First Cruise stop: Messina, Sicily

We did not book the cruise because of this port, that is for sure.  In fact, the excursions were so unexciting that we did not book any at all!  We decided this would be one of our "cheap" stops and we would invest in a walking map of the city.  It was nice . . . but pretty much uneventful.  It is an ancient city founded in the 8th century BC by the Greeks but much of the ancient structures were destroyed by a devastating earthquake as well as multiple attacks and plundering throughout the ages.

Our first stop after disembarking from the ship was the church of Annunziata dei Catalani.  It was pretty but definitely not as elaborate as other churches we had visited.  This church was built in the late 12th-13th century and had a series of arches and a noteworthy dome.   
 

 

 

We next continued up the Cathedral of Messina and the Astronomical Clock.  This cathedral was much bigger than the church and was very peaceful . . . we took some time to sit and enjoy the inside of this quite place.  The ceiling was rather beautiful!  It was built in the 12th century but the majority of the structure had to be rebuilt in the early 1900's due to a devastating earthquake. 

 

We continued our walk through the streets of Messina (stopping for gelato at various intervals) with my dear o'dad exclaiming "Bonjourno" to each Italian he saw . . . sigh.  After walking to the top of the city we were able to behold a rather pretty site of the city, ship and sea below.  We also met and Italian fellow dressed up as Mickey Mouse who offered so generously to drive us about in his car. . . I am sure his intentions were pure. 

That was basically it.  Like I said, pretty uneventful.  We headed back to the ship early.  Definitely not a must see location . . . but we were looking forward to the promise of Athens!