Day 8 - A Day for Relaxing

Naxos Beach

There were only a couple of minor things on the agenda for today and one was to correct a mistake from earlier. When we had planned our earlier visit to Taormina, I thought the Greek Amphitheater was open until dark but in fact it stopped admissions at 5:30 so we couldn't get in on our first try. No problem. We just went back to Taormina in the morning, this time for a more leisurely visit.

In the first photo you can see the beach here at Naxos looking up at Taormina (town in the middle level) and Castelmola (small town on the summit to the left). From our hotel it is only about a 20 minute drive to Taormina.

Teatro antico di Taormina

The amphitheater is really spectacular with its views overlooking the Ionian sea far down below. You might wonder why such an impressive structure is located here? The reason is that Naxos was the first Greek settlement in Sicily (735 BCE) and the main city (now called Taormina) was built on a high point of land for protection from invaders. It was a thriving city and the theater can accommodate about 5500 spectators and is still used today, but only in the summer. Of course over the centuries the city was conquered by Romans and many others but the amphitheater and baths still remain.

Full Sicilian Relax Mode

Jeanne and I picked up our laundry in town and went back to the hotel for some pool time and relaxation before we check out tomorrow and head to the west coast of Sicily. I'd like to say we use local laundries to support the local economy, but the fact is that Hiltons charge a fortune and the local placed only charged us 20 EUR for about a weeks worth of clothes. It also gave me the chance to speak to some older ladies who clearly spoke no English. So when I picked it up they asked if I was the guy with the underwear. They apparently don't get much underwear to wash!

We ate dinner right across the street from the hotel. I had a grilled seafood combo (swordfish, shrimp, mussels and calamari) and Jeanne had spaghetti with cherry tomatoes with cubes of mozzarella. We both had dessert (Tiramisu). We continue to be amazed at the quality of the food and how inexpensive it is.