After three days with my cousins, in my mother’s hometown of Grotte, I was off again to discover another part of Sicily: Noto, in the southeast “Baroque corner” of the island, just outside of Siracusa. These towns are known for their Baroque history, art and architecture. 

I decided to stay at the beach outside of the city of Noto because, as the descriptions all said, it was just a 20-minute shuttle ride into the town center. I was there for four days, soaking up the sun, climbing steps to panoramic views and eating cannoli. 

Getting to Noto from Grotte was an adventure in itself. There’s nothing easy about it, if you’re taking public transportation. Trains to buses would have taken all day. Luckily, there’s a taxi service in Grotte, and the owners are friends of my cousin Venera.  It was a bit more expensive but it was an easy trade since it only took three hours.  

Upon arrival, the area reminded me of any coastal beach town I’ve seen in Florida: cute little hotels and beachfront bars and restaurants with lounge chairs and umbrellas on the beach. 

I get to my place, B&B Levante, meet the owner Emanuele, and then I learn that I am the only guest for the whole weekend! They’ve got three rooms that open to a shared communal space with amenities (refrigerator, kitchen) and we have breakfast outside. 

I told Emanuele I was looking forward to discovering Noto and some surrounding towns. I had all these plans. I would just get on a bus or train and do some day trips. Then he looked at me and said, “You didn’t rent a car?” I did not. The look of bewilderment on his face was my first sign that maybe things weren’t going to go as smoothly as I thought.  

I’ll make it work! The good news is the shuttle that I read about stopped at the end of the street, literally a five-minute walk. Great! The bad news: the next bus into town arrives in four hours.  

So Emanuele connected me with a taxi driver – Tony – who showed up in about 15 minutes to take me over to the center of Noto. Tony would turn out to be a very helpful and necessary person to know in the following four days. He dropped me off at the main bus stop, gave me his card and told me to call him if I need a ride again. 

On to Noto! The first thing I wanted to see was the cathedral with the three levels of wide steps in front. It did not disappoint. But to get the full view, I would have to climb a nearby church tower and look at it from above. That was for another day.

The other thing on the checklist was to go to Caffe Sicilia, a now-famous caffe thanks to a Netflix special. I arrived full of anticipation to try the famous sweet roll with granita (think shaved ice) but it’s too crowded and I didn’t feel like waiting. That would also wait for another day.

The main street in Noto is full of little bars, ice cream shops, restaurants and wonderful stores selling liqueurs, ceramics from nearby Castiglione and beautiful linens with colorful Sicilian designs. 

I went into a chocolate tasting shop – chocolate from the nearby town of Modica is famous – and just took in the sights, sounds and, ahem, gelato.

 I also stopped in the tourist office to get tickets to Ragusa, my next day’s destination. Two different people told me that because of annual maintenance on the tracks, there are no trains running. Instead they have set up shuttle buses. But oh look! This special “Baroque line” is still running! I bought the tickets, confirmed the location of the train station, got back to the beach and looked forward to the next day.  

RAGUSA

The plan was to go to Ragusa one afternoon and then maybe hit another town called Scicli the next day. This corner of Sicily is home to these wonderful picturesque towns, with their Baroque architecture, seascapes and beautiful ceramics.

I took the shuttle in and then began my trek to the train station which was “just down the hill.” If you know anything about Italians and their concept of places and distance, I should have known better than to think the train station was just down the hill. Suffice it to say, it took me 20 minutes and three stops of asking people if I were going in the right direction before I even saw the station. 

Then I made it. And it was silent. 

Picture that image of the wild west, with tumbleweeds rolling along, no people in sight. No clerks, no open office. Just a deserted train station. Then an announcement comes over the speaker saying there are no trains and there are buses to take you to wherever you need to go. (Yes, but … I have these tickets..)

There was a group of Australians nearby who were in the same predicament. After a 30-minute wait and hope upon hope that at least one train would appear, suddenly a driver appeared offering to take all of us to where we needed to go. Coincidence? Hardly. This guy – Favio – probably hangs out there and waits for people like us who wait for phantom trains. He was offering to take us to Modica, where they were going, and on to Ragusa, for 25 euros apiece. 

Being the seasoned and cautious traveler that I am, I did the most responsible thing I could think of: I called Tony!  He knew Favio and said it was OK to trust him for the ride and that the price was OK. 

So we climbed in the car and made our way to Modica. And what do you know: people were actually waiting outside the post office for the shuttle bus because there were no trains. The system was actually working. Twenty minutes later Favio dropped me off in Ragusa.    

Ragusa is an interesting city. There are two parts to it – the upper and lower. 

The upper is the older part, with churches and steps and more churches. To ensure I didn’t have a repeat of the morning, the first thing I did was go to the tourist office and secure some bus tickets to get me back to Noto. I’d take the bus from the upper part to the lower part, get the bus outside the train station and head back.  Done. 

I walked up to the center of town, stopped in and out of shops, ate a delicious piece of focaccia and then decided I would climb the 300 steps to the church at the top, St. Mary of the Steps. Yes, that’s the name. This is where you want to go if you want to see the panorama of the upper historic section.

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Inside the city is a maze of walkways. I was snapping photos of balconies and windows. But if you don’t know where you’re going, you can end up going around in circles. 

I had no problem finding the bus to the lower part of the city. But then finding the next bus – the one to take me to Noto- that was the mystery. I wandered aimlessly for a little while, watching these big tourist buses come and go. There were no signs about the train shuttles. I finally asked one of those bus drivers where I should wait and he very kindly pointed me in the direction of the train station, which was right in front of me. Good! I’m in the right spot! 

The scheduled arrival time came and went. A half hour later, I’m starting to wonder if I should just walk down to the bus station and just get a bus back. I see another couple sitting and waiting. We’re all in this together, I thought. Now it’s an hour later and I find out they’re waiting for the bus to take them to Siracusa.  

Just as we were about to walk down and get a bus ticket, our shuttle shows up. I told the driver that I need to get to Noto and he looks at me and says, “I’m going to Noto.”  OK! We were on our way. 

I sat up front to chat a bit with the driver about what’s going on with the trains and whatnot. He then proceeds to make several phone calls. I only caught bits and pieces because he spoke in dialect. 

We stopped at Modica, others get on and then we proceeded to stop at every small town along the coast. In a way it was kind of neat to see all these places since we always had a view of the seaside.  

Then we stopped and the driver motioned for me to hop off and pointed to another bus that was parked in a gas station. I get out, say hello to the other bus driver and the three of us proceed to have a little chat because hey what’s the rush? Then I get on the other bus and I am the only passenger. 

Here’s what I think happened: when I explained to the driver in Ragusa that I needed to get to Noto, he started calling his friends to see who could meet us at this place and could take me there. I chat up the driver about this nutty system of trains and buses. He laughs and says in Italy, as soon as you get south of Rome, nothing runs as it’s supposed to. We arrived in Noto about 20 minutes later.  

Now that I had that madness out of the way, I decided to hang in Noto for the evening and treat myself to a nice dinner. It was a Saturday night and everybody was out. I planted myself at a restaurant, explained the crazy day to the hostess and she agreed that I needed some wine and pasta. And who am I to argue?

Dinner in Noto

I knew the last beach shuttle of the evening was at 1030p. I had plenty of time to enjoy dinner and walk around with the locals. The bus stop sits along this big wide open area with benches and a fountain. Children and families were all over the place. I felt absolutely safe. Then, as with the script of the way this day went, the bus was late. Now it’s 11 p.m. and I’m starting to get worried. It’s not as if I can just call a rideshare or a taxi. This was off-season for Noto. I called Emanuele at the hotel just to see what he thought I should do. 

“Call Tony!” he said. Of course! It’s 11:15 on a Saturday night and Tony shows up within five minutes to take me back to the beach. He was about to go pick up other clients but he went out of his way to come and get me. I got back to the hotel, greeted Emanuele and his friends who were outside enjoying some drinks and dessert. “Tomorrow, I’m going to the beach!” I declared and said good night.

Sunday was beach day. I walked to a nearby beach bar, put down 15 euros for a chair and planted myself for the day. What’s really interesting about these places is you see all kinds of people here: teens hanging out, 20-somethings vaping, families and even one woman making her way on the sand in her platform sandals. I was kind of in awe that she didn’t fall over. And the music was just a loop of Frank Sinatra and other jazzy favorites.  

LAST DAY

My last day in Sicily was spent wandering around Noto. When the shuttle bus arrived, I asked the driver why no bus showed up on Saturday night. He replied, “Oh, you were looking at the summer schedule. We’re in the fall schedule now.” And lo and behold, if I would have been at the stop just 15 minutes earlier, I would have caught that last bus. 

This was the day to climb up a church tower and get the panoramic shot of the cathedral’s steps. This was also the day to go back to Caffe Sicilia to get the famous Sicilian breakfast: granita – which is basically slush – and a sweet roll. You put the granita in the roll and have a coffee.  My verdict? Meh. Maybe on a hot afternoon this would be just fine but I was eating a lemon slush with a sweet roll. 

Here’s the view of the front steps to the Cathedral of Noto.

I walked to the end of the main street, relaxed in the sun at a monument, then made my way back, stopping in several shops along the way.  And then I saw a wonderful thing: a sign for a place called “Cannoliamo.” Translated, literally means “Let’s cannoli.”  Need I say more? 

It’s a relatively new cannoli shop and cannoli are made to order.  The shelves are filled with various cookies and chocolates. If you are ever in Noto, please go here. What a perfect thing to do on my last day in this little town. 

Other Sicilian wares, including a really fun T-shirt a local artist was selling on the street.

When I got back to the beach, I packed and had a farewell drink with Emanuale and his wife. I was leaving really early and wouldn’t see them. I booked Tony for a ride to the airport because of course I did. We stopped at a very popular pasticceria outside of the airport and I enjoyed my last cappuccino and a really fattening croissant with pistachio cream filling. Yay me!

Quick reflection: I love Italy’s cities – Rome, Naples, Milan – and the rolling and plush countrysides of Tuscany and Piedmont. But I really love Italy’s beaches. The seaside areas, whether in Sicily or Liguria, where I was in 2024, are just wonderful. 

On this trip, I discovered new parts of Sicily and enjoyed a few days with my cousins in my mom’s hometown. Even with all of the madness of the buses in Ragusa, and getting yelled at on my first day at the airport, this was a spectacular vacation.  

Farewell Mt. Etna and farewell Bella Sicilia!