Taormina

Taormina is not the only reason to go to Messina but it is the biggest reason. Very much like St. Paul it is perched over the Mediterranean with spectacular views. And like St. Paul it is a village of shops and galleries with inviting side streets. But Taormina has an ancient amphitheatre which functions to this day.
We took what seemed to be a pretty straightforward HAL Excursion called “Taormina On You Own.” It was a bus ride to the town and a bus ride home. The bus ride took almost an hour arriving at our destination at 9:45AM. We were then told we would be leaving at 11:45AM. This is what is called a 4-hour excursion. If we ran we might have been able to see the amphitheatre… for about 15 minutes. As it was, the humidity was debilitating and we were in no mood to run. We walked slowly through the city to the amphitheatre and back. We boarded our bus and headed back to the ship. We must pack and have our bags outside our doors by 1AM.