Friday, April 24, 2009

Castelmola and the Turrisi Bar


We had a break in the weather this morning so Paul went to the gym for one of his four hour workouts.  He IS incredibly fit and active for being 69 years old.  We decided to drive north up the Cyclops Riviera to the town of Castelmola that overlooks the resort town of Taormina.

Guys having lunch

It was April 23rd, the Feast of St. George, a.k.a. San Giorgio as he is known in these parts, is the Patron Saint of Castelmola!  Let the games begin!

These workers actually invited us to join them for lunch but we said no as we were trying to find the theme related Turrisi Bar that friends had recommended.  It was difficult to say no because their food gave off a GREAT aroma of barbequed meat.

San Giorgio himself, Star-of-the-Day

The Green Hills Below Castlemola

Laurie in the entryway of the Turrisi Bar

See if you can guess what their theme is.

My Chair

The Drink Menu

Two Hungry Patrons

At last the place mats and package of silverware arrive with some red wine!

Have you figured the theme out yet?

Ann and Donald Lawrie

This funny and fun couple hail from Glasgow, Scotland and joined us for lunch with an eclectic group of international fellow avid hikers who were trekking their way through Sicily on holiday.

One of their three sons, they also have a daughter, is getting married in a few weeks so we had a lot to talk about.  They even invited us to stay at their house if we visit that far north in July.

Laurie and I shared a good pizza and a great antipasto plate for lunch before deciding to check out some more of this quaint mountaintop village.

Laurie almost forgot her purse that she had left on the purse rack

Of course, we availed ourselves of their restroom facilities before we left.

High atop the Turrisi Bar with the Castelmola Duomo in the background

Yes, you guessed it correctly if you said that the Turrisi Bar's theme is "Beautiful Panoramic Sicily"!

The glass fronts and outdoor eating spots on their four story building affords you incredible views of the Cyclops Riviera!

For more info on the Turrisi Bar go to www.turrisibar.it

The Castelmola Duomo Piazza as seen from the Turrisi Bar

The Duomo was built in 1934, maybe the only church erected in the last 300 years in all of Europe.

Taormina

Note their famous Greek Amphitheater at the top of this picture.

Denver and Tony discussing offensive strategies

Paul hard at work with our defensive linemen and linebackers.

We had a good individual technique practice tonight for both the offense and the defense in preparation for Saturday's game at home against the 4-1 Bolzano Giants.

Denver chowing down a Mustafa's Kebob after practice.

Mustafa's needs a theme.

Catania's Bellini Opera House

Mustafa's is located just around the corner from the Opera House.  We are standing in front of the Quaranta Gelateria as I take this picture.  I may have had a coconut and DEEP RICH DARK chocolate cone of gelato for 1.80 Euros, but I'm not sure.
 

5 comments:

DPLassen said...

Your theme, clearly, is keeping the Italian gelato industry healthy.
I could really go for some the chocolate gelato from the place in Bologna about now.

George said...

At Bologna vs, the Doves next week.

itzbfitz said...

I believe you are mistaken, my friend. The Turrisi Bar's theme is obviously inspired by the Cyclops Riviera, as evidenced by the abundance of one-eyed monsters depicted in the decor.

Anonymous said...

Giorgio,

The La Minchia of the Turrisi Bar is interesting, in that I have seen that same theme in my travels to rural towns in Portugal and Turkey.

By the way, I went to the Husky Spring Football game today. If nothing else, there was a great deal of enthusiasm displayed. Locker looked great! Good crowd, great day.

Ciao!

Marco

George said...

You can't use the term "Minchia" on this family oriented blog!