Eastwards

It was with a certain reluctance that I left the Grand Hotel Villa Igiea, our five star accommodation in Palermo. The Villa sat at the Palermo port entrance where we could watch the fishing boats coming and going while havimg breakfast on the terrace. The cost was 450 euros per night including gourmet breakfast. Say no more! We headed east along the spectacular Tyrrhenian Sea coast to Messina, where we stopped at the Virgin Assumpta Cathedral to see the glorious ceilimg mosaics there and to watch the midday display on their adjacent clocktower. On the stroke of  twelve a golden lion roared, followed by a golden cock crowing and two golden maidens ringing bells. In 1908 Messina experienced a shocking tragedy when an enormous tsunami engulfed the city with 80,000 inhabitants perishing. After lunch we continued on to Taormina. Our hotel sat on the edge of Taormina Bay, giving us a very pleasant aspect of this picturesque coastline. The perfectly preserved medieval town of Taormina, which was the capital of 9th century Byzantine Sicily, is perched on a mountain top. One can access it by rosd or cable car. Toarmina has a wonderfully preservred Graecian Amphitheatre from the 4th century BC, which was constructed from natural stone in which the Ancient Greeks performed their plays. In the 3rd century AD the Romans transformed the Amphitheatre into a Gladiatorial Arena, resplendid in bricks, arches and Corinthian pillars. In the evening we had dinner at a little town called Castelmolle, situated on one of the mountain peaks surrounding the Bay. Saint George is the patron saint of Castelmolle and the town was celebrating his life with a procession amd brass band. Led by the district bishop and the parish priests a contingent of parishioners carrying a huge replica of St Georgio made their way through the streets . It was a colourful sight. Tomorrow we visit Mt Etna.