning. Sicily is probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited.
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I think it’s my favorite place. It has it all.
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I was blown away by O’ahu, but Sicily is much easier to get to & much cheaper 
Thailand is up there, too. Cheap, but not as ‘easy’ to get to.
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Lulu and her Mom…you give me great pleasure to follow along!!!
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Fantastic view, and a stunning hotel!! Have a blast!
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Just to be clear, we’re not staying at the Metropole. But it has a delightful and surprisingly easy to find a spot patio for drinks. We went back after dinner and Lulu had a Bellini.
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Nice 
. I always check out different hotel patios and rooftop bars. But the hotel is still stunning, for $1000 a night 
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Hotel bars can be perfect! Getting rare to find a good oone, but when they’re good i love them.
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Dinner last night at Rosmarino. We liked this place, but I think i was hoping it would be mind bogglingly good to show off how wonderful Sicily is to Lulu, and it wasn’t. We started with the octopus and potatoes, and the tuna tartare. I asked what the preparation was on the tuna, and was told capers, olives, lemon. Three of our favorite things! But it was basically just the tuna. Very clean fresh tuna, very nice. The octopus was very good. But we were both missing the caper, olive, lemon thing and both ordered pasta with branzino (I think?), capers, olives, and lemon. This was good, but I think they forgot the lemon, and it could have used something to brighten it. I was apparently really missing the lemon, because I ordered lemon cake for dessert (and loved it!), while Lulu got chocolate mousse. Also very good. We don’t have a reservation for this evening. Not sure if we’ll play it by ear or ask the hotel to make us one. Might be a play it by ear night.
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I peep some lemon peel surrounding the tuna… maybe they ran out of actual lemons? 
The strawberry atop the tartare is an interesting addition.
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The olive oil looks a bit like lemon, and there are delicious chunks of orange around it, but there really wasn’t any lemon. Same reaction to the strawberry!
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Ah, those are orange segments. They looked like lemon peel in the pic.
Hope there’s more lemon in your future. It’s one of my favorite flavors/ingredients, especially in combo with capers
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EEEW. I feel awful for recommending ROSMARINO!
I am so sorry it was mediocre. If you do return—and sounds like you will not—ask Rita what she recomend s. Meanwhile, I owe you big time. Next Sicilian dinner is on me!
Last night I made a NYTIMES recipe for long pasta with tomato paste and preserved lemons with heavy cream. Needs tweaking.
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Desserts look wonderful!
So do the octopus and tuna, but sometimes what missing stands out more than what’s there.
for the coming meals!
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I was in Taormina half a century ago with my parents. Beautiful! I took a photo of a stray cat that was riding the cable car from the beach to the town!!! Had my first “real” margherita pizza there. I I thought “why is this charred?” 
.
ETA: we stayed at the Mazzaro Sea Palace. I just looked at the prices today and thought, wtf? At least I have my old 35mm slides.
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No, please! You’ve helped me so many times with perfect suggestions. Lulu woke up this morning and said how much she enjoyed dinner. This may just be me getting very hyper focused on showing her a good time. And everywhere has its good and bad moments. I definitely did miss the promised lemon, but otherwise it was good.
We’re thinking about having pizza at a spot we walked by last night, and are currently sharing a fist sized spinach arancini.
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