UEarly start this morning with two guided tours to fit in before arriving at our hotel this afternoon.
A short guided tour of Catania was organised with Josie, the guide we had for the Roman villa who lives at Catania. This was a bonus and great to take in another city on the way to our destination.
Saw a cathedral dedicated to St Agatha which was built on Roman ruins – we also got to see evidence of the Roman bathhouse underneath!
Short stop for coffee and cassata cake dedicated to St Agatha.
Then onto the local produce markets. I loved taking pictures of all the food!
Tour of Taormina was good. We saw the Roman Odeon – apparently the bricks show that it was Roman!
Then onto the 2nd BC Greek theatre which had been converted into a Roman amphitheatre.
We also went to a beautiful private garden which was left to the public.
And then, sad day, I lost my red hat over the balustrade in this square as a gust of wind took it!
We had lunch in Taormina – delicious pizza and seafood salad – before drivng to our hotel which is down on the beach.
We were so disappointed that our hotel wasn’t in the centre of town. It was way down at the bottom of a winding hill while the town of Taormina and shops and restaurants is at the top. The hotel had just opened for the season and wasn’t providing any meals other than breakfast. If we wanted dinner we had to catch the shuttle bus to Taormina.
We ended up having dinner at Mamma Rosa’s with another couple from New York. Anthony had the best fresh pasta with mushrooms while I had sardines with breadcrumbs. Nice company and a lovely meal so time flew.
After catching the shuttle back to the hotel we went to sleep with our door open to the sound of crashing waves and electric trains going from Catania to Messina!
Travelling with Teresa 