Messina (Sicily), Italy

After our first day at sea, we traveled through the straight of Messina and arrived at the tip of Sicily, which is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. By the specific location of the city, it has been dominated by Greeks, Arabs, Byzantines, and Normans, allowing the city to be very diverse with its culture and architecture. Even though we docked at the port of Sicily, we traveled to a small town called Taormina. This was by far our favorite location due to it being idyllically perched on a rocky mountain side that has breathtaking views at every corner with winding streets filled with shops and restaurants.

{One of the breathtaking views}

 

{The smallest street in all of Sicily}

{Beautiful church in the center of the city}

The excursion that we booked was wonderful as the fabulous tour guide and driver took us to Taormina's most popular spot, Corso Umberto. This is a well known street that winds down the center of the city  where we bought a classic hand crafted ceramic bowl with the colors of the city, as well as even more delicious gelatos.

{The start of Corso Umberto}

 

{Store where we bought an adorable handmade Christmas ornament}

{Another beautiful church}

{Local stone work above the doors to keep out evil spirits}

After we spent time wandering the streets with an hour or two of free time, our guide took us to an amphitheater that was originally built in the 3rd century BC by the Greeks, which overlooks the coast. The Greeks initially used it as a theater of the arts; however, when the Romans overtook the city, they transformed it into a smaller coliseum where they used it for gladiators and wild animal fights. Now, the amphitheater is used for concerts to the public as many major artists have performed there: U2, Pavarotti, and many others.

{The white seats are what they had to fill in once the Romans knocked them down for the gladiator fights with animals to make it safe for public viewing}

{The view from the top of the theater}

Afterwards, we walked back into town and had a private lunch at a traditional Taormina hotel as we had a gorgeous view of the coast. We were served a delicious pasta appetizer, lamb that was coated in breadcrumbs, and a cannoli for dessert, as well as local red wine.

 After lunch we took a bus up to the winding mountain side of Mount Etna, which is an active volcano that last erupted in 2001 destroying parts of the city that were later rebuilt. Since the local temperature in town was a nice breezy 85 degrees, we didn’t realize that it could get that cold at the top and were not properly dressed for the weather. I obviously didn't get out, but Richard did and was able to get a few pictures.  It was a low of 38 degrees with snow on the ground!!!

{It was actually smoking that day}

{From the top}

{Silvestri Spent Craters}