Leaving Sicily...next stop...Athens!!!

Leaving Sicily...

And on the open sea...

On the Island of Sicily...the Charming Town of Taormina

Taormina is a charming town high on the hills of Sicily, between Mesina and Catania with views of Mt Etna on the southern side of town.  Native Sicilians have inhabited the area since ancient times.  In 832 BC Greeks also inhabited the Sicilian coast.  In the late 1800's Taormina became a tourist destination, with it's first notable tourist being Johann Wolfgang Goethe.  In the early 1900's the town became a destination for expatriots.  Notables such as D.H.Lawrence, Truman Capote, Charles Webster Leadbeater, Jiddu Krishnamurti, and Halldor Laxness spent time developing their talents here in Taormina.

Ok...leave it to the O'Watsons to find an Irish pub in a charming Sicilian town filled with antiquities...

The view of the bay from Taormina...

Paris?  No...Taormina!!!

Still a hot spell in Europe...in the 90's with high humidity...tourists taking a moment to catch their breath in the shade...

Remember in the Godfather when Al Pacino goes to Sicily to "lay low" and finds and marries the gorgeous Sicilian girl who gets blown to smithereens before their wedding night???  That was all shot in Taormina...

Apparently, Taormina is still a favorite spot for weddings...

May she have a long and happy marriage...

First Port...Sicily!!!

Starting our day at the Port of Messina, Sicily...

Then on to Mt. Etna...Heck yeah!!!  I want to climb the largest active volcano in Europe!!!

(How come no one told me it's actually still active before we went up there???)

 No smoke spewing...that's a good sign!!!

 There are actually 4 distinct craters at the summit and over 300 vents along the flanks of the mountain.

There have actually been ash eruptions as recent as April and August of this year...of course, they assured us that they can tell when it's getting ready to erupt so it was perfectly safe....

Tell that to the folks preserved in ash at Pompeii!!!

WHEW!!!  We made it off of Mt. Etna still alive and well, not even a little bit of ash...

On to the next stop in Sicily...Taormina...

All Aboard!!!

The day following our adventure in Florence, we took off for Civitavecchia, the port nearest Rome.  

We arrived early, prior to the time to board, which meant there were no lines!!!  

We boarded in a manner of minutes and began exploring the ship...

We found one of our favorite meeting spots that first night!!!

Wandering through the streets of Florence...

What can I say????  Florence is absolutely charming....

Where'd they all go???

One of the most interesting and fun sights in Florence is the Ponte Vecchio...the medieval bridge over the Arno River.   What's unusual about this bridge is that along the length of the bridge there are shops and apartments.  According to Wikepedia, the original shops along the bridge were butcher shops.

 Jewelry shops, art dealers and souvenir vendors make up the shops on the bridge today.

Now...being the avid photographer that I am...and being the one who has to get the more unusual shot...I walked over to the edge of the river, just a few feet from the tour group.  

Now...this was a nice shot, but really not my style...so I moved a little closer to the bridge...

Ok...so this was better, but still not quite right...so I moved a little closer....

Awwww...this is the one I wanted!!!  

Ooops!!!  Where'd the group go???  I walked to the bridge, crossed over and back, walked around the bridge entrance...oh well...it's a good thing the guide gave us a meeting spot and time...guess I'll have to meet them there...

Little did I know that the Hubman was getting a bit frantic...he was trying to stay with the group, while at the same time, trying to find me...

Fortunately for all, I found the Hubman and the group, and all was well again...

On to Florence...one of my favorite cities in the world...

Our fist stop in Florence was the Piazzale Michelangelo for a panoramic view of the city...

And a preview of the magnificent statue of David, by Michaelangelo...

From the piazzale, we went down into the historic part of the city...

                          

A little sidewalk Bistro...

                                          

A fabulous street light...

                                          

Musicians playing for the late afternoon lunch crowd...

                                          

And isn't he delightful???  He posed, but I didn't get a chance to chat with him...so I guess he doesn't qualify for Stranger #1!!!