Friday 28 April was spent travelling. We took an early bus from Amalfi to Salerno in slight rain, the greyness of the ocean merging into the grey sky as we headed along the precarious edge of dry land. After a short wait, where we discovered that the public toilet in the Salerno rail station was closed, presumably because the attendant had yet to start work, we found a small bar for coffee and breakfast.
The Avis office was extremely helpful, and we managed to hire the vehicle we had reserved, and head off by around ten am. The GPS guided us out of the centre of town, and onto the autostrada. The Italians are very good at transport infrastructure: the trains and roads have been excellent.
After taking the ferry across the Strait of Messina, we headed south. Notwithstanding a short diversion off the autostrada, the result of inexplicable directions from our GPS (perhaps it is programmed to avoid toll points?), we reached Taormina in quick time. We had been travelling about eight hours, but it went quickly.
Saturday was spent exploring Taormina, a town located high above the coast line, accessed by a funicular. The economy is clearly driven by tourism. The main attraction is the Greek /Roman amphitheatre which dates from 200 BC. There were also a couple of churches with interesting art, hundreds of high end shops and hotels, and thousands of tourists like us.
After an early evening drink with our friends on the terrace of the Hotel Metropole overlooking the azure Mediterranean sea, and a quick dinner in a nearby trattoria, we managed to squeeze into a sold out performance of highlights from Italian operas by the local Taormina Opera society. The performers were terrific, at least to my untrained ear, and made it a very enjoyable evening.
Today, the plan is to drive on to Siracusa, via Catania where there is a self-guided walk related to the composer Bellini who was born there, and which our friends (who are opera aficionados) are keen to see. It is a beautiful day, so the drive should be very pleasant. While the autostrada is efficient, there is a side of me that quite misses the curves of previous days; must be the adrenaline rush of careening almost out of control with the void on one side and the cliff walls on the other. Italy certainly gives one a new perspective on life!
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