Catania

If not for Cesco, I doubt I would travel to Catania. Even though it is Sicily's second largest city, it really is quite out of the way. The largest landmark here is of course Mt Etna which had erupted and destroyed the city more than once.

In 1669 Catania was covered in lava and 24 years later in 1693 an earthquake shook the town down to its foundations. The entire old part of town was then rebuilt in Baroque style using lava, with large, wide open squares and avenues. Catania is essentially a “grey” city and unique in the world for this.

We went under the 17th Century arch of Porta Uzeda which leads to the main town square.

 Cesco was at the ferry terminal waiting for us at 7.30am. It took him 2 hours to get there, which meant he caught the first bus at 5.30am. Yet he was waving vigorously when he spotted us! Being the typical Italian host, he insisted on treating us to the town's breakfast specialty at his favourite restaurant.

 We found it hard to imagine eating crushed ice for breakfast but when we tasted the smooth and milky almond granita topped with caffe on a warm morning, it all made sense. The brioche was the softest and fluffiest I had ever eaten. What a brilliant invention, to pair granita with brioche!

 An Italian breakfast isn't complete without a cup of thick, black espresso. It tasted like liquid gold.

The main town square Piazza Duomo was coming to life as we were enjoying our breakfast. The cathedral, museum and town hall all feature very impressive, imposing Baroque structure that incorporates Roman columns.

 Something else was happening that morning. A TV crew was filming for a popular TV series in Germany. There was a large entourage of artistes, crew, stylist etc.

 

 Naturally it attracted alot of attention. Cesco (in blue), being very inquisitive, spoke to producer and actor (with file) to find out what was happening.

For us, something else was beckoning - Catania’s colourful, bustling and odourous fish market just steps away. Getting to the market is like entering a different world, an atmosphere that has remained virtually unchanged for hundreds of years.

 

Overview of the market.

Fresh octopus.

Cesco showing May Ling the different kinds of snails.

Escargots.

Lots of people just milling around the marketplace.

Beautiful carrots.

Broccoli with the leaves intact.

Artichokes are so cheap here!

Antique weighing scale.

Fresh basil here are sold in pots.

Wild fennel.

Sea urchin.

More sea urchins!

Olives.

Salted sardines.

This fish monger was cutting up the weirdest fish we had ever seen. It had a huge mouth with spiky teeth and fins that looked like little feet.

Fresh loquats.

Garlic.

After touring the market, we waited for a bus to bring us to Ragusa.

First to Naples....

Unknowingly, my ex-husband must have fueled my interest in traveling when he rewarded my mum and I with a trip to Europe (mother's day present) many many years ago. That summer, we traveled first-class with Insight Vacations to UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein and it opened my eyes to the wonders of this world. The following year, it was again my good fortune to go on another trip sponsored by his sister. It was during the height of winter and my young kids were thrilled to see the cities of Prague, Budapest, Vienna and Munich blanketed in snow.

Traveling in luxury is now a thing of the past. Since I've had to pay for my own travels, I trawl the internet for the best deals and plan my own itineraries. Sure, I've made some mistakes along the way but that's just part of the adventure!

Our motto during the last trip to Italy was to just wing it. Without a fixed itinerary, we had the liberty of changing plans as and when we felt like it. It helped that we have Cesco, my Sicilian friend I can count on for help.

At Cesco's bidding, we ditched our original plans to Puglia and ventured south to Sicily instead. To get to his hometown in Ragusa, it would take us 7 hours to travel by train to Catania. Alternatively, we could take an overnight ferry from Naples. For 151 Euro a cabin, it made sense for May Ling and I to sleep comfortably, shower and dock in Catania 12 hours later where we would be fresh and ready to take on new sights.

We found ourselves back at Naples train station again. Unfortunately, this area is most notorious for the high crime rate. It didn't help that an American family was robbed of 4000Euro just the day before, so we were on high alert. But with several hours to spare, we decided to check the city out on foot anyway.

Outside Naples train station.

After storing our backpacks securely at the train station, we clutched our handbags tightly and braced ourselves for the hostile world outside. Well, the first creature we met was this adorable pup. Maybe Naples isn't so bad afterall.

 The next few steps forward really reinforced the truth about this city. What a contrast it was compared to idyllic Sorrento! The streets were crowded, filthy and strewn with rubbish. Here, the drivers were impatient and roared past us without batting an eyelid.

 

Overladen mobile carts manned by Chinese and African immigrants lined the roads. When the police officers made their rounds on foot, the vendors started scrambling away with their push carts in tow.

  
Later, we found them hiding in the the next street corner, waiting for the coast to clear. They were just playing cat and mouse game with the authorities. I think the city is very tolerant for we did not witness any arrests that day.

Well, push carts are still acceptable compared to this other street where vendors simply piled and plied their wares (mostly used clothes and shoes) along the pavements. People and goods were spilling out onto the streets. Oh, what a mess!

 When it was time for lunch, we were pleased to find more varieties of food available. The rotisserie chicken in a small restaurant looked very appetising, so we had our first non-Italian meal in five days.

When we sat down for our meal, we realised it was really popular with the African street vendors. Unfortunately the grilled chicken was quite tasteless which is unbelievable for what can possibly go wrong with grilled chicken?

The wrap was only slightly better.

After a most unsatisfying lunch, we wandered around inside the train station before heading to the ferry terminal to board our ferry to Catania. The cab driver who took us there was dishonest. The fare was 9 Euro. May Ling gave him a 20 and he only returned us 5 Euro. After we alerted him, he replaced it nonchalantly with a 10. He shortchanged us of 1 Euro but we let it go.

Nice building by the terminal.

The car and passenger ferry that took us to Catania.

Dinner on board the ferry was another dismal affair. The canteen offered a limited selection of food. We picked just about everything on the menu that night - fish, gnocci, risotto (cos May Ling missed eating rice) and boiled vegetables of the the worst kind - tasteless, soft and overly boiled.

 

We managed to sleep quite well despite feeling a vibration and soft whirl all night. We later learned that we must have been sleeping just above the engine room. When Mt Etna in Sicily came into view the next morning, we were so happy that we have arrived in Catania at last!

Mt Vesuvius and Pompeii

I would like to begin this post by quoting Terri, one of my favourite bloggers:

"One of the best feelings is sleeping under two layers of comforters in a cosy bed and drifting off to sleep anticipating a new day in a new city. I love travelling, and looking back, I have no regrets about spending our savings on family trips around the world. That is one thing Hub and I did right, I think, foregoing the fancy houses and cars for new places and experiences with our kids."

I absolutely agree with her. I'll happily forgo expensive bags and shoes for a trip to somewhere, anywhere. Traveling opens up a whole new world of experiences. Not to mention, we meet so many people along the way.

During our stay at Casa Mazzola, we met this nice couple from Israel. I was so thrilled to learn that they're growers and exporters of persimmons, the same ones we buy from our supermarkets! They too, have traveled around the world and it was never boring chatting with them.

They were driving to Mt Vesuvius one morning and offered us a ride. I would never have the courage to drive along the narrow roads here. Even our cool, macho Israeli friend claims it was challenging though he never showed any signs of stress throughout the long drive that day.

Mt Vesuvius seen from far.

Mt Vesuvius is the volcano that erupted on August 24 A.D. 79 blanketing the towns and thousands of residents of Pompeii, Stabiae, and Herculaneum with ash, stones and pumice. Pompeii was buried 10' deep, while Herculaneum was buried under 75' of ash. Today, Vesuvius is still one of the world's most dangerous volcanoes. The last major eruption was in 1944.  Today's population around Mt. Vesuvius is about 3 million, which is potentially catastrophic in the area of such an active volcano.

 The height of the main cone has been constantly changed by eruptions but is currently 1,281 m (4,203 ft). As you can imagine, it was quite a drive up the long and winding road.

 The slopes of the mountain are scarred by lava flows but are heavily vegetated, with scrub and forest at higher altitudes.

From the carpark, we paid a park entrance fee of 6.5 euro and walked 500m uphill to the crater. Our calves were aching badly from the 2-hour descent at Nocelle the day before, so when someone offered me a walking stick, I accepted gratefully as it made walking up the steep path covered in black dust and loose rock easier.

At the top of the volcano is a crater rim that affords a view into the crater that still fumes slightly.  While the weather was sunny on the way up, we could see clouds hanging just above the crater. In fact, it began to drizzle as we walked under the clouds.

 As soon as we left the crater, it was sunny again. From the top, we caught a panoramic view of the Bay of Naples and Sorrento shimmering in the morning sun below. It was quite a sight to behold.

Overseeing the Bay of Naples below.

No trip to Mt Vesuvius is complete without a visit to the destroyed cities of Pompeii or Herculaneum. Both these cities, buried and forgotten for 1600 years, were discovered only after the volcano erupted and killed another 4000 unsuspecting inhabitants in 1631.It would take another 300 years for the excavations to reveal the story of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Pompeii city, with Mt Vesuvius in the background.

Entrance to Pompeii.

 Pompeii is one of the most significant proofs of Roman civilisation as most of the houses, artifacts and art were intact. The ruins give us a glimpse of what the daily life was like during their time. We didn't engage any guides that day, so all we could do was see and imagine. If you are interested, this website provides good information about the City of Pompeii.

The best way to get back to Sorrento is by the Circumvesuviana train. But first, we took a quick tour around the city.

The place was teeming with tourists, so there are no lack of of shops selling tacky souvenirs. Our local Italian friend told us these huge lemons are only good for one thing - that is to impress the tourists. The rind is at least an inch thick, so you're better off buying the regular lemons which are jucier and cheaper.

I was appalled to see most stalls selling China-made plastic imitations of Pompeii ruins.

I only spotted one selling authentic Italian food but I wouldn't get my fix from these tourist traps.

We stopped by for ice cream and pastries at this shop. A group of local nuns were eating ice cream, so it can't be too bad.

 Just as we were leaving for the train station, we stopped to have a chat with this restaurant owner and his beautiful dog called Amos.

At 9 months old, Amos is already a big pup. According to the owner, Amos is from Sicily and there is only one of him around here.