Sicilia Outlet Village – gorgeous oasis of shopping nirvana

There are few places in the world more unreservedly beautiful than Sicily. Blessed with sun, sea, glorious food and the tang of lemon-scented air, it’s little wonder that its people are so proud of their beautiful land. For many Maltese, Sicily has been a natural holiday destination for generations: its lush scenery, coupled with our close proximity to it, have made it somewhat easy for us to fall in love with it over and over again. It wouldn’t take much for anyone to convince us to pay it a quick visit now and again but now, thanks to the Sicilia Outlet Village, we have a new reason altogether. It takes about half an hour to get to Sicily by plane, but we literally felt that we had been in the air for five minutes when we were asked to fasten our seatbelts for the plane’s descent onto Italian soil; after that, it was a hop and a skip away to Taormina to put down our luggage at the very fabulous VOI Grand Hotel Atlantis Bay. With over 83 rooms and breathtaking views of the bay, the hotel really set the tone for the rest of the trip, which was memorable to say the least. After much oohing and aahing over everything from the luxurious airy rooms to the thoughtful trays of fruit...