In the shadow of Volcanoes

On Sunday, we anchored just off Giardini Naxos in Sicily, a very quiet little beachfront town, located just below the beautiful old city of Taormina and not far from Mount Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe.

After a stroll through Giardini Naxos, we took a bus around the multiple hairpin bends up to bustling Taormina.  Along the way, the views were spectacular with beautiful beaches and brilliant blue water.  We walked all round the historic centre of the town.

Our first stop was at Teatro Antico with its well preserved Roman amphitheatre.  We just missed a performance of La Traviata and the scenery remained in place, somewhat spoiling the atmosphere.

It is a very pedestrian friendly city centre and we spent the time walking the entire length of the main street from the Messina Gate to the Catania Gate  visiting churches, the cathedral, the delightful piazzas and the delightful shops, bars and restaurants.  In quite a few places, there were marvellous views, especially over the bays and beaches.

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                                                     Gail at the Duoma Piazza

Rob with a Vespa. It had quotes from various people like Marilyn Munro and James Dean

                        Gail with the original Roman Theatre and the scenery of La Traviata

                   View of the harbour and us from the back of the Roman Theatre

Back on board, we had a deck barbecue as we passed through the Messina Strait.  We were back in our room as we passed the active volcano of Stromboli at about 11.30 pm.  The volcano was calm and there were no fireworks tonight.