After 94 days of Intern and more than 100 posts, it was time for a 3 week jaunt around Europe. Melaine and I slept fairly well in our little beds in our 6 person couchette cabin on our overnight 10 hour train to Catania, Sicily.
We awoke to a beautiful sunrise over the Ionian sea, fishermen were already up and out snagging the goods for the day. We shared an orange and some cashews and decided that our stench could probably knock someone over. Ha! We pulled into Catania, jumped in a super sketchy cab, and arrived at the Il Principe Hotel in moments. Right in the center of the towns action, this boutique hotel was perfect. The staff was very welcoming and after a quick freshen up in the banjo, we headed out to explore while our room was being prepared for us.
We went into the Duormo and saw the famous fish market, walked into the middle of the towns 4K run and went shopping. We found some good finds, Melaine is officially welcoming the European style of dress almost immediately. Who knew that pleat front, tapered pants would be in style again; Me and Italians, that’s who! Trust me, they look great!
We skipped lunch, probably not the best idea, but oh well. We checked into our room and had a nice relaxing afternoon planning the rest of our Sud Italy trip. After Siesta, we headed out to explore the Bellini Gardens in the city. Catania is Sicily’s second largest city, so as you can imagine there is plenty of traffic, busses, people, and WAY TOO MUCH graffiti. We were able to see the gorgeous gardens, where we shared the largest connolli I have ever seen and a local favorite, Arancia (Fried rice ball with formaggio). At the time, these were tasty bits, but man that rice ball was probably not the best thing to eat, did you know that rice expands?
We also saw two ruins of Greek theaters where they held gladiator-esque games, plenty of churches, and a statue dedicated to Bellini. We headed home again for a little R&R and then headed out to dinner at 10pm. Yes, this seems late, but in Southern Italy, this is normal. I really wanted to try Cavallo (horse). Yes reader, Horse! This is a common item to be found in a menu in the South of Italy, and I have only ever heard great things about the flavor and the taste. We went to this hoppin’ pizza joint, horse on the menu.
We ordered a salad, 2 pizzas, and horse....no horse, they had run out for the evening. So sad, I suppose I will have to try it on my next visit. The food was pretty good, and then we had some very delicious gelati! So yummy!
We headed to bed after a skype call with my mom and sister, ready for a little bit of a sleep in the next morning and a trip to Siracusa.
Buone Notte!
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