From Glenn:
The day in Messina was great. We started with breakfast at Blue Iguana. Heuvos Rancheros are so delicious especially with eggs made to order. Love the variety of salsa and hot sauces. Excursion process had one snag. We booked the Taormina Greek Theatre tour. We didn't realize that we should have checked our entire party in at the same time before sitting in the lounge. My MIL and FIL got there early and were on a different bus then the rest of us. We had 13 and they had 12. We rushed down to the loading area, pleaded with the tour guide and thankfully were able to all be on the same bus. Phew!!! We'll be better prepared for Rome.
The tour was fantastic. It is about a 20 minute bus ride to Taormina. Our guide Marta gave us a short (accelerated) history lesson of Sicily. Then we had a guided tour of the three gates and the Greek Theatre. Wonderful tour and we had more than 90 minutes of free time. Many shops and restaurants to explore. Plus the theatre has a lot of great views if you are able and willing to climb. Caveat is that to fully experience this tour you do need to be prepared for some walking and climbing many steps. Well worth it!! We found some Roman ruins behind a church.
We were back on the ship by 1:30 and headed straight to Mongolian Wok (Deck 11 Aft) for lunch. They were able to seat the six of us right away. We places our orders (you fill out a sheet with what you want). I had mussels, clams and calamari with a bunch of veggies and the Thai BBQ sauce. So delicious and love that it is sit down lunch service. Rare on any ship for a port day.
We had a happy hour in our cabin after lunch. We had pre-ordered Bombay Saphire and some tonic from the Fun Shops. Well worth it!! We then went to the spa. While I think the Vista spa is too small for a ship of this size, what they do offer is fantastic especially for an excursion-heavy cruise.
We went to the 7:30 pm PG comedy last night with Thomas Brown. I felt he was very low energy compared to reports from people who saw his adult show. Had some funny bits which I can imagine would be better in the adult show. Dinner last night was very good. Had the arancini starter and it was well made and tasty. I had two mains: Veal Parm and Flat Iron Steak. The steak was cooked to my liking (med rare) and tasty. Veal Parm a little dry but had good flavor. I've had it before where it tasted like iron (almost livery). Not so last night.
For two nights in a row several of us have gotten the vanilla ice cream for dessert and it has had a really off putting artificial flavor. Almost like perfume. Won't be ordering that again.
After dinner we went to Red Frog for a couple of beers and to listen to Ed the guitar player. He was very good. Will probably be back for more another night. Headed to bed early since we have an early pick up.
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