Sicily...the Town of Taormina

The very next day after setting sail from Rome we docked in Messina, Sicily. We had read that there wasn't too much to see in the actual port of Messina so we made arrangements to take a ship excursion of them providing transportation and us doing the town on our own to Taormina. 

As a tip for anyone traveling to Messina on a cruise ship....this was the only excursion we booked with our cruise line because we had heard that the train/buses were complicated and unreliable and it seemed worth it to just have the cruise line arrange for transportation for us. I don't know if the public transportation would have worked but I do know that this way prevented us from having to take a train, a bus, and then a taxi....one bus seemed a whole lot easier!

It was such a picturesque and cute town and what I imagined small Italian towns to be like. The 45 minute bus ride was rough....we had no idea what our "vacation routine" should look like with the kids and Graham was not having sitting still (seems to already be a theme on the trip). Once we got there though and got settled, we walked around, enjoyed the breath taking scenery.

We grabbed some panini's for lunch, wandered around some more and found some gelatto. Which we enjoyed tremendously throughout much of the trip! I think we tried almost all the flavors offered.

Graham has always loved his bed, with his nighttime music and routine for sleeping. He never sleeps in the car or stroller and so I didn't know what we were going to do on the trip but as you can see Graham napped in the stroller! It took some work at first but by the end of our trip he was a pro....we just reclined him, gave him a blanket and he would fall asleep and on some days had several naps in the stroller. Defiantly adapted to our nomadic life and made it so much easier! Tip....bring a stroller that fully reclines...it helps so much and also lightweight blankets like Aden and Anais Muslin Swaddle Blankets. Because they are so large and lightweight, they are awesome at covering the stroller to block out sun, covering up as a comfort blanket without getting too hot and are the best! We use them constantly in Saudi and they were a lifesaver on our trip!

We walked and enjoyed more sights.....

Peyton bought her prize for the trip....of course it was in the first place we stopped and at the first toy store she saw...she named it Sicily.

While Graham was napping we stopped and had a drink overlooking the ocean. Breathtaking! So beautiful and it was so nice to sit out a real restaurant with my husband, wear real clothes, eat outside where men and women are mixing and enjoy a glass of wine...bliss!

Peyton is such a goof ball! Then we got ready to head back to the cruise ship with these two happy kids. I am so in love with them!