Well we got to sleep in a little. Bill got up and did his exercise as he always does, but then he comes back and gets back in bed. At 9 we headed up to the buffet for breakfast. We sat out on the stern outside and watched as we sailed into the straits of Messina. We could see the toe of the boot and the island of Sicily. It was pretty cool. We are docking around 11 and then leaving on a tour to Taormina, Mt Etna, Wine Tasting and Jewelry factory. It will be a really full day, lots of time in a bus but lots of fun too.
The bus picked us up at the dock and we headed out of Messina in the middle of the day on a Monday. The town was really bustling. Messina is the third largest city in Sicily. It's hard to believe how they drive these buses on these tiny streets. And there are cars parked two deep on the other side of the road. Unbelievable. Well we finally got on the motorway or Autostrada for a one hour drive to Taormina. About 15 minutes outside of Taormina we got off the motorway and headed up the mountain to Taormina. It was a zig zag two lane mountain road. As we approached the switchback (tight curve) the drive would honk his horn about six times to let the on coming traffic know he was about to use up the whole road. Sometimes we'd have to stop and have the on coming traffic back up so we could get by. I was sitting on the left side of the bus at the window so I could see everything. I thought we were going hit these cars and some times buses and trucks. But.....we never did. So we got to Taormina and headed up through the parking lot to the top level (7 flights) where the town was. Bill walked all 7, I walked 3 and then caught an elevator. On the top of the parking garage we had great views of Mount Etna the active volcano. There are plenty of pictures in the shared picture file. There is alway steam or smoke coming out of the top and there is usually a cloud up there too.
We walked into the town down the ancient Main Street and our first stop was for gelato!! Yummy. Then off down the Main Street, looking in shops and trying to get to the greek amphitheater before we have to get back to the bus. We had one hour and fifteen minutes in Taormina. The shops were so cool but we can't possible buy anything because we can't fit everything we have in our luggage now. So on towards the greek theater. It was a much longer walk than we thought and we got to the greek theater with twelve minutes left before we had to be back on the bus. So we had that long walk back and now no time to go into the amphitheater. So we could see it from the outside, but didn't want to pay 20 euros to get in with no time left. So I snapped a couple of pictures and then we high tailed it back to the bus. We got there and we thought we were the first, but when we got on the bus, we were almost the last ones there. If you miss the time to get back, they won't wait, they will leave you!! Yikes. So now we were heading to a lava flow on Mt Etna.
So the bus is now going through tiny little towns, narrowing missing cars and buildings when it turns. Then we find out the road we are supposed to take is closed and we have to take a detour on even smaller roads. This puts us behind schedule. We finally get to the lava flows and we meet these ladies selling honey. They give us all tastes of lemon honey, pistachio honey, strawberry honey and a couple of others. It was great and Bill got a piece of lava from Mt Etna for Ann. Then back on the bus we go. Now we are headed to the wine tasting. I swear we are traveling in circles because I recognize the buildings and churches and town squares.
We arrive at the vineyard but the bus is too big to go up the road. So he parks and we all get out and have to walk about a half mile up hill to this vineyard. Our guide says we can only stay 30 minutes because we are behind schedule. Bill and I laugh because some of these people won't make it up the hill in 30 minutes. The winery is very pretty. They have cheese, bread, sausages and all kinds of things laid out for us to eat. They serve us a sparkling wine, Spumonti, then a light white wine, then a rose and finally a red blend. They are very nice. So much better that the wines we tasted in Alicante. The folks on our bus went through the food like locusts. Americans are so rude. Then almost an hour had past and we started back to the bus.
Our next stop was supposed to be at a jewelry factory. Our guide said that it looks like a private residence. So of the bus went, up and down tiny little roads and then into a residential area. The bus really did not fit on these streets. Then across from some nice apartments, we had arrived. The house was beautiful from the outside. They came out and invited us into the courtyard. There were beautiful statues and fountains. Then we went inside. Inside there were frescos on the ceiling and beautiful rugs and staircases. The manager introduced himself and told us about the company and invited us to see their stuff. They had a very small factory room in the basement. Only two employees there making jewelry. They took us down and we watched them working. They told us about the jewelry they make with precious stones and also the local lava, coral, turquoise, pearls and amber. They work with sterling silver and with 18ct gold. After we saw the factory, they took us upstairs to the showroom. No pressure to buy, but we would get 15% off any of their sale prices and no VAT. Also they had a buffet for us on the terrace. Bill headed to the terrace and I headed to the showroom. The pieces really were beautiful and the prices were reasonable. The SS pieces with coral and lava ran from 15 euro to 500 euro. The 18ct gold ran from 200 euro to the thousands. So I hd a blast picking out stuff.
By now we were still very behind schedule and our guide had to chase us all to the bus, but five people were still missing. Evidently they were completing purchases and we couldn't leave without them. The ship was supposed to leave Messina at 7:30pm and we were 45 minutes away at 6:50pm. So we were going to be late, but it was a ship sponsored tour so they would have to wait for us. We arrived at the ship at 7:40pm and they did wait for us. We took our stuff to our cabin and then headed to dinner. We sat at a shared table because it was so late. It was a great meal with good company. And after, we headed to bed. See you tomorrow. It's a sea day so probably not much to tell.
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