Hugo had a 09:15 meeting, so we only left the apartment at 10:50.

We decided to take the walking road down to Taormina. Turning the corner at the St George church, the big one, we saw that Mt Etna had “erupted” again and had a long smoke column coming off it.

A hand-painted prickly pear sign reading A casitta da Mola on a wall in Castelmola
The bell tower of the San Giorgio church in Castelmola above the café tables

Mount Etna trailing a long horizontal smoke column above the coast

Then the winding road down, with amazing vistas over the ocean, the mountains and Etna. There were prickly pears everywhere.

A small clifftop chapel surrounded by prickly pears above the sea

Prickly pears and terraced hillsides on the walking road down to Taormina

Houses perched on top of a sheer rock seen from the road below

We reached Taormina’s upper levels an hour later and continued downwards to the main walking street, where we were met with streams of tourists. It felt like being added to a conveyor belt that pushed us down the street. We managed to get off the conveyor belt and into a side street, where we got our first granita — a mulberry one — with a brioche, and then at another place we ordered a beer and paninis.

Old stone walls and battlements on the upper edge of Taormina

Taormina cathedral and the baroque fountain on Piazza Duomo

Crowds filling Corso Umberto, Taormina's main walking street
A gold mosaic of the Madonna and Child set into a Gothic stone niche in Taormina

The coast north of Taormina with Etna's smoke drifting across the sky

Piazza IX Aprile in Taormina with its clock tower and church in the middle of the day

A mulberry granita with a wafer and a brioche bun held up in the street
Caro eating a panino with a Messina beer outside a bottega dating from 1969

After that we went to the Greek theatre. We were lucky to miss the biggest crowds — as we came out, the ticket queue stretched far out of the gate.

The Saracen castle and Castelmola on their rocks high above Taormina

Brick arches in the ruins of the Greek theatre at Taormina
Caro framed in a brick arch of the Greek theatre with Etna behind her

The Greek theatre at Taormina with its stage, seating and Etna in the distance

Caro standing on the curved stone seating of the Greek theatre

Looking up towards the Saracen castle and Castelmola from the theatre grounds

Our next mission was to reach the beach, but we were still on the “3rd” level. (I’m making up my own levels here: the ocean and lower Taormina, higher Taormina, and Castelmola.) We missed the bus and the gondola was too expensive, so we walked all the way down.

Isola Bella and Capo Sant'Andrea with turquoise water, seen from high above

The packed pebble beach and causeway out to Isola Bella

Caro at a railing looking north along the coast towards Calabria

The Isola Bella beach was completely packed, but we found a spot and then crawled into the water. It is a very rocky beach, so it is quite a spectacle watching everyone trying to get in without falling or slipping. The water was super clear and, despite all the masses, quite picturesque. We stayed until just before 17:00, when a bus was supposed to be able to take us back up to Castelmola.

Caro swimming in the clear water off the rocky Isola Bella beach

Isola Bella seen from the crowded beach with an excursion boat loading

After many permutations and walking up and down to the different companies’ potential bus stops, we got the Interbus to the Termini interchange in Taormina. We wanted a grocery store, as it was our last chance for a Sicilian shop. We went to a Coop, but it was small, so we only bought water. The only other shop was a Decò on the other side, where we had started that morning. So we walked all the way through the walking street again, which was even more packed, and quickly popped into the church on the way. At the Decò we found the pistachio cream we had been looking for, and some snacks for tomorrow’s long train.

An old stone archway over a Taormina street in the early evening
The baroque stucco interior of a church on Piazza IX Aprile

Piazza IX Aprile at dusk, its chequerboard paving busy with people above the sea

We then went to another bus stop, hoping for the best. Again we weren’t sure the bus would arrive, and it was starting to get dark. Walking all the way uphill didn’t seem that inviting. Luckily the bus came and the driver just waved us in. He didn’t go all the way to the top of Castelmola — everyone on the bus seemed equally surprised — and when we asked whether we could pay now, he waved us off with a “don’t worry about it” gesture. So we got a free ride, but a few more steps to climb to finish off the 17,500-step day. Walking steps, not physical steps.

For dinner we went to Pizzeria Nina again, but this time we got two pizzas so that we would have leftovers for the train tomorrow. We also tried a glass of the Blandanino almond wine. This is where it started: Nina is the pizza side of the Antico Caffè San Giorgio on Piazza Sant’Antonio, and in 1907 its founder, Vincenzo Blandano, flavoured his wine with almonds and the Blandanino was born. It is the same almond wine that was in the previous night’s pasta. We ended up buying a bottle.

Two pizzas on the table at Pizzeria Nina in Castelmola, with Caro behind them

Today was a full day and one of the more memorable days.