Mediterranean Cruise - Day 3 - Messina, Sicily

This was our first port day and we were looking forward to taking the ship shuttle to Taormina, a small hill town in Sicily. We usually do not like to take cruise line sponsored tours because those tend to turn into cattle herds but opted to this time because we had read that taking public transportation was costly and unpredictable. After speaking to some other cruise passengers who had gone to Taormina on their own, we realized we had made the right decision as they all had quite a bit of difficulty getting there.

Taormina was roughly an hour bus ride away from Messina. When we arrived, the first thing we were reminded of was San Gimignano, which we had visited last year while taking a day trip through Tuscany. It was a quaint little town with lots of narrow, twisty streets filled with shops and restaurants. 

We had three hours to spend here on our own and we spent the bulk of it walking around and looking through shops (taking advantage of the free ac!) and taking pictures (well, I was, Ben wasn’t… but no surprise there). I had my first granita, which to me tasted a little like slightly melted Rita’s Ice… I tried an almond flavored one and it was good but I still like Rita’s Ice more.

view from Taormina

church in the main square in Taormina

Ben and me in Taormina

picturesque buildings in Taormina

Ben was not as fond of Taormina since he found it to be somewhat of a tourist trap since everything was so expensive. It probably did not help that we had just visited San Gimignano, which we really enjoyed, not long ago. I enjoyed it a little more than Ben did but mostly because it gave me more photo opportunities. 

Ben was bored after wandering around for 2 hours and started playing video games

We headed back to the cruise ship by bus in the early afternoon and were pretty happy that getting back on the ship was painless and quick. One of my favorite moments of the day was the moment I stepped back on board and was blasted with the strong ship ac! We were both pretty wiped out from the heat and walking by the time we made it back onto the ship.

This port receives a 5/10 from me… Ben only gave it a 3/10. I think he is a harsher critic :P