My favourite place we visited in Europe was Taormina, on the island of Sicily.

The ship actually docked in Messina, almost an hour away by train.

But a few of us got up after hardly any sleep and made the trek, which, as I’m sure will be clear, was well worth it.


After getting off the train, we had to take a taxi up the steep and winding mountain that is topped by the town of Taormina.

Surrounded by the sparkling Mediterranean and with Mount Etna, a very active volcano, nearby, the views from the top were absolutely breathtaking.

Beautiful stone streets and buildings seemingly carved out of the mountain itself are constantly accented by little curiosities, if one takes the time to look.






We visited the Greco-Roman theatre, which was built in the 3rd Century, AD. They still hold shows there today, and the acoustics are said to be amazing.



This is still Italy.









This was a beautiful shop full of handmade pastries, candies and other treats. The town was full of places like this.
As real as they might look, they are actually candy.



We found a little restaurant with an amazing view and had an excellent Italian lunch, including several bottles of wine.


Silly boys got drunk and acted like clowns.

We all promptly fell asleep upon getting settled on the train to go back to the ship. Well worth the loss of sleep though, what a beautiful day!