Day 6. Messina, Castelmola, and Taormina.

Today, we arrived in eastern Sicily. We cruised through the Messina straights which separate Sicily from mainland Italy. It was very smooth, as it was throughout the night. We have well and truly adjusted to the time changes and sleeping regular hours, for us at least anyway. Last night, I woke up in the middle of the night (about 2am), and I could hear a whole crowd of people laughing and carrying on in the corridor. They were returning to their cabins from somewhere. There must have been a late night crowd living it up in the bar. Glad to hear that even a ship this size has a nightlife. Don’t think these two nanas will be seeing it though. LOL.

We docked behind a massive Royal Carribean ship. It made our Seabourn Pride appear very little. Those big ships hold about 5000 passengers compares to our 200.  The port of Messina seemed very quiet though, so it can clearly handle big numbers.

In our research of this city, much of the advice recomended going to a nearby city called Taormina. The best option (and most economical) for us was to hire a car, which we had pre booked. When we picked it up, the guys behind the rental car desk tried to charge us extras which were already included. We had to point this out on the paperwork, which quietened them down. IT seems as though everyone in Italy is trying to scam/get a little extra out of tourists. The Americans seem to be onto this as they have a list of questions before they sit down at a restaurant, such as “Is there a table or cover charge?”, “Is service included”, “Is there an internet connection”, etc.

We drove to Taormina along the autostrasse. Having not driven on this side of the road before, it was a little “hairy”. The speed limit is 130, and even when we were doing that, which was not often, there were people speeding past, swerving between the lanes. The Italians seem to have their own rules for driving. They cross onto the other side of the road and go past you on single lane streets, just to be in front. Everyone is in a mad rush!!

We wished this was our hire car!

view from castlemola

Church built in under the castle

Before we got to Taormina, we drove up a steep and very windy road to the mountain top village of Castelmola. There was a stunning view across the Ionian sea. There were very few cars going up and down the road to get here. It would have been very dangerous if it were the middle of tourist season, with buses etc. we had a few near misses as the rushing Italians sped past us in the opposite direction.

Hotel Sonia - for the lady!!

We enjoyed the view for a bit and then headed to Taormina. This resort type town is famed for its greek theatre which was built 300BC and cut into the mountainside. It was absolutely beautiful and it was great to imagine what it was like 2300 years ago, when it was filled with audiences watching their entertainment with such an amazing backdrop.

We found a gorgeous little trattoria and enjoyed pizzas for lunch. Simple, but delicious. There really is Pizza everywhere. Nearly every restaurant is a pizzaria.

After wandering through the cobblestone streets and enjoying the town, we headed back to Messina and had a look around there. It is a busy, industrial city, but still has some amazing buildings, piazzas, and churches. With 95% of the Italians being catholic, they have a lot of churches.

We returned to the ship after another wonderful day and soon set sail for the Calabrian Coast!!!!