Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 – Catania, Sicily, Italy
See all of the pictures HERE.
We woke up this morning refreshed as the clocks were moved back an hour (Greece is an hour back from Italy), so we got an extra hour of sleep. I was GLAD to get that hour back. J Grams and Papa decided that they would stay with Morgan on the ship since they had seen Catania and Taormina last August. I had told Morgan that she was not allowed to entertain any suggestions by Grams and Papa to stay with them, but they were pretty convincing.
So, Mike, Mark, Mikeo, Tracy, and I went into Catania on our tour. We did a brief tour of Catania before heading to Taormina. The city of Catania was kind of icky as the buildings have not been well maintained. The buildings looked a bit dirty. There was an old Roman town that is under the streets of the current city, and they have part of the remains uncovered and available to see.
The landscape was pretty on the hour long ride to Taormina, and we saw plenty of pretty beaches. The architecture looks nice from a distance when you can’t see the dirty look. J When we got to Taormina, we walked down the main street and looked at several churches along the way. The road was very quaint, and we even saw an American flag outside of one of the buildings. Lots of cute shops. At the end of the road was a Greco-Roman theater that was incredible to see. It was not in very good shape, but even so it was an amazing site. It was very interesting that the people in the town didn’t value the theater much after the Greeks and Romans were gone, and they stole the bricks, stones, and even the columns to use in their architecture in the towns. You can look in the town and see what should belong in the theater that is instead in different buildings.
We did the three man version and did all the steps to the top. Some amazing sights were there and the scenery was amazing. After we saw that, we started walking back to meet the group. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time. However, Mike and I managed to buy some murano glass necklaces, some lava animal necklaces, and some other nice things for the kids. Loved it. We RUSHED back to the courtyard, and even with rushing we were 4 minutes late. Thankfully, there were others that weren’t there. Whew. Mikeo still videoed us coming back to the square. Mean Mike. Mean.
We took the hour long trip back into the town of Catania, and then we hung out at the ship for the afternoon. I changed our Pompeii tour to the Taste of Naples tour, and I was sad because I have been interested in Pompeii since I was a kid. However, Morgan just couldn’t do it with her crutches, and the taste of Naples one is a one man (sorry Biko).
We went back to the doctor to see if he could offer a sturdier contraption for her foot, but he said no. So, we are stuck with the temporary cast. Bummer.
We decided to eat in the Lido restaurant tonight as the menu didn’t look as good in the dining hall. Mike and Tracy were eating a wine tasting dinner, but Mike and I thought we would rather spend the $160 in the Casino. :)
Grams, Papa, Mark, Morgan, Mike, and I went to the Lido for dinner. I had Weiner Schnitzel, a salad, and some sugar free coffee ice cream. Morgan had slow roasted beef. I think everyone tried the Weiner Schnitzel and liked it.
After dinner, Mike and I went to check on Papa. Mike had signed us up for the Pub Crawl the reunion, but I really didn’t feel like going. Morgan was tired and falling apart. Mike and I went downstairs to check on Papa who was playing three card poker. We played a little roulette, but we weren’t doing well.
We decided to go upstairs and to bail on the Pub Crawl Reunion, but we ran into Mikeo and Tracy. Mikeo had enjoyed the wine dinner, and they were on their way to the Pub Crawl Reunion. They convinced us to go, so we did. This one started on deck 9 at the Crow’s nest and we had the fourth drink on the Lido deck. Stromboli was visible even though it was night time, and we saw the volcano erupt 4 times!!!!! It was amazing. I guess it averages an eruption every 20 minutes or so. We ended the pub crawl with a melon shooter in the Northern Lights dance bar. Mike and Tracy tried to get the dancing started, but it didn’t work. So, we all went to bed as we had an early arrival in Naples.
We woke up this morning refreshed as the clocks were moved back an hour (Greece is an hour back from Italy), so we got an extra hour of sleep. I was GLAD to get that hour back. J Grams and Papa decided that they would stay with Morgan on the ship since they had seen Catania and Taormina last August. I had told Morgan that she was not allowed to entertain any suggestions by Grams and Papa to stay with them, but they were pretty convincing.
So, Mike, Mark, Mikeo, Tracy, and I went into Catania on our tour. We did a brief tour of Catania before heading to Taormina. The city of Catania was kind of icky as the buildings have not been well maintained. The buildings looked a bit dirty. There was an old Roman town that is under the streets of the current city, and they have part of the remains uncovered and available to see.
The landscape was pretty on the hour long ride to Taormina, and we saw plenty of pretty beaches. The architecture looks nice from a distance when you can’t see the dirty look. J When we got to Taormina, we walked down the main street and looked at several churches along the way. The road was very quaint, and we even saw an American flag outside of one of the buildings. Lots of cute shops. At the end of the road was a Greco-Roman theater that was incredible to see. It was not in very good shape, but even so it was an amazing site. It was very interesting that the people in the town didn’t value the theater much after the Greeks and Romans were gone, and they stole the bricks, stones, and even the columns to use in their architecture in the towns. You can look in the town and see what should belong in the theater that is instead in different buildings.
We did the three man version and did all the steps to the top. Some amazing sights were there and the scenery was amazing. After we saw that, we started walking back to meet the group. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time. However, Mike and I managed to buy some murano glass necklaces, some lava animal necklaces, and some other nice things for the kids. Loved it. We RUSHED back to the courtyard, and even with rushing we were 4 minutes late. Thankfully, there were others that weren’t there. Whew. Mikeo still videoed us coming back to the square. Mean Mike. Mean.
We took the hour long trip back into the town of Catania, and then we hung out at the ship for the afternoon. I changed our Pompeii tour to the Taste of Naples tour, and I was sad because I have been interested in Pompeii since I was a kid. However, Morgan just couldn’t do it with her crutches, and the taste of Naples one is a one man (sorry Biko).
We went back to the doctor to see if he could offer a sturdier contraption for her foot, but he said no. So, we are stuck with the temporary cast. Bummer.
We decided to eat in the Lido restaurant tonight as the menu didn’t look as good in the dining hall. Mike and Tracy were eating a wine tasting dinner, but Mike and I thought we would rather spend the $160 in the Casino. :)
Grams, Papa, Mark, Morgan, Mike, and I went to the Lido for dinner. I had Weiner Schnitzel, a salad, and some sugar free coffee ice cream. Morgan had slow roasted beef. I think everyone tried the Weiner Schnitzel and liked it.
After dinner, Mike and I went to check on Papa. Mike had signed us up for the Pub Crawl the reunion, but I really didn’t feel like going. Morgan was tired and falling apart. Mike and I went downstairs to check on Papa who was playing three card poker. We played a little roulette, but we weren’t doing well.
We decided to go upstairs and to bail on the Pub Crawl Reunion, but we ran into Mikeo and Tracy. Mikeo had enjoyed the wine dinner, and they were on their way to the Pub Crawl Reunion. They convinced us to go, so we did. This one started on deck 9 at the Crow’s nest and we had the fourth drink on the Lido deck. Stromboli was visible even though it was night time, and we saw the volcano erupt 4 times!!!!! It was amazing. I guess it averages an eruption every 20 minutes or so. We ended the pub crawl with a melon shooter in the Northern Lights dance bar. Mike and Tracy tried to get the dancing started, but it didn’t work. So, we all went to bed as we had an early arrival in Naples.
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