DAY 3: Messina, Sicily
In Messina we left the ship around 11:00 am.? The first thing we did was to try a gelato since people rave about how great the ice cream is in Italy.? I have to admit that after trying several different flavors of gelato throughout the trip, I’m not sure what the hype is all about.? Gelato is good but it just tastes like ice cream to me.? But I had nothing to complain about since after all, not only was I eating ice cream, I was eating it in Sicily.
We walked with our ice cream until we came upon a very pretty church with a very unique bell tower.? Perched on several different levels of the tower were golden statues of various animals. At certain times during the day the animals would come to life and make their characteristic sounds (the lion would roar, the chicken would cluck, etc.) At the church we saw a tour bus which we decided would be our best bet for seeing Messina since we were still tired from walking around Pompei the previous day.? The tour was an hour and we got to see all the sights of the city.? The tour bus then dropped us off back at the church.
We really didn’t have a plan for the rest of the day so we decided to walk through the back streets of the city up to a cathedral I’d seen from the ship.? We weren’t sure exactly how to get there so it was an adventure making our way up there.? After about half an hour we found it.
It was on a hill overlooking all of Messina.? The view was spectacular. We could see the whole bay, including a full view of our ship.? The cathedral was closed to the public so we took some pictures and headed back down. After all that walking we decided to return to the ship and take a nap before dinner.
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That evening after dinner, we decide to check out the nightly entertainment. A gay comedian named “ANT” was the headliner.? He was very entertaining and we inadvertently became part of the act.? We were sitting in the front row and his attention was drawn to us because not only were we right in front of him, but also because we were the only straight couple in the audience.? So of course he pulled us up on stage to find out why we were there and find out more about us.? Evidently, we were a hit.? Some people even came up to us afterwards and asked if we were plants! I owe of all of it to Ant’s comic genius though.? He is a master of improvisation. That night sort of broke the ice between us and the other passengers.? We became mini-celebrities and people approached us throughout the rest of the voyage after seeing us on “the ANT show.”
Continue to read RSVP Mediterranean Odyssey Day Four: Corfu, Greece
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