Let the ship’s tours begin!  It is the silliest thing – this Italian rule that if you are on a cruise ship you can only get off if you are on a ship’s tour.  You can fly into Italy, drive all over the place, do what you want, all on your own – but get on a ship?  Where we all have to be vaccinated?  And have negative PCR tests?  Oh, no – you aren’t allowed to wander through our country.  Ridiculous.  Thus – the reason we are on tours here, tomorrow in Naples and either Saturday or Monday in Livorno (depending upon weather because it looks awful in Florence on Saturday).

Messina, the city we can’t visit on our own……

Our “escorted” unguided tour of Taormina leaves fairly late, so we have enough time for the gym and a quick little breakfast before we head down to the Theater tour meeting point. We’ve got the program down now – it’s different than the Epic program where we could just run off when the tour was called.  We now know to sit in the very first row of the theater, next to the maze, where we will exit.  Strategy is everything.

And entertainment!  Sitting down here gives us a front row seat for all the antics that happen when people try to leave the ship. Lost key cards, no COVID certificate, you name it, people are scurrying back to their cabins for everything.  One couple is on the guided tour of Taormina, but the husband doesn’t have his key card, so he has to go get it and the shore excursion guy keeps telling her he doesn’t think they will make the tour.  (As it turns out, they don’t make their original tour, but we see them get on one of our un-guided tour buses.)

The strategy is successful, we’re up and on our way through the maze to get our stickers and out to the bus.  We ask the guide if they’ll be using the back bus doors, and she says yes, so we sit back there for easy ingress and egress.  (Turns out they don’t use the doors, but the seats are still fine – no pillar in the window and lots of space next to us).

The bus isn’t full, we only have 30 people, which is also nice.  This limited capacity thing can be a godsend, really.  At least for us.  The drive takes us along the coast, and even though its been a few years since we’ve been here and toured Taormina, we know the road and it seems like it was just yesterday we were here.  Amazing how much we remember.

It’s a pleasant drive, and a beautiful day – with Mt. Etna actually out in the distance.  We arrive at the bus parking lot with every other tour bus from the ship.  It’s a zoo review.  So clogged in fact, that they let us out on the street before the bus even gets into the lot.  And the march begins!

Up the long hill we go to the entrance of Taormina.  We’re not sure these people are going to make it!  As a matter of fact, two of the women from the “guided” tour in front of us have stopped and aren’t making it.  The husband tells one of them that they can’t stay there – and she says “oh yes I can!”  Oh, no you can’t!  When they say you have to stay in your “bubble” supposedly they mean it! 

As it turns out though, it’s not really all that strict.  We get to the first square in Taormina, the “escort” gives us a little introduction, then tells us we have 20 minutes to wander the shops, take a coffee, etc.  Okie dokie.  That will work for us! 

We head to the first bar we see, order 2 cappuccinos and sit outside enjoying our newfound freedom.  At least we’ve got some time on our own.  Caffeined up and bathroom relieved, we wander back toward the square and into……. the church of Saint Catherine of Alexandria!!!  Kid you not!  I have my own church.  Who would have thought!  Oh, and my own street too – just as a bonus. 

The church was built  in the 17^th Century, on top of the Roman agora, dating to the 1400’s.  They even have a section of the floor excavated so you can see the old Roman walls.  The inside is not as ornate as some other churches we have visited, except for the altar, that is.  The original altar is a beautiful mix of marble and carved stone with gold leaf accents around the large fresco in the rear.  But the most incredible thing was the bronze carving of the Last Supper affixed to the new altar.  It is beautiful, and such detail for a bronze carving.  Totally different than anything we’ve seen.

Back out on the square we wander a bit, then go wait in the sun with the rest of our group to head to the next square in town.  We are just walking down the main boulevard, not visiting the theater, but one of our group apparently wanted to see the theater and has gone off on her own.  Sigh.  We wouldn’t even be that bold…or stupid.  The theater is a good piece away from where we are, with hordes of our tours in your way, and let’s face it, these folks aren’t exactly in the best shape.  I mean, how fast will they move? And how far? 

We wait for a bit, but in the end the guide says it is not fair to wait and hold up the rest of the group – so off we go.  At a very leisurely pace, but still we’re gone, up Corso Umberto to the Piazza IX Aprile where we get stunning views of the coastline and Mt. Etna.  Truly beautiful – and what a day it has turned out to be!  Totally opposite of the forecast.

Here in the square is the Chiesa di San Giuseppe – a much larger, much more ornate church than mine.  It’s quite large, soaring ceilings, and lots of chapels.  But, it is just too beautiful to be inside, even if the church is gorgeous.  So we head back to the square to bask in the sunshine and snap photos of the gorgeous scenery – and the Christmas tree with fresh sod placed all around it in the center of the Piazza.

We still have a few minutes left before our appointed gathering time, so we head back up the street to take a picture of the narrowest street on the island, nothing more than a little opening between two buildings and a lot of stairs, as well as another scenic alleyway! Then, head back to the square to await the rest of the group.

As we gather for our next little walk, Alexandra, our “escort” tells us that the missing woman has been located.  She made it to the theater then found another guide there and claimed she was lost.  She is on her way back to us. No comment. 

And away we go, for our last stop, the Piazza Duomo, a lovely large square with the Duomo on one side and a large fountain in the middle.  Atop the fountain is the symbol of Taormina, a female centaur. Unusual in that it is a woman’s body and not a man’s – but said to be a symbol of strength and….I forgot what else!  Anyhow, it’s a really cool statue and fountain and…we’re hungry.  So we are off in search of a quick Italian snack – we only have 20 minutes.

After scouring the square (there isn’t much here but one full service type restaurant) we spy this place down a little stairwell and alleyway.  Da Christina Antica Rosticceria – since 1980 no less – is the perfect little solution.  Basically a pizza place, we can get slices (one artichoke and peas – I missed the peas description – and one sausage) along with an Arancini and a beer.  Plus there is a little deck area where we can eat.  Their Arancini must be quite famous because they even have an Arancini cooking class you can book. 

This fits the bill, although truth be told, the Arancini, while maybe famous, isn’t our cup of tea.  Just too much fried, rice, something.  We manage to eat most of the pizza slices (but even those are too big!) and only the filling of the Arancini.  Oh well – when in Rome…or Sicily.  Wandering back up the little stairway with what is left of our beer in our paper cups, we meet up with the rest of the group and hang out waiting until our appointed time to….yes..stroll right back down Corso Umberto and out the main city gate to the bus. 

A lot of strolling and meandering, not a lot of sight seeing per se, but a beautiful day – and a way to get off the ship at least.

Somehow everyone manages to make it to the bus and we make our return trip to the ship without incident. 

Tonight’s dinner is La Cucina – good and very filling. Then it is onto to the rock band’s performance of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours album – top to bottom.  Which turns out to be an excellent show.  These guys and gals are really good!

Then off to bed to prepare for yet another exciting ship excursion day.