White Almond Sicily

Fans of The Godfather trilogy directed by Francis Ford Coppola are in for a real treat when visiting Taormina as many of the movie locations are within easy reach. Don Corleone, played by Marlon Brando and Robert de Niro, takes his name from the town Corleone which is situated in Sicily's mountain interior, which has historical links with the Mafia. Unfortunately the town was not deemed suitable to be used as a movie location so Coppola looked towards the north eastern towns of Sicily. Savoca is a beautiful serene hillside village at the end of a windy steep drive approximately 40 minutes from Taormina. This tranquil spot was used as the setting for the courtship and wedding in Chiesa di Santa Lucia, between Michael Corleone played by Al Pacino and his first wife Apollonia played by Simonetta Stefanelli, an actress who actually came from Savoca. As you enter Savoca you will find Bar Vitelli where Michael Corleone discusses his marriage in The Godfather Part I with ...

and so The Puppy Road Trip continues ….. Day Two After a delicious croissant with coffee and a last stroll around Dijon to stretch Daisy’s legs we drive to the Port of Genoa to board our 20 hour ferry to Palermo, Sicily. Mont Blanc We drive down through Burgundy and the French Alps towards the Mont Blanc tunnel. The views of the Alps are spectacular especially if the mountains are dusted with snow, we start to pass road signs displaying Geneva, Milan, Turin. Mont Blanc beckons us like a huge iceberg in front of us becoming larger and larger. There are strict rules for driving through Mont Blanc after a fire in the tunnel in 1999. Speed restrictions are strictly kept at a minimum 50 km/h and maximum 70 km/h at a minimum distance between vehicles of 150metres.  You can feel  the 126 surveillance cameras that line the tunnel watching your every move. On entering we say “Au Revior” to France and a big “Buon Giorno” to Italy on the other side. Onc...