5/30/2015 – Joining the Cruise

Our cruise ship started in Rome, but we are joining on the second day in Messina. This allowed us to go a little early and visit with Conrad’s family. It was beautiful and very fun to get to see them and spend some time, but now we must go.

We woke up in the morning and Conrad’s Cousins Barbara and also Lala  were very kind to drive us into the city of Messina and to the port where the cruise ship was docked. We had a lot of luggage because of all of the different dress requirements on the ship, and Barbara rented a car when she came from the airport so that we had something big enough to get into the city. We went to the port and Barbara negotiated in Italian to get us into the right spot and all settled with the cruise. We couldn’t have done it ourselves. Thank you Barbara and Lala and Rino for all of your hospitality and help!!! We loved seeing you and spending time with you.

From the deck at the house before we left we could see our cruise ship coming into the port of Messina –

We went onto the cruise ship and were checked into our cabin. It was a very easy process. Our luggage was scanned and brought right to our room by our cabin attendant Sydney. He is very nice. We grabbed a little bit of food at the Oceanview Cafe which is the buffet restaurant, and then we headed off the boat to start our tour of Mt. Etna and Taormina. Our tour guide Maurizio was waiting for us as we left the ship and he drove us to Etna. It was a beautiful ride about 1.5 hours from Messina. We climbed up through many little towns. Quite a few of the homes and even some of the hotels had been destroyed by an eruption of Mt. Etna which is an active volcano, but they have all been rebuilt. There were quite a few. As we climbed we saw that Mt Etna was in the clouds, but we loved the scenery and little towns along the way. Maurizio stopped often to allow me to take pictures. He was a wonderful tour guide.

At the highest place where you can drive a car, there are 3 craters that you can climb up on and inside since they are not active. Here are some pictures from that area.

Mt Etna

Mt Etna

Mt Etna

There is a cable car that can take you to the top, or at least higher on the mountain but we chose not to take it so that we also had time to explore Taormina. The views from Mt Etna were unbelievable but there was a bit of haze in the air so the pictures didn’t turn out too well.

View from Etna

Lava on the side of the mountain

On the way down we also took lots of pictures. When we were in Alaska we noticed a plant called Fireweed which grew in the areas that had been burned by forest fires, and here we also noticed a similar plant called Erica that grows in the areas that have been burned by the Lava. We later learned that they are both a type of heather. Not exactly the same but similar.

Erica

We also found that on the way down the mountain the clouds had parted and we could see the top of Mt Etna so we stopped for some pictures on the way down as well.

Mt. Etna

Mt Etna

As we got closer to Taormina we were able to see both Taormina and another town which are built at the top of mountains. They are built so that they look like you couldn’t fit one more house or they will tumble off of the edge. The higher town on the left is called Castelmola and the lower town on the right is called Taormina.

Taormina and Castelmola

Here is a closer look at Castelmola

Castelmola

We then headed into the town of Taormina which is on the top of a mountain with cliffs that drop down to the sea. We went to an old theater which is the highest point in the city to get some panoramic shots.

The Theater in Taormina

View from the Theater

View from the Theater

After we left the Theater we wandered around the streets of Taormina. There are many little alleyways where there are restaurants and shops and homes and they are either up or down a set of steps. People put flower pots and other decorations along the steps and it’s very pretty.

Alley way in Taormina.

Alleyway in Taormina After a while we reached the main square in Taormina. There were several weddings going on and so there were lots of people and brides and lots of pictures being taken. The views from here were also spectacular. We took some pictures and then sat at a little cafe on the square and had a glass of wine and some coffee.

Church in the square in Taormina

View from the square in Taormina

View from the square in Taormina

One of the weddings in the church in the square in Taormina

After we finished our wine and coffee we walked back through the town and out of the archway that is at the start of the town. Maurizio met us just outside of the town for our ride back to Messina and to meet the ship.

The Arch to Messina at Taormina

After we left Taormina Maurizio had one final scenic spot that he wanted to show us before taking us back to the ship. In a happy coincidence it was right at the end of the street where Conrad’s family has their apartment in Messina, and a place that he had been many times as a child. We didn’t visit with our family this time because we were staying at the beach house in Mortelle so Conrad was very happy to be here. We could look down on the harbor in Messina.

Messina Harbor

The harbor in Messina from above

Messina from above – this is the church that we took pictures of on day 2 but from a different angle.

Finally we boarded the ship and took a few pictures as we pulled away from Messina. We will pass by again towards the end of our trip but it was a little bit sad to leave.

Leaving Messina from the cruise ship

leaving Messina

leaving Messina

Conrad on the balcony of our stateroom. After we left port we went to have some dinner in the main dining room which was very nice. We also explored the ship and sat in a little bar to have a glass of wine – or water in Conrad’s case, and listen to a band.

#MediteraneanCruise2015