Legend docked for a day in Messina on the Italian island of Sicily. Many passengers boarded buses to visit Sicilian villages featured in the classic 1970s movie The Godfather. But having been on the go for many weeks we were content just to stroll around Messina itself, a pleasant enough town in its own right. Around noon a crowd gathered in front of the town hall clock next to the cathedral, and as soon as the clock struck 12 the tower followed on with quite an impressive performance. The large gold lion at the top kicked things off with a few credible roars, then the rooster below crowed for a bit, and finally a full-length rendition of Ava Maria burst forth from the audio system while a procession of religious sculptures circled past an opening in the tower and was revealed to the crowd below. The crowd liked it all, and we did too. A pleasant, if slightly offbeat, interlude.
The air was warm, the shade was welcome and the coffee was good. We lingered with other visitors at the sidewalk cafes, watching the comings and goings in downtown Messina. It was a friendly, laid-back place, and the few hours had no trouble passing.
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