As you know, we arrived back in Taormina on Saturday September 19th so that Katie and Loui could catch their flight on Monday. However, the other reason was that there were two days of bad weather due with strong northerly winds. We wanted to be tucked up somewhere safe whilst it passed through. There was also a bus that would take them direct to the airport from the town for €8 each.

After we had ate on board on the Saturday evening, we all retired early and sure enough, half way through the night the wind picked up and the rain came. No sooner had I closed all the hatches when the rain stopped. However, it rained intermittently throughout the day but that didn’t preclude us from relaxing on the boat!

hammock time!

In the evening we arranged a water taxi with the magnificent George Rizzo, who runs the mooring buoys and knows about everything locally. He had also arranged a taxi to take us to Madonna della Rocca which is high up the mountain above the main town. If you look closely, you can see the cross of the Madonna della Rocca on the left hill and the Saracen’s castle on the right.

It was their feast day so many bright illuminations, processions and fireworks. We were lucky enough to get a table at the Al Saraceno restaurant that had a fab view of everything that was going on. We were treated to a lovely meal by Katie and Loui.  The manager even got in on the act!

Afterwards, we walked the 700 plus steps down to the main town of Taormina to enjoy a gelato before returning to the boat. A lovely way to finish a great week with friends.

Al Saraceno restaurant