Today we docked at Catania, an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily. This city was destroyed in a catastrophic earthquake in 1169 and again in 1693. Neighboring Mount Etnas has had volcanic eruptions, the most violent in 1669.

Founded in the 8^th century B.C., Catania is a flourishing cultural, aartistic and political center including a university started in 1434! An important technological hub, Catania has the nickname of the “European Silicon Valley”.

An early start today, Phil was the designated driver again. He went to the airport to pick up our van for eight today and drove us through the city of Sicily up into Taormina. This is home to the ancient Teatro Greco where concerts are still being held today. After much picture taking, we walked down from the Greek Theater and went into the quaint town of Taormina where all seven of us enjoyed a typical Italian lunch of pasta and pizza. The restaurant name is Gambero Rosso or Red Prawns. Carol had gnocchi con gorgonzola e spinache and Phil had a margarita pizza.

Thank goodness we had the GPS to get us back to the ship again where Phil dropped us off at the port and he took the van back to the airport.

The day started out rainy but ended up beautifully sunny and not too hot.