Traveling with the Grobmyers: Messina Sicily

 Our first stop is the town of Messina in Sicily. Messina is a harbor city in northeast Sicily, separated from mainland Italy by the Strait of Messina. It’s known for the Norman Messina Cathedral, with its Gothic portal, 15th-century windows and an astronomical clock on the bell tower. Nearby are marble fountains decorated with mythological figures, like the Fontana di Orione, with its carved inscriptions, and the Neptune Fountain, topped by a statue of the sea god.

Some first looks at Messina this morning as we are pulling into port.

We did the Walking Tour of Messina this morning.  Our guide told us about the 1908 earthquake.  The earthquake pretty much leveled the town and what didn't get destroyed in the earthquake was pretty much destroyed in World War II.  

This is a church that somewhat survived the earthquake. 

The highlight of the town and their pride and joy is the Astronomical clock of the Cathedral of Messina.  The bell tower in Piazza Duomo features the world's most complex mechanical and astronomical clock. At exactly 12:00 PM, its gilded figures complete a 12-minute dance. 

Our tour guide timed it so that we were in the square for the 12:00 noon show. 

It starts with the Lion roaring.

Then the rooster crows.

Then figures below the rooster move around.

The show last about 12 minutes in all.

Fontana di Orione The fountain has a pyramidal structure: at the top Orion with his dog Sirius at his feet . Below are 4 cherubs riding dolphins from whose mouths water flows into the cup below.

After the clock finished, we walked into the church.

 

I see quilt patterns in all kinds of places.

When we left the church our guide took us to Barbera for some treats. 

Sicily is known for their cannoli's,  Our head waiter at dinner last night was telling us about them and to be sure and try one.  She said what makes them so good is that they make their own ricotta cheese fresh.  She also told us to not get one that was already filled.  That a good cannoli should be filled when ordered.  So keep that in mind.  These were so good.  I wish we had gotten another one for the road.  The shell was crunchy the filling firm like cake icing but not as sweet.  It is really hard to describe.  But I think we are going to have to try and make them at home sometime.

Our tour ended there and it was a great ending.  We wondered around for a little bit longer.  We decided to get some lunch while we were off the ship.  There were lots of little cafes around. 

 

This is where we stopped.

Joe ordered the pizza.  This was not the pepperoni we were expecting.  It was okay but not the best we had on this trip.

I ordered the pasta.  It was not what I was expecting.  And I don't know what the deal with the eggs are.  they put boiled eggs on pizza too.  The pasta wasn't bad but it was heavier than I was expecting.  We each sampled both things.  It wasn't bad just not what we were expecting.

We had to sample their cannolis and they did not measure up the the first one.  So all cannolis from this day forward will be measured by that first one.

We never got very far from the ship.

We had a nice sunset this evening as we set sail again.  We have a sea day tomorrow before we reach Athens.

The moon was pretty again too.

Traveling with the Grobmyers: Disney Dream

 This is our first time to sail on the Disney Dream.  We have been on her sister ship Fantasy twice, so we were looking forward to our time on the ship.  

Saturday morning we had one last breakfast at the hotel, then boarded the Disney bus to the port.  The port was hopping when we got there.  Because we did the Disney transfer we did not have to wait in the big line we just had the line of people on the bus with us. We made it on the ship and first order of business was a picture.

Then on to the Animators Palate for a sit down lunch.  If you take a Disney cruise after you board you have two options for lunch, Cabanas upstairs which is a buffet or one of the sit down restaurants serves lunch too.  We enjoy the sit down lunch more.  It's more relaxed and quieter.  Cabanas can get a little crowded and crazy upstairs. 

I got a sail away sundae.

Joe got the carrot cake.

After lunch we could go to our room and check it out.  Then the muster drill happened.  After all the important stuff it was time for the Sail Away Party.  Only we didn't Sail Away right away.

We had early seating for dinner.  So we back to our room to rest for a little bit and freshen up for dinner. Our dinner the first night was at the Enchanted Garden. 

A fancy ham and cheese tart with pear compote.

A salad with apricots and grilled pears.  This was very good. 

Prime Rib main course.

Pecan pie tart.

First night Joe managed to spill not one but two glasses of water all over the table and me.  He made a really good impression on our table hosts.  He got a cup with a lid for a few nights until he could prove he was not going to spill again.  We all had a big laugh about it. 

After dinner I went and said hello to a couple of my friends.  Told them that I had missed them since I had seen them last year. 

Had a few pictures made

Our first towel animal.

Sunday was a day at sea so I was going to use that time to explore the ship.  I will combine the three sea days here to show you some of the fun things on the Disney Dream.

The diaper derby is always a lot of fun to watch.

This ship has this bakery on board.  This is the first time we have had this on one of the ships.  It is a neat little shop.  Their macarons are very good.

Someone enjoyed the balcony while I explored the ship.  The water was so calm and deep deep blue.

We had a beautiful full moon on this trip.

Joe got to have a little Jedi photo shoot tonight.

We enjoyed our time on the Disney Dream.  We are looking forward to the Disney Wish next year.  That is another new ship for us as well.