I did not have a tour today so myself, Pam, Heather and the two Shellys hired a taxi to go to and from (with a 3 hour stay), Taormina.  Cost 200€ for the 5 of us.  I was here last year.   It is a absolutely beautiful town built on a hilltop like so many others in Italy.  This one is extra special though.  They were built on the tops of hill for protection.  It is just that more difficult to attack a place if that place is above you.  The first place that I wanted to see was the amphitheatre that I had heard was fully intact.  Last time no one had told me about it (and I hadn’t read any notes on it) until we were almost ready to catch the bus.  Well I got to see it this time.  Unfortunately, I had seen one in Alanya, Turkey that had marble seats built all the way to the top.  The stairs were rock too.  Not this one.  I would say that the rusted metal frames and cement steps were not from the 3rd century BC (Greek) to 2nd century AD (Roman).  What I will give credit to is the breathtaking views from it of Taormina and the Sicilian hillside.  Wow!!!  Again Taormina is one place that I would recommend to anyone …..to visit this lovely, lovely city on the hill.

Before leaving the ship, there was an announcement that they were expecting rain here today.  The cruise director also joked that if you take an umbrella that the pattern is tha it won’t rain.  I took my umbrella.  Just as we were getting into the cab to return to our ship, the skies opened up.  It absolutely poured buckets.  Then as we got back to port, it had stopped.  The timing was perfect.

Apparently they are expecting rough seas tonight so will not be dropping anchor in Sorrento but will be tying up in Naples. I wonder how that is going to affect our private tour tomorrow???