Art Hotel Atelier Sul Mare Messina

... lounges. All at the bow of the ship with floor to ceiling glass windows overlooking the turquise sea. Aaaahhh.
We sailed through the Straights of Medina yesterday, between Sicily and the toe of Italy. We passed the Isle of Stromboli, which is a huge perfect cone of an active volcano, spewing smoke from the top and a fumarole just above the small town. I wonder who would choose to live there? Must have gotten the short straw.
Last night we ate ...

... disappointed. I wasn’t any different than the day before and I really knew better then to expect one day, one day that was just like any other to really affect me in such a drastic way for no reason. But now I am nearing middle age (ha!), in Italy, experiencing something unfathomable, to me. And I have One Week Left.

I don’t know if it is my impatience. Or if it’s just that I’ve had enough but ...

Buon Giorno! Ok! For clarification, we didn't stop at Messina. We merely went through the Messina Strait, where our Italian built 100,000 ton boat "Ruby Princess" continued south and navigated around the toe of Italy. Today was a day at Sea! A day to relax on our balcony and enjoy that local vino we purchased in Naples.

We did begin the day at the fitness center. Being a fitness instructor and ...

Hi Folks,
Just thought I would include this port as we stopped there unexpectedly this morning to disembark another ill passenger (or maybe it was the same on). We are supposed to be having a day at sea today which we are but by stopping at Messina it has delayed tomorrows' arrival at Piraeus, but the Captain has just announced that we will not miss any ...

... dass wir im zug lösen konnten. Der schaffner bedeutete uns, dass dies nicht möglich sei und sagte, an der nächsten haltestelle warte der zug 10minuten, sodass ich rausgehen und ein ticket lösen könne. Evi blieb sicherheitshalber im zug beim gepäck, falls seine aussage nicht stimmen würde (weil bis anhin nur sehr selten die aussagen der sizilianer stimmten). Doch er versicherte uns, dass dies ganz ganz sicher so sei. Ich rannte raus und suchte den automaten, als evi bereits nach ...

... A small village perched high above the Mediterranean sea. It's church tower was spotted by Francis Ford Coppola from below and that was how he picked this for the movie the Godfather. It is the village where Michael spots his bride to be and the wedding party winds through the small streets. Very beautiful.

We then went to Taormina ...

... will most likely not be allowed, but getting to see the bridge will be good enough!Anyway, its time for bed now, as we are sailing to Barcelona, I think tomorrow I will post some of the very "intelligent" questions and things I have heard on this boat, some of them deserve 10/10 for stupidity!

... fishing vessels, all an indication to me that this is still very much a working port and not simply a hub for cruise ships. We took a tour of the ship and it was mostly empty until we hit the buffet...apparently people came onboard hungry! Tonight turned out to be tons of fun. We sat on the balcony with a fruit and cheese plate and a bottle of wine as we sailed away and ate in the dining room, where we are lucky enough to have a table for ...

... it was something like "ef charisto". Also, in Greece, "ne" means yes and "okhi" means no. Sheesch. At least for the rest of the trip we will be able to figure out the words more easily. We already know some important Italian words, like "caio" hello and "caio" goodbye. We also know "per favore" - please and "grazie" - thank you. After napping and cleaning up and a quick dinner, we went in search for an internet café. The young man in the marina ...

... die verdekt opgesteld tegen de kade ligt. In de oudheid was de straat van Messina berucht. Aan beide zijden van de straat wachtten enorme honderdkoppige monsters je op om je met behulp van draaikolken en vloedgolven naar beneden te zuigen. Tegenwoordig is er echter weinig te vrezen. De draaikolken schijnen verdwenen te zijn door de veranderingen als gevolg van de vele aardbevingen in de omgeving. Je kunt wel de enorme monsters herkennen in de grillig ...