A highlight of your trip will likely be Sicily! Sicily was on my dream list and it did not disappoint when we visited a couple of years ago while on Celebrity Silhouette! In fact, it surpassed my expectations. We had pre-arranged a tour for our group of 25 with "Sicily with Mario". This company is owned by brothers Mario and Ignazio. Ignazio, who must be a twin brother to my friend Bob, was an excellent guide. He picked us up pier side at 8:15 and we were on our way to Taormina! Taormina (village of the bull) is 35 miles from Messina where we docked. It was founded in 358 BC and is a breathtakingly beautiful town perched on high cliffs. My camera almost gave up on me because of over use! Every which way I looked was a stunning view and photo-op! We entered through one of the ancient city gates, visited S.Nicolas Cathedral, the Teatro Greco, Roman wall, ancient gardens, shopped along Corso Umberto, and savored a glass of local wine at a ristorante in Piazza 9 Aprile.
Do you want to know about my shopping finds? To be honest, I was so busy snapping photos, that shopping took a back seat. However, I did find a fun shirt in a boutique. Adorned with swarovski crystals that decorate a puppy dog sitting on a motorcycle, this shirt had my name written all over it! I also purchased a few small ceramic pieces and a special chef apron that was embroidered before my eyes! I found this beautiful ceramic table top, but sadly had to leave it behind!
Following our visit to Taormina, we boarded our bus to head high up the mountain to Castelmola. Castelmola translates to castle on rock.
My
palms got a bit sweaty as our bus traveled along the winding road up
and up and up to the little village. From here we got a superb view of
the smoking Mt. Etna! Mt. Etna is the highest point on Sicily and is an
active volcano, which erupted a week before this cruise. The smoke
billowing out was white. Ignazio told us that it becomes darker,
turning to almost black before an eruption. He offers tours up to Etna
on big four wheelers so when we return we shall do this!... Unless I
chicken out...it would be an adventure for sure.
Lunch at La Taverna dell' Etna was delightful. We were seated on a
terrace overlooking Mt. Etna. Being a pizza connoisseur, I chose
pizza and tomato salad both of which were simply divine.
With very little time for shopping, I did manage to purchase some jewelry made from Etna's lava rocks. Upon Ignazio's suggestion, we went into Turrisi Bar to see the unique works of art that decorate the restaurant...I must admit that I've never seen such decorative pieces...phallic symbols everywhere from door pulls, to ceramic jars, lamps, chandeliers, and paintings. Our friendly shop keeper gave us a menu or such that describes these art works.. I don't know if I have an appropriate place to display this at home!
The markets were filled with gorgeous fruits and vegetables.
Before our trek back to Messina, Ignazio gave us a sample of the local almond wine, which you can evidently only get in Castelmola. I was quite pleasantly surprised..it was light and fruity with an almond flavor but not too sweet at all.
Nicky from our group poured a taste of limoncello for each of us and some of our group slept all the way back to Messina! Following a quick tour of Messina, we boarded the Silhouette with an hour to spare before 6 pm sail away.
