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- May 1, 2022, 5:41 PM
- ⛅ 17 °C
- Altitude: 19 m
- ItalySicilyCataniaMinoriti Palace37°30’18” N 15°5’11” E
Cinque Fotagrafie-Catania Day 1
May 1, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
Today we bid hasta luego to Spain and headed to our first stop in Italy: Catania, Sicily. Our transport and check-in to Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport was quite simple. We made it though check-in and security in about fifteen minutes with plenty of time to relax in the airport lounge.
Jim C found a direct flight to Cantania via Ryan Airlines. It's a no-frills flight, and everything is extra ( ex. bottle of water- 3 Euros). One interesting experience on the flight was when flight attendants were selling lottery tickets for a youth fundraiser. The flight was smooth and we landed in the Catania Airport a little early.
Catania is the second largest city in Sicily. It sits at the base of Mt. Etna. At 11,000 feet it's the highest volcano in Europe and one of the most active ones in the world.
We picked up our luggage and secured a rental car. That's when the transportation adventure was kicked up several notches. I have two images that come to mind when reliving the drive to our B&B. The more benign one was my 1975 high school recollection of being in a driver's education simulation car where just about every obstacle is put in your way. I remember trying to make a right in a busy urban street and I wound up running into an imaginary motorcyclist. I can still hear my Driver's Ed teacher calling out "You got him #9!"
I think my second image is the opening scenes of one of the Indiana Jones sequels. The streets really are chaotic. The merging seems to be driven by relative testosterone levels, stop signs mean nothing and scooters and pedestrians alike seem to have an inherent death wish.
When we were close to our B&B, I called the innkeeper because it appeared that the street was limited to pedestrians. He replied, "Oh, yes, it is but it's the only way that you can get to the courtyard. Ignore the restriction signs and proceed through the crowd. Call me when you arrive and I will open the gate." Jim C finally mustered the courage, we found the address, I called the proprietor and the slowest garage door opener ever opened the gates while we tried to drive in without a manslaughter charge.
Once in the courtyard, we followed the instructions to get to our room and settled in. While the rooms are modest, the term "location, location, location" definitely fits. We are about 100 meters from the fish market and the Duomo. The streets were festive in celebration of International Workers Day and we had a wonderful time wandering the neighborhood.
We are looking forward to sampling Sicilian food. This evening we stopped at a little Cafe and Jim C tried the caponata, a flavorful eggplant/vegetable dish and I had the octopus salad. We shared an order of Arancini de Rici (fried rice balls). They were very flavorful, and one incorporated black squid ink.
After getting this light dinner we wandered some more in the adjacent neighborhood and we stopped for dessert and cappuccino. Jim has chocolate and pistachio gelato, and I had the most amazing cannolo that I have ever tasted. The ricotta was sweet and creamy, it was garnished with pistachios and the shell was crisp. I learned that the Sicilian secret is that they don't fill the shell until just before serving.
We are very excited about our visit here, and we look forward to exploring this beautiful island.
Ciao, Buona notte!Read more
Traveler Yay for cannolis!!
Traveler SO JEALOUS
I just found your blog. I’ve read every day of your adventures and I love them. If you need to come out of retirement, I bet Rick Steves would be happy to hire you. I love hearing of the things you’re doing, I love your quiet days, I love everything about your trip. Thank you for sharing so much of it. [Bonnie Larson]
Traveler thank you, Bonnie