Today we were due to dock in Messina, Sicily at 8am and for reasons neither of us can understand, we were both wide awake at 6am – long before sunrise. {sigh} So we made hotel coffee in the room and sat on the balcony waiting for the dining room to open for breakfast. (WTF, who have we become?!?) We wandered down to breakfast where I tried the kitchen’s best attempt at GF french toast. I’m sure it would be heavenly for someone but it didn’t really do it for me – especially the “pancake syrup” it was served with. We are completely syrup snobs now: it’s pure maple or don’t bother.
Then it was off to explore Sicily. The main attractions on this part of the island are Mount Etna and Taormina and the ship offered a tour to both places for a mere $229 per person. Seriously? We can’t bear the thought of following the umbrella to start with but you want us to pay $500 for that torture? No thank you. So we figured out that there is an Avis office a mere 6 walk from the port and so for a mere $27 we rented a Fiat 500 for the day and we were off!
Travel tip #19: book the rental car from home in advance if you can. I’m pretty sure that no one else got their car for 24 euro.
Now I realize for many people, driving in Italy would be something they would gladly pay anyone $500 to avoid but not Frank – he LOVES to drive. Even a little, under-powered Italian diesel. We made it out of Messina without mishap and on to the autostrade for the hour and a half journey to Mt. Etna. We drove south along the coastline in blazing sunshine through dozens of tunnels – lots of mountains here! Of the 98 kilometers, only about 30 is on highway and the rest is small back roads to climb the 1900 meters to get to the base area of Etna. The screenshot of the Google maps route would make most people weep but Frank reveled in it… until we got stuck behind a tour bus. So much for playing rally driver!
But we made it and realized that we hadn’t planned particularly well. It was cloudy and at least 20 degrees colder on Etna than it was at the coast. And unlike the people around us in jeans and anoraks, we were dressed for 80+ degrees and sunshine. And here is another place where the scarf/shawl in the purse came in handy – as a wrap to keep me warm. We wandered about a bit trying to figure things out and realized that this was a place where capitalism had failed. There were rows of kitchy shops all selling the same thing. There were a variety of tourist excursions. And there was no rhyme or reason to any of it. As an economist, I always hope that the free market works but this was just a mess. We decided against the cable car excursion as pointless given Frank’s vertigo and the level of the clouds. There was a “train” ride around the base level for only 10 euros that promised views that the cable cars couldn’t provide. Although we have a pathological problem with organized tours, we thought we’d try this one to see if we were being unreasonable. And we weren’t.
Travel tip #20: try new things whenever you can but if it doesn’t feel right, don’t feel that you need to try it.
The “train” was one of those little kiddie sized things with several cars that go about 20 mph tops. there was mostly Italians on this thing and there was narration in multiple languages. But the Italians talked over the English translation so we couldn’t really hear anything. And then we stopped at a local restaurant to try local products which felt like a high pressured sales pitch – or it would have if they bothered to speak any thing other than Italian. All in all, we decided our abhorrence of such organized tours was well founded. We didn’t even bother to climb to any of the intermediate levels (the peak is at ~3400 meters and requires special tour guides and permission) because the clouds were so low you couldn’t see anything.
So back down the mountain we went. No tour bus in front of this time so Frank had a great time rallying down the mountain, passing sluggish cars, and generally just enjoying the drive. On the way back to port we stopped at Taormina, another impossibly picturesque village built into a mountain. We found a great place for lunch with many gluten free options including pizza and beer! Then we wandered about enjoying the sights and scenery. I stopped by a church to light a candle for my mom as I do every chance I get. And we picked up a lovely watercolor by a local artist that shows what Etna looks like when you can actually see it.
And then it was time to head back. Down another hill and back to Messina to turn in the Fiat and get back aboard ship. The biggest crisis of the day: we lost a water bottle, probably under a seat in the car. It was my favorite purple one with my “Rochester Boat Club” sticker on it. So if anyone from Sicily ever shows up at the boathouse in Fairport….
Back on board we decompressed with a few glasses of wine before heading out to specialty dinner number 3: the Brazilian steakhouse. It was Meatfest night! This is the place where men carrying sharp sticks with meat stop by the table and give you as much meat as you can stomach. And we stomached way too much. We nearly didn’t have room for our double Bailey’s nightcap while we watched the absolutely hysterical juggler in the evening show. It will take a long tome to digest everything but hopefully we’ll be less sluggish in the morning so we can enjoy Napoli!
Dubious data for today:
14,346 steps and 36 floors (Sicily is also not flat)
Kilometers driven: 199
Approximate gas mileage: 70 mpg
Total cost of the day including rental car, diesel, parking, and tolls: $72
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