Although I thoroughly enjoyed every port we visited on our cruise, a few stood out from the others. Taormina, on Sicily, was one of those. Our ship actually docked in Catania, Sicily’s second-largest port, so my day trip to Taormina required an hour-long bus ride up the coast, skirting Mt. Etna on the way as we drove through miles of lemon and orange groves. As we left the port we could see steam rising high into the sky above the volcano, which has erupted eight times in the last 30 years. There was still a bit of snow on the highest reaches of the mountain (skiers traverse the slopes in the winter), but today would prove to be quite warm and humid here below. Taormina actually sits some 600 feet above sea level (out of the reach of ancient invaders), with gorgeous views of the sea, coast and Mt. Etna afforded from several of the piazzas in town. Upon arrival I strolled down the main shopping street (I so enjoyed the many opportunities on this trip to venture about on vehicle-free avenues!) toward the Greco-Roman theater. The later Roman structure was built atop the 3rd-century B.C. Greek original, and its excellent acoustics still lend themselves to summer concerts and performances on the site today.  The views of Etna, framed in the arches of the facade at the bottom of the amphitheatre, were worth the climb in the rising heat. I managed to bypass most of the souvenir shops selling porcelain goods but found my way through back streets quite by accident to a large old house decorated with beautifully detailed tiles of local saints and Roman gods and mythological figures. Here again, as I found in Corfu, Dubrovnik and Venice, were delicately ornate wrought-iron balconies festooned with flower boxes and vines covered in bright blossoms. Many also featured bird cages holding tiny songbirds that filled the air with their chirping, somehow making the air feel cooler with their liquid notes. I enjoyed whiling away an hour or more just wandering up and down the quieter side alleys, catching glimpses of mundane everyday life and views of the sea set in centuries-old archways. Soon enough it was time to reboard the motor coach and return to Catania and the ship, but that sense of drowsy peace I  experienced in Taormina stayed with me. Later that night, as the Oosterdam made its way north along the west coast of Italy towards Naples, we passed Stromboli Volcano. We lined up along the rail of the topmost deck, straining our eyes through the warm, heavy dark in the direction other passengers told us they had seen a glow. Just as we decided we had missed out on the show, a bright rocket of orange burst high into the night, followed by explosions of sparks and a stream of lava flowing downwards. It subsided after just a few minutes, but twice more after a lull of several minutes the mountain rewarded our patience with another fiery outburst. It made for a thrilling, awesome end to a truly delightful day. –Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader