The weather was fabulous for all of the walk and our last day in Taormina was hot and sunny, with Etna really clear to the south.

We headed off relatively early for the climb up to Sant Maria della Rocca, perched on the hill behind the town.  It was a bit of a slog up stairs but the views were great.  We were going to climb up further to the Norman castle but the army had shut it off – the forthcoming G7 strikes again!

We spent the rest of the day getting a few bits and pieces in town, chilling in our apartment (and washing!).  Our final group dinner was at a restaurant nearby with yet again lovely seafood and local wines.

We transferred to Catania for the trip to Milan this morning.  The airport was chaos – Alitalia were having computer issues and security were having issues too so despite arriving early we literally got to the gate in time to board.  It’s supposed to rain in Milan for the next few days so expect it’ll be indoor sightseeing.

So below are some pictures – Etna from our balcony (again!😀), inside Sant Maria – John finally had change for a candle, coming down – that’s the castle at the top (the handrails had rusted and fallen over the side along a lot of the path no liabilty issues here!), and a couple of the Duomo and piazza.