First view
We woke up on Tuesday, May 14th in Taormina… Actually, we weren’t in Taormina, but a coastal town near Taormina. SeaDream was running a free shuttle bus to take cruisers to Taormina. A lot of people also went on the excursion to Mount Etna, which I understand was pretty strenuous. Some people were ill-prepared for the colder temperatures on the mountain. One couple described the excursion and said they’d actually brought coats with them and they really needed them.
Sun was very welcome…
Bill and I went to the coastal town, but never made it on the shuttle bus to Taormina because I was still feeling pretty sick and was very tired. The defining characteristic of my cold this time was overwhelming fatigue, and I ended up sleeping a lot on this cruise. I wish I could have gotten up early as we sailed into Sicily, though. I would have liked to have seen some of the scenery. I had never been to Sicily before.
The coastal town wasn’t all that nice. We walked around near the waterfront and were hustled by a couple of cab drivers looking to make some money. One guy stopped us and gave his opinions about President Obama. I also noticed a museum that looked like it might be interesting, but I didn’t have the patience to visit it. If I had been feeling better, I definitely would have taken the shuttle SeaDream had arranged.
Etna is in the distance…
Beach… I probably would have enjoyed lying there for awhile.
As it was, we came back to the yacht and I had another long hot tub soak. Job brought me more prosecco and I basked in the pleasant sunshine for awhile. Once again, I really wanted to go swimming, but the water was very cold and I don’t think SeaDream opened the marina for swimming that day.
I really wanted to swim with these fishies…
SeaDream did allow water sports and I noticed a few people using the Wave Runners. One guy even changed his shorts while on deck. From my vantage point in the hot tub, I managed to see his bare butt for a second or two, even though he had sort of covered himself with a towel. It was kind of shocking. Later, another passenger mentioned to me that she had also seen what I saw. We both wondered why he hadn’t gone to a restroom or his cabin to change. But hell, people in Europe aren’t nearly as shy about nudity as a lot of Americans are.
I seem to remember having flounder for lunch, which I paired with an order of fries. One of the waiters told me that we would be offered fish and chips later in the week.
Handsome devil… I think that’s our favorite place to sit.
I’d have to say I was feeling the yuckiest on Tuesday, so once again, I went to bed early and skipped the piano bar. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Mount Etna
One of Manuel’s best margaritas…