Messina by day and a terrific trip to Taormina

We awoke on a beach in Messina to a glorious sunrise.

 We, or rather Teo, packed up our sleeping bags and we made our way into Messina in search of the much talked about Sicilian granita and coffee.

Trust me, it's the effect of the sunrise that makes Messina look so romantic. The grit of modernity is evident when the sun shines fully.

After some searching we found a place that served granita, which is a glorified slushy served with hot buns. Granitas come in various flavors. I chose almond and it was delicious. The hot bun melts the granita as you dip it. 

There are some nice beaches in the areas surrounding Messina but besides the fact that it was too cold to enjoy them, our mission was more historic. Taormina was waiting.

Taormina, about halfway between Messina and Catania, was inhabited by the Siculi before the Greeks arrived in 832 B.C. It is most famous for its Greek theater but the town itself is quite lovely as well.

  These old aqueducts are now a playground for cats.

Taormina offers glimpses of the ancient mixed with the modern at every turn.

This is the Greek theater Taormina is famous for. Since the bricks are clearly Roman its thought that Romans built over the original Greek construction.

And so we pass through the arch to exit Taormina after a terrific day of touring.

We had a castle and Catania to look forward to tomorrow.