SEPTEMBER 2024 Sicily Retreat

7 days in Taormina & Ortygia

SOLD OUT

September 25 - October 2, 2024

7 DAYS, 7 NIGHTS

Click the button below to reserve your experience. Space is limited to 7 guests. See below for Terms & Conditions. Email leighesposito.assistant@gmail.com for information on the optional two-day Palermo add-on, or with any questions.

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Travel with Leigh to magical Sicily and trace the path of her popular novel’s titular character, the Godmother, across the south and east coasts of this breathtaking island. As you absorb the beauty of Baroque towns and ancient temples, the shimmering Aeolian and Mediterranean seas, and majestic Mount Etna, you will stay at chic luxury hotels and taste the best food and wine Sicily has to offer, all carefully curated by Leigh. Along the way, you will be inspired to align with your deepest creative and personal dreams through group roundtables and tarot readings with your fellow fabulous travelers. Below is a sample itinerary for this once-in-a-lifetime journey into the heart of the Mediterranean’s largest and most enigmatic island.

Note: The final itinerary will be confirmed closer to departure.

Sample Itinerary

Day 1

Arrive into Catania airport on September 24 so you have time to settle in and enjoy a night on your own in this picturesque historical city. Hotel and restaurant recommendations will be provided upon request. This is your night to get into the mindset for the journey you’re about to undertake.

Day 2

A luxury car service will transport you to the jewel of Siracusa, the ancient island city of Ortygia. Check into the 4-Star Algila Hotel, located in a historical Ortygia castle, and freshen up before embarking on a private boat tour of Ortygia’s famous rock formation, Due Fratelli (I ‘Ru Frati in Sicilian) and its blue grotto, just like the Godmother did upon her arrival in Sicily.

Afterward, head to the tiny bakery that invented the most famous dessert in The Godmother, where you will make and eat the spiral-shaped Eureka pastries (called Archimedes Spirals in the novel). Next, follow the Godmother’s footsteps to the fountain of Arethusa and learn the legend of its (and the island of Ortygia’s) creation. Later, rejoin the group for a fabulous dinner at one of Ortygia’s top restaurants and take your passeggiata (after-dinner walk) through the curving stone streets to Ortygia’s gorgeous Piazza Duomo. Shopping in Ortygia is some of the best on the island, so be sure to notify your credit card company because the offerings are irresistible.

LUNCH AND DINNER INCLUDED

Day 3

Visit the awe-inspiring archaeological site of Siracusa, built by the ancient Greeks. After a simple and delicious Sicilian lunch, we will seek out the imposing seaside Castello Maniace, where Leigh will read tarot for the group on a promontory overlooking the Aeolian Sea. At night, we will dine at the restaurant of a famous local chef.

BREAKFAST, LUNCH, AND DINNER INCLUDED

Day 4

Day trip to the spectacular Val di Noto, a UNESCO heritage site and the oldest preserved Baroque city in the world. Taste the famous local almond granita, Modica chocolate, and more, as we savor the sights of this spectacular valley. Back in Ortygia at night, enjoy free time for shopping with your new friends before a casual dinner at a local wine bar.

BREAKFAST, LUNCH, AND DINNER INCLUDED

Day 5

After breakfast, enjoy a private tour and tasting at celebrated female-owned Occhipinti Winery, a star of the up-and-coming Sicilian wine culture.

BREAKFAST, LUNCH, AND DINNER INCLUDED

Day 6

Break out your walking shoes, because today you will visit the Mother whose smoke and flame gives the island its abundance: Mount Etna, known as Mungibeddu in Sicilian. Travel, as did Isabel, through the hushed majesty of the Etna Birch Forest and emerge to gaze upon stunning craters, breathing in the perfumed scent of the volcano’s natural beauty as you go. The photo opportunities are spectacular, and you will descend from the mountain feeling purified and at one with the land. Next, transfer to Taormina and check into the 5-star, waterfront Atlantis Bay Hotel. Enjoy dinner at a lively Taormina trattoria.

BREAKFAST, LUNCH, AND DINNER INCLUDED

Day 7

After breakfast at the hotel, take a luxury boat tour of the Taorminese coast and learn about the many gods and goddesses who, according to legend, live in these mysterious waters to this day. After the boat, stroll the winding streets of Taormina to the Piazza Duomo to see, as did the Godmother, the famous fountain and its sculpture of the female minotaur that is Taormina’s symbol. Enjoy a night exploring the town on your own or with your new friends.

BREAKFAST AND LUNCH INCLUDED

Day 8

Today, we will make our pilgrimage to the most sacred site in The Godmother: the Madonna della Rocca, a tiny chapel carved into the towering stone of Mount Tauro. There, we will have time to meditate, take photographs, and share sacred stories of our own. Afterward, we will visit the Teatro Greco of Taormina, shop, and enjoy a typical Sicilian lunch of granita at the famous Bam Bar. At night, toast your new friends at a farewell feast at one of Taormina’s most coveted restaurants.

BREAKFAST AND LUNCH INCLUDED

Day 9

Return to Catania for your flight home OR continue on to Palermo if you elect the Palermo add-on! (If you choose the add-on, you will want to plan your return from Palermo’s airport).

Day 10

Palermo Add-On optional. Tour the sights and taste the unique food of Sicily’s capital, delighting in the multilayered grit and glamor of the ancient city of Palermo.