Messina, Sicily, Italy is better than OK. The architecture and the churches are great. Our issue was with the pet/dog owners! It was often a real challenge to stay clear of the dog poop on the sidewalks and we didn’t see any street dogs to lay blame to. In general, the city just appeared less well kept than we had expected, but it was still a great place to stop and visit.
I am using an App called GPS My city, it works well if you want to create your own tour and it provides audio guides of the main historical sites in the city, very informative.
My app suggested as a “must see” the Piazza Duomo at noon for the mechanically animated show. We were way too early so decided to climb the bell tower which we love to do anyway.
Our day ended early in Messina, back aboard the ship for a long nap!
Each nite onboard ship, we had dinner with Mike and Leslie, just the four of us at table for eight. We noticed that a couple sitting nearby were actively eavesdropping on our conversations as we gesticulated and laughed about our day in port, politics, children or life in our two countries. We agreed that we should invite the couple to join us and suggested to the head waiter to set the table for six. With Leslie making the invitation, the next evening Bill and Vickey from Australia joined us for dinner and it was great to have a new couple in the mix.
Cartagena, Spain was just what we needed after Messina and a day at sea. The city was clean and very inviting with a large pedestrian only area. We toured the Roman Theatre, the amphitheater, many churches and thoroughly enjoyed the mix of ancient and new architecture.
Cruising the pedestrian area we found a street artist playing the harp, decided to sit, “pull a pint” and enjoy.
Europe Detour 