Taormina, Sicily, Italy 6/11/16

The first port on the cruise was in Messina, Italy and we opted to go on one of the cruise excursions to Taormina!!!
We met in the cruise theater with our excursion group and then made our way to the bus.
I'm pretty smooth and sly so I scored us front row seats on the bus so we could see everything on our drive!!!!
The drive to Taormina was a good 20 minutes from the port through Messina and then slowly up the mountain.

This was the view from our balcony as we entered the port!

More of the view.

One more of the view. That pole has a virgin Mary at the top of it and along the bottom it reads, "Vos et ipsam civitatem benedicimus." Which means, "we bless you and your city," it is a quotefrom a letter the Virgin Mary sent to the population of Messina in the year 42.

Legend has it that the Apostle Paul came to Messina around this time two thousand years ago to convert the Sicilians to Christianity.

The locals were not too eager to give up their old deities, but by and by great numbers were persuaded. And some of them insisted on accompanying Paul on a trip to Palestine. Here they met with the Mother of Christ and persuaded her to send a letter to the citizens of Messina. The letter, which was written in Hebrew, was rolled and tied with a lock of her hair.

In the letter to the people of Messina, the Holy Mother said that she appreciated their devotion and would grant them perpetual protection. The letter ended with the words “Vos et ipsam civitatem benedicimus”

These beautiful vibrant flowers lined the streets as we climbed the mountain in the bus.

We parked the bus below then took an elevator to Taormina and this was what we exited the elevator to!

In ancient times Taormina was protected by a circuit of walls with a triple fortification system and these arches are the remnants of that great wall. They have three of them around the city!

In one of the squares with a pretty church.

I love all the light that flooded in this church with the dark wood beams along the ceiling, so pretty and simple.

My favorite piece of art in this church.

Alter.

Right outside of the church was a cello musician playing "My Way" by Frank Sinatra, that made me think of my Grandpa Ah Quin. It was so beautiful to hear such loving music fill the square. Fun fact, Sinatra is a Sicilian.

Another pretty church. I love all the bright buildings in Taormina.

Clock tower and another arch right outside the main square.

The view from the main square. I spy our cruise ship, and if you can't tell by how small the cruise ships are...we are really high up!!!

Breathtaking.

The view looking up from the square, just beautiful.

One more looking up at the mountain. I love all the details everywhere, the beautiful flowers, the trees, the checkered floor, everything.

They say Taormina is a popular place for celebrities to get away on a relaxing vacation, and I can totally see that.

It's absolutely charming...

and romantic...

Inside another church. I thought it was interesting how in Taormina the churches all took on a similar esthetic with the white and dar wood accents.

This beautiful painting hung in the church and it just spoke to me.

More purpley pink flowers...yes please!

One of the tourist highlights of Taormina is the ancient theatre of Taormina, an ancient Greek theatre built in the third century BC.

The view looking out past the back of the stage in the Greek theater.

More view...amazing right?

View through Jeff's sunglasses! Seriously, it's breathtaking!

The whole theater! Something unique and amazing about this theater is that it is still in use. While we were there they were having a movie premier for "Finding Dory" opening night of the movie! I kept looking for Ellen but no luck!

The setting is incredible, up in the mountain tops overlooking the ocean and city.

Taormina.

One more cause how could I resist??

The outside of the stadium pathway leading into the theater. It's amazing to think how they built these structures and how we follow the same patterns (as far as layout) today.

Fun fact: back in the day the brick was never meant to be seen, they only used the brick as the foundation and then they would cover it with marble.

Taormina selfie.

The whole theater looking in.

The whole theater looking out.

After the theater we had a little more time to roam around Taormina so we just walked around and soaked up the sunshine and charming streets.

Arancine is native to Sicily so of course we had to try it!

Arancine is a stuffed rice ball coated with bread crumbs and then deep fried. They are usually filled with ragu, mozzarella, and peas. 

Inside of arancine.

Then followed with a gelato, of course! 

Number one rule of visiting Italy, DO NOT let a day pass by without at least 1 gelato!

I love how there are always random walkways like this one. 

(You can't see above our heads on the stairs but it says 'I love Taormina' and I DO!)

In Sicily there are these three legged figurines everywhere, come to find out it is the symbol of Sicily with an interesting history.

It's called Trinarcria or Triskelion and it symbolizes the three capes (Cape Pachino, Cape Peloro, and Cape Lilibeo) of Sicily with the three legs. Right at the center of the symbol is the head of Medusa, with her snake hair and gold wings, but she represents the Goddess of Athena, the patron Goddess of the island. Then there are the three wheat ears around the head of Medusa and they celebrate the extraordinary fertility of the island of Sicily.

It is a unique symbol and I am kicking myself for not getting one for my garden, WHAT WAS I THINKING???

Another enchanting path.

Beautiful gardens everywhere.

No caption.

I want a beautiful balcony garden.

Fresh fruit native to the island.

I really LOVED Taormina and hope to go back one day. They had so many unique and beautiful traditions native to just that island which just adds to it's beauty and charm.

These pots were all over Taormina and I thought they were AWESOME, if I could have brought one home I sure would have, so one day I'll just paint some of my own!

One last picture of Taormina, just cause it was as quant as this picture shows!!!

After our time in Taormina we got back on the bus and made our way back to the port in Messina.

We had an hour before we had to board the ship so we wandered around Messina looking for the biggest and most complex mechanical and astronomical clock in the world. 

We saw this tower so we decided to walk towards it thinking it had to be the tower.

But when we got to it we didn't see the astronomical clock so we thought we were in the wrong place, but the tower was cool so I took pictures anyway.

The tower and the cathedral.

Beautiful details.

Then lo and behold on the one side of the tower we didn't check, there was the astronomical clock!!! 

We were cracking up at our stupidity haha.

In case you're like me and don't really know what an astronomical clock is here is the official definition: An astronomical clock is a clock with special mechanisms and dials to display astronomical information, such as the relative positions of the sun, moon, zodiacal constellations, and sometimes major planets.

Isn't it awesome???

The cathedral attached to it is really beautiful and unique.

Look at those floors.

And the ceiling...

And that mosaic of Christ...

And that staircase...

And the statues...

And the arches...

If you don't get what I'm doing, I'm drooling over the beautiful details!!! This was one of my favorite cathedrals because I thought it was simple but beautiful!

I spy my cute husband! I love adventuring with him.

After our finding of the tower we made our way back to the ship where we sailed away from this beautiful view.

I loved Sicily and specifically, Taormina. I sure hope to return there one day and spend more than one magical day there!!!

We had a blast in Taormina, see our day in motion on our channel and subscribe to see more adventures!