TAORMINA - SICILY

New guy checked into the work center recently, DH and I took him up to Taormina so he can see a bit more of the island than just the bus ride between his hotel and the work center. Giardini-Naxos (a few miles south of Taormina) is roughly where the Greeks established their first settlement on the island around 800 B.C.E. Even today, Taormina's Greek theatre offers plays and concerts during the warmer months. It's easy to tell a Greek theatre from a Roman one -- the Greeks into a hillside or bankment, Roman ones are free-standing (picture the Collosium in Rome). While partially rebuilt by the Romans and again in the 1800's when the "Grand Tour" was popular, there is still quite a bit of the original structure left ... I really enjoy just sitting in the sunshine and looking out over the landscape....

---here, kitty kitty kitty.......on the steps as we pass by

--on the path to the Greek threatre ---
Greek theatre --
-stage and backdrop of the Greek theatre in Taormina looking toward Mt. Etna -- built approximately 3rd century B.C.E. --
---columns on stage right - looking out over lower Taormina--
---looking through an arch down to the beach below ---in a few more months, the sand will be covered with people enjoying the sunshine ---
---through one of the side arches looking onto the stage ---
Produce stand on a side street ---the watermelons in the bottom full row next to the cherry tomatoes are about as big as both my fists put together ---