The Teatro Greco (Greek Theatre) in Taormina

On our last day in Sicily we woke up late and had a leisurely breakfast before packing our bags and checking out of our hotel.

Our flight wasn't until the late afternoon, so we left our bags at the hotel and went for a last wander around Taormina.

Our plan for the morning was to visit the Teatro Greco, or the Greek Theatre, an ancient theatre perched above Taormina and one of the most beautiful ruins in Sicily. It was originally built by the Ancient Greeks, and then reconstructed by the Romans to be used for gladiatorial events.

It is one of the most visited ruins in Sicily, with the other being the Temple of Concord in Agrigento. Whether the Teatro Greco is so popular because of it's preservation, or because of its stunning views over Taormina and the surrounding areas, is hard to tell.

Having slept in, we arrived mid morning and joined the line of tourists waiting to get it. It was extremely hot and by the time we got inside we were already sweating.

After zooming around a large tour group we entered the large theatre and were immediately struck by how beautiful it was.

The theatre is still used regularly, and has performances throughout Summer due to the amazing acoustics. The week before we arrived the Taormina Film Festival was held there, and we could see people setting up for the Opera that would be performed later that evening.

Setting up for the performance

While most of the tourists were clustered in huge groups on the lower level, we headed up into the stands and took a seat in the shade while we rehydrated with a bottle of water and watched the stage slowly being assembled.

We wandered further up into the theatre to take some photos of the stunning views across Taormina and Mt Etna, it was such a clear day that we could see for miles.

While taking photos individually, an American couple offered to take our photo for us. That's one thing we found in America, and also on a lot of our travels, American tourists are so nice and always ask if we want our photo taken. It beats using the front camera of my iPhone which never takes as good photos as the back camera.

Slightly windy!

After spending an hour or so exploring the theatre, we headed out and away from the crowds. We grabbed some lunch and sat in the shade outside a church for the rest of the afternoon.

Cooling down in the shade

After lunch we headed back to the hotel, grabbed our bags, and hopped on a bus to take us an hour and a half South to Catania Airport, where we would be getting our flight back home to Heathrow.

I'm a terrible flyer, and rather than getting used to flying with all the flights we take, I seem to be getting worse. I can usually barely eat anything the day of a flight and have to take beta blockers for anxiety several hours before flying.

Our flights home were fine, not as bumpy as the flight to Palermo a week earlier. As the direct flights home to London were either too expensive or at weird times, we caught a flight from Catania to Zurich and then from Zurich to London.

After leaving Taormina at 1.00 p.m., we eventually arrived home just after 10.00 p.m. tired after a long day and sad to be leaving Sicily behind.

We had such an amazing time and for now that brings our Italian travels to an end. We don't have any more plans to visit Italy within the next year, but who knows, our plans might change!