I'm back from Sicily!
Hello everyone!
I'm back!
... And while I'm happy to be back I really miss Sicily... ;_; Why couldn't I bring a tiny bit of it along?
It had been two weeks rather full so in case you're curious (mind you I'll spare you most of the details but I'll mention lot of places I saw...)...
My trip to Sicily day by day
July the 4th
12:20 Check in at the airport of Linate (Milan)
14:28 I'm on the plane!
14:45 The plane leaves for Sicily (it was late, we should have left at 14:20)... in case you're wondering Milan is beautiful from a plane! ^_-
16:36 We officially invaded Sicily! No, not really we merely land in Fontanarossa (Catania). There's a nice, warm sun.
17:40 We reach the resort located in Arenella a fraction of Syracuse... and once I get here I went to see the sea! Ah, I missed it! Not much happens after that you would call note worthy. We had dinner and were introduced to the place and its options.
July the 5th
11:00 After trying out the sandy beach (it's kind of far [no, not really, but since you've to walk under the HOT sun well, it like it's far] but there's a cute shuttle-train that can bring you there rather quickly) I get to try Scuba diving in the resort pool. It's kind of cool.
15:00 Trip to Syracuse (which is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site) where I view:
the Greek Theatre (the biggest of Sicily with a diameter of about 140 m)
the latomìa del Paradiso (Paradise latomìa) where there's the Orecchio di Dionisio (Ear of Dionysius)
the Roman amphitheatre
the Ara di Ierone (Ierone's Ara) (which is apparently the biggest in the world since it's long 200 meters and wide 23 m).
Then we move to the Ortygia island (which is still part of Syracuse) to see:
the Temple of Apollo (the oldest of Sicily adapted to a church in Byzantine times and to a mosque under Arab rule)
the Duomo della Natività di Maria (cathedral to Mary's Nativity) (built over the great Temple of Athens and that seems to be the first built in Europe)
Vermexio Palace
the Fountain of Arethusa where you can see papirus grows next to the sea basically around a couple of meters from it.
Greek fortifications
Garibaldi's marble bust (okay, not so important but I'm a fan so for me it's relevant... ^_-)
Assorted Baroque buildings...
And I also got an Almond Sicilian granita, a Sicilian Cannolo made completely with chocolate (which was good but the ones made with ricotta are better... I got to try the Ricotta used to fill them and trust me, the one used in Sicily tops the ones used all around the world!)
July the 6th
8:30 Trip to Noto a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We get in the centre of the city passing from the Porta Reale and from that moment we were surrounded by buildings and churches in the Sicilian baroque style.
Special mentions?
Church of San Francesco d'Assisi (Immacolata)
Church of Santissimo Salvatore
Monastery of Santa Chiara
Ducezio palace
Cathedral of San Nicolò di Mira
Church of San Carlo al Corso (on whose roof I got to get a panoramic view of city)
Nicolaci Palace
Church of Montevergine also called church of San Girolamo
Vittorio Emanuele III's theatre
Ercole's fountain (where, when the Mille went to Sicily, was placed the Italian flag [1860, May 16th])
Church of San Domenico
BTW in Nicolaci Street every May is held an annual flower festival, the Infiorata in which the street is lined with floral works of art.
Local food deserving a mention? Almond Ice cream! And, of course, assorted almond pastries and the Frutta Martorana. Also I bought the 'pasta reale' (royal paste) or 'pasta di mandorle' (Almond paste) to get the chance to prepare Almond Milk when I’ll get back home...
Afternoon dedicated to enjoy the beach... ^_- ... but I take the bath on the swimming pool (my right eye is giving me troubles and I am not sure the sea water would suit it... sometimes being a CLAMP fan can have nasty side effects...).
July the 7th
7:30 Trip to Mount Etna currently standing 3,329 metres the highest active stratovolcano in Europe. The bus takes us up to around 1900 m then we take the cableway and after a jeep to get up to around 2900 m to watch the last and still smoking craters. Up there is rather cold and sadly, by the time we get there it has gotten cloudy so we can't really see the beautiful panorama from up there... -_- but, interesting enough, the place has lot of ladybirds and it's rather weird to walk in a place where there's only solidified lava all around (and in some places if you touch it it's still slightly warm...).
Once we're back to 1900 m there are shops in which I get to taste many delicious things... the Lava dell'Etna (Lava of Etna) an impressively strong liquor (50°... ^_^;), delicious almond cookies, fruit flavoured honey, pistachio, cappuccino and hazelnut creams...
After lunch we leave and...
13:40 On the way to Taormina we stop to feed a fox, who's apparently used to tourists. If you sound the klaxon he shows up and waits for you to throw him something he can bring to his wife and babies... ^_^
Once in Taormina we see:
the Porta Ferdinandea (Ferdinando's Door)
Corvaja palace
The Greek-Roman theatre (it seems Goethe loved it quite a bit)
Then back to the resort to have dinner.
July the 8th
Okay, so morning and part of the afternoon to the beach then...
17:00 Trip to Agrigento's Archaeological Area a UNESCO World Heritage Site. So I enjoyed the view of the Valle dei Templi (Valley of the Temples) where I see:
Temple of Juno Lacinia
Temple of Concordia
Temple of Asclepius (by far... -_-)
Temple of Heracles
Olympeion field with the temple of Olympian Zeus
Temple of the Dioscuri
A valley filled with almond trees that blossom in winter (is it the work of the Almondzukamory (or even better the Hentouzukamori)? No, it's just there's no thing as winter in Sicily... okay, so there's something they call winter there but...) which is why in that place the first week of February is kept the Almond Blossom Festival at which take part folk groups from around the world.
After dinner we also see the:
Church of San Nicola
A panoramic view of the temples
Then back to the resort... we arrive around 1:00 AM... -_- Sleepy...
July the 9th
8:00 Trip to Ragusa... well actually we see only Ragusa Ibla, which is again filled with baroque architecture therefore guess what? It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Also I discover I just end the memory card of my photo machine [2GB of photos of Sicily] so I've to buy another.
Note worthy places are:
the Portale di San Giorgio (San Giorgio's door)
Giardino Ibleo (Hyblean Garden) with inside the impressive monument to the fallen of World War I, the Church of San Vincenzo Ferreri, Church of San Giacomo, the Church of Santa Agata and the Church of the Capuchins.
Church of Santa Maria di Valverde
Church of SS. Trinità
Church of Maddalena
Church of San Giuseppe
The Commissariat used also in the tv series 'Il Commissario Montalbano' inspired by the books of Andrea Camilleri ^_-
the Cathedral of San Giorgio
La Rocca Palace
Food eaten and worth being mentioned the Granita Incappucciata al caffé, a Granita with coffee and cream under and over it, plus the ice cream's tastes 'Monti Iblei' (pistachio, almond and honey) and Ricotta.
Then at lunchtime we move to Modica which is also filled with baroque architecture and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Modica is divided into "Modica Alta" (Upper Modica) and "Modica Bassa" (Lower Modica) and both are joined by one of Europe's higher bridge, the Guerrieri bridge (300 m).
Things to see?
An inscription to celebrate the centenary of Garibaldi's birth and the Garibaldi's Theatre (didn't I tell you I'm a fan? ^_-)
Rubino/Trombadore Palace
Cathedral of San Giorgio
the house of Salvatore Quasimodo
Some characteristic houses that are... well, kind of modern caves... yes, they weren't built they were excavated into the mountain.
Church of Santa Maria of Bethlehem
Church of San Domenico
Grimaldi Palace
Cathedral of San Pietro (yes, it has 2 cathedrals, San Giorgio was for the rich ones and San Pietro for the poor ones... ^_-)
Tommasi-rosso Tedeschi Palace
Things to eat? Modica's CHOCOLATE! It doesn't melt no matter how hot the weather is and it seems it's produced with an ancient and original Aztec recipe. Also you can try the Morettini, which are chocolate biscuits and the 'mpanatigghi or impanatiglie, which are biscuits stuffed with a mixture of almonds, walnuts, chocolate, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and meat.
17:30 We start the travel back to the resort...
20:00 At the theatre 'La sposa in prestito' an adaptation of the comedy 'Amphitruo' written by Plauto
July the 10th
Morning at the beach where I have my first bath in the sea since my eye is finally fine, first part of the afternoon on the platform on the sea to have a sunbath (and damn despite sun cream I manage to get sunburn... -_- that's what you get when you sunbath in the hottest hours of the day...) then...
16:00 lesson of Scuba diving in the swimming pool.
July the 11th
9:30 & 16:00 lessons of Scuba diving in the swimming pool.
July the 12th
16:00 lessons of Scuba diving in the sea.
July the 13th
Beach only day.
22:00 At the local theatre 'Bella Miseria' e 'Pericolosamente' two short funny stories.
July the 14th
9:00 lessons of Scuba diving in the Marine Protected Area of the Plemmirio
16:00 lessons of Scuba diving in the sea.
July the 15th
6:00 Trip to the Aeolian islands another UNESCO World Heritage Site. During it we get to see glimpses of Messina, Reggio Calabria, the Strait of Messina and the point where the legend said Scylla and Charybdis were.
8:30 We reach Milazzo which has a damn hot weather... (hey it's the place where Garibaldi fought one of his most important battles! Though if it was so hot back then also I've no idea how he managed it...)
9:00 We start our travel on the ferry boat. The sea is so quiet and so wonderfully coloured. 10:53 First stop Lipari [which, in case you don't know, during Fascism, Lipari Island was a destination for the confinement of members of the political opposition] and we go see the Lipari's castle which contains:
a medieval tower built over a Greek tower (you can still see bits of the Greek one)
Spanish time walls (1556)
ex-church of Santa Caterina
Church of Addolorata
Church of Immacolata
Chatedral of San Bartolomeo
Church of Madonna delle Grazie
Greek and Romans ruins
a Greek theatre
Greek graves
Lipari was also famous for its pumice mining which was shipped internationally only now mines are closed (the downside/upside of being a UNESCO World Heritage Site). We saw the site were the mines were when we were on the ferry.
And boys, despite being on a small island the weather is HOT.
14:00 Then we'll move to Vulcano, which got the volcano whose name has contributed the word for volcano in most modern European languages. The weather is still HOT. Here you can have warm mud baths... but I decided for
15:00 A bath in the WARM water of the sea was more than enough for me... and boys the warm water was great! Sadly however there's a nasty smell sulphur permeating the air... -_- and thanks God the beach [which has black sand and that's why is called 'Spiaggia della Sabbia Nera' (beach of the black sand)] is a windy place...
16:30 Sadly it comes the time to leave but the ferry makes a trip around the island first.
We see the rather huge Faraglioni, the cave of Pegasus and the pool of Venus.
18:00 Back to Milazzo.
20:30 We're back to the resort... I'm worn out... -_- but...
22:00 At the local theatre there's the comedy 'Zuppa di piselli'. It's rather fun.
July the 16th
9:00 Lessons of Scuba diving in the Marine Protected Area of the Plemmirio. This time it's not funny though nothing truly dangerous happen. Don't ask, okay? I'm still pissed over the whole matter. -_-
14:15 Last theory lesson of Scuba diving.
16:30 Beach.
July the 17th
8:00 Trip to Catania whose Baroque city centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
9:00 We reach the city. The weather is deadly hot... 37/39°... -_- The city is rather grey because to build it they used lot of volcanic stones... It's unusual but the downside of it is that it seems dirtier than it is. And there's people. Lot of it.
We see:
The folkloristic fish market
Amenano fountain (Amenano was the city's river... only the lava covered it back in the past so now is an underground river)
Cathedral of Santa Agata
Palazzo degli Elefanti (Palace of the Elephants), the city hall (in its lobby we see two carriages of the eighteenth century one of which is a sedan that is used during the festivities of St. Agatha to bring the mayor to the Church of Sant'Agata alla Fornace for the procession of February the 3rd and a Sicilian cart).
Palazzo dei Chierici (Clerics palace)
Terme Achilliane (Achille's baths)
the Liotru a statue in lava stone representing a elephant and, over it, an obelisk placed in the middle of a fountain
University of Catania
Crociferi Street with the church of San Benedetto connected to the convent of Benedictine nuns by an arch of the same name, the church of San Francesco Borgia, the College of Jesuits, the church of San Giuliano, the Crociferi Convent, the Church of San Camillo and, at the end of the street Villa Cerami (where there is the Faculty of Law of the University of Catania).
the Greek-Roman Theatre
Vincenzo Bellini's statue and house (Catania was his birth city)
The Quattro Canti (Four corners), a crossroad whose four corners are made from crossing Etnea street with Sangiuliano Street. The four buildings that delimitated it are constructed in the same architectural style and have rounded corners creating an octagonal square. From one of them it seems Garibaldi said the famous quote 'Either Rome or Death!' (a thing I sadly discovered only after I visited it so I've no photos of that place... ;_;)
Church of San Michele Arcangelo
San Demetrio Palace
Note worthy food eaten there? Cannoli, of course! :P
12:00 Going back to have lunch... then I spend the afternoon sleeping and then going at the beach. When I'm back I prepare my suitcase... ;_;
22:00 At the theatre there's a musical of some sort, a short version of the Disney 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'. The actors/singers are the boys that work at the resort. It's not wonderful but it's good enough.
July the 17th
9:30 I pick up my suitcase and leave my hotel room. I spend the rest of the morning to the beach and have my last bath in the sea... ;_;
13:00 Lunch
14:00 I manage to get a shower in what is called a 'camera di cortesia' (courtesy room)... it took a lifetime before finally one was free... then I go give a last look at the sea... ;_;
15:30 We leave the resort to reach the airport of Catania, Fontanarossa. We're actually 15 minutes late because a customer of the resort who should have joined us went missing. No idea why or if, in the end, they found him and he managed to reach us.
16:45 We reach the airport. Once I passed the check in I can buy cannoli and cassata from the airport shops (I couldn't buy them before because A) the hot weather would have deteriorated them and B) anyway they can't pass the hand luggage check in and put them in my suitcase would irreparably damage them...). I also get a couple of ceramics objects made in Caltagirone (a plate and... well it's a thing in which you can rest the stoves you use to cook like ladle spoons, spork and Spaghetti forks ^_-).
18:15 This is the time in which the plane should have left Catania... sadly the fly was postponed. -_-
19:15 Time at which the plane actually left Catania. I got a panoramic view of the city from the plane. It was really beautiful!
21:45 Time at which I was finally landed, got back my suitcase and be ready to leave the airport to get back home. And this is sadly the end of my holiday in Sicily... ;_;
And now it's time to get to discover what I missed while I was away. Is everyone well? Has something happened? Has CLAMP finished X? (okay, I guess the answer to the last question is no but a girl can hope can't she? ^_-)
I'm back!
... And while I'm happy to be back I really miss Sicily... ;_; Why couldn't I bring a tiny bit of it along?
It had been two weeks rather full so in case you're curious (mind you I'll spare you most of the details but I'll mention lot of places I saw...)...
My trip to Sicily day by day
July the 4th
12:20 Check in at the airport of Linate (Milan)
14:28 I'm on the plane!
14:45 The plane leaves for Sicily (it was late, we should have left at 14:20)... in case you're wondering Milan is beautiful from a plane! ^_-
16:36 We officially invaded Sicily! No, not really we merely land in Fontanarossa (Catania). There's a nice, warm sun.
17:40 We reach the resort located in Arenella a fraction of Syracuse... and once I get here I went to see the sea! Ah, I missed it! Not much happens after that you would call note worthy. We had dinner and were introduced to the place and its options.
July the 5th
11:00 After trying out the sandy beach (it's kind of far [no, not really, but since you've to walk under the HOT sun well, it like it's far] but there's a cute shuttle-train that can bring you there rather quickly) I get to try Scuba diving in the resort pool. It's kind of cool.
15:00 Trip to Syracuse (which is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site) where I view:
Then we move to the Ortygia island (which is still part of Syracuse) to see:
And I also got an Almond Sicilian granita, a Sicilian Cannolo made completely with chocolate (which was good but the ones made with ricotta are better... I got to try the Ricotta used to fill them and trust me, the one used in Sicily tops the ones used all around the world!)
July the 6th
8:30 Trip to Noto a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We get in the centre of the city passing from the Porta Reale and from that moment we were surrounded by buildings and churches in the Sicilian baroque style.
Special mentions?
BTW in Nicolaci Street every May is held an annual flower festival, the Infiorata in which the street is lined with floral works of art.
Local food deserving a mention? Almond Ice cream! And, of course, assorted almond pastries and the Frutta Martorana. Also I bought the 'pasta reale' (royal paste) or 'pasta di mandorle' (Almond paste) to get the chance to prepare Almond Milk when I’ll get back home...
Afternoon dedicated to enjoy the beach... ^_- ... but I take the bath on the swimming pool (my right eye is giving me troubles and I am not sure the sea water would suit it... sometimes being a CLAMP fan can have nasty side effects...).
July the 7th
7:30 Trip to Mount Etna currently standing 3,329 metres the highest active stratovolcano in Europe. The bus takes us up to around 1900 m then we take the cableway and after a jeep to get up to around 2900 m to watch the last and still smoking craters. Up there is rather cold and sadly, by the time we get there it has gotten cloudy so we can't really see the beautiful panorama from up there... -_- but, interesting enough, the place has lot of ladybirds and it's rather weird to walk in a place where there's only solidified lava all around (and in some places if you touch it it's still slightly warm...).
Once we're back to 1900 m there are shops in which I get to taste many delicious things... the Lava dell'Etna (Lava of Etna) an impressively strong liquor (50°... ^_^;), delicious almond cookies, fruit flavoured honey, pistachio, cappuccino and hazelnut creams...
After lunch we leave and...
13:40 On the way to Taormina we stop to feed a fox, who's apparently used to tourists. If you sound the klaxon he shows up and waits for you to throw him something he can bring to his wife and babies... ^_^
Once in Taormina we see:
Then back to the resort to have dinner.
July the 8th
Okay, so morning and part of the afternoon to the beach then...
17:00 Trip to Agrigento's Archaeological Area a UNESCO World Heritage Site. So I enjoyed the view of the Valle dei Templi (Valley of the Temples) where I see:
After dinner we also see the:
Then back to the resort... we arrive around 1:00 AM... -_- Sleepy...
July the 9th
8:00 Trip to Ragusa... well actually we see only Ragusa Ibla, which is again filled with baroque architecture therefore guess what? It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Also I discover I just end the memory card of my photo machine [2GB of photos of Sicily] so I've to buy another.
Note worthy places are:
Food eaten and worth being mentioned the Granita Incappucciata al caffé, a Granita with coffee and cream under and over it, plus the ice cream's tastes 'Monti Iblei' (pistachio, almond and honey) and Ricotta.
Then at lunchtime we move to Modica which is also filled with baroque architecture and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Modica is divided into "Modica Alta" (Upper Modica) and "Modica Bassa" (Lower Modica) and both are joined by one of Europe's higher bridge, the Guerrieri bridge (300 m).
Things to see?
Things to eat? Modica's CHOCOLATE! It doesn't melt no matter how hot the weather is and it seems it's produced with an ancient and original Aztec recipe. Also you can try the Morettini, which are chocolate biscuits and the 'mpanatigghi or impanatiglie, which are biscuits stuffed with a mixture of almonds, walnuts, chocolate, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and meat.
17:30 We start the travel back to the resort...
20:00 At the theatre 'La sposa in prestito' an adaptation of the comedy 'Amphitruo' written by Plauto
July the 10th
Morning at the beach where I have my first bath in the sea since my eye is finally fine, first part of the afternoon on the platform on the sea to have a sunbath (and damn despite sun cream I manage to get sunburn... -_- that's what you get when you sunbath in the hottest hours of the day...) then...
16:00 lesson of Scuba diving in the swimming pool.
July the 11th
9:30 & 16:00 lessons of Scuba diving in the swimming pool.
July the 12th
16:00 lessons of Scuba diving in the sea.
July the 13th
Beach only day.
22:00 At the local theatre 'Bella Miseria' e 'Pericolosamente' two short funny stories.
July the 14th
9:00 lessons of Scuba diving in the Marine Protected Area of the Plemmirio
16:00 lessons of Scuba diving in the sea.
July the 15th
6:00 Trip to the Aeolian islands another UNESCO World Heritage Site. During it we get to see glimpses of Messina, Reggio Calabria, the Strait of Messina and the point where the legend said Scylla and Charybdis were.
8:30 We reach Milazzo which has a damn hot weather... (hey it's the place where Garibaldi fought one of his most important battles! Though if it was so hot back then also I've no idea how he managed it...)
9:00 We start our travel on the ferry boat. The sea is so quiet and so wonderfully coloured. 10:53 First stop Lipari [which, in case you don't know, during Fascism, Lipari Island was a destination for the confinement of members of the political opposition] and we go see the Lipari's castle which contains:
Lipari was also famous for its pumice mining which was shipped internationally only now mines are closed (the downside/upside of being a UNESCO World Heritage Site). We saw the site were the mines were when we were on the ferry.
And boys, despite being on a small island the weather is HOT.
14:00 Then we'll move to Vulcano, which got the volcano whose name has contributed the word for volcano in most modern European languages. The weather is still HOT. Here you can have warm mud baths... but I decided for
15:00 A bath in the WARM water of the sea was more than enough for me... and boys the warm water was great! Sadly however there's a nasty smell sulphur permeating the air... -_- and thanks God the beach [which has black sand and that's why is called 'Spiaggia della Sabbia Nera' (beach of the black sand)] is a windy place...
16:30 Sadly it comes the time to leave but the ferry makes a trip around the island first.
We see the rather huge Faraglioni, the cave of Pegasus and the pool of Venus.
18:00 Back to Milazzo.
20:30 We're back to the resort... I'm worn out... -_- but...
22:00 At the local theatre there's the comedy 'Zuppa di piselli'. It's rather fun.
July the 16th
9:00 Lessons of Scuba diving in the Marine Protected Area of the Plemmirio. This time it's not funny though nothing truly dangerous happen. Don't ask, okay? I'm still pissed over the whole matter. -_-
14:15 Last theory lesson of Scuba diving.
16:30 Beach.
July the 17th
8:00 Trip to Catania whose Baroque city centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
9:00 We reach the city. The weather is deadly hot... 37/39°... -_- The city is rather grey because to build it they used lot of volcanic stones... It's unusual but the downside of it is that it seems dirtier than it is. And there's people. Lot of it.
We see:
Note worthy food eaten there? Cannoli, of course! :P
12:00 Going back to have lunch... then I spend the afternoon sleeping and then going at the beach. When I'm back I prepare my suitcase... ;_;
22:00 At the theatre there's a musical of some sort, a short version of the Disney 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'. The actors/singers are the boys that work at the resort. It's not wonderful but it's good enough.
July the 17th
9:30 I pick up my suitcase and leave my hotel room. I spend the rest of the morning to the beach and have my last bath in the sea... ;_;
13:00 Lunch
14:00 I manage to get a shower in what is called a 'camera di cortesia' (courtesy room)... it took a lifetime before finally one was free... then I go give a last look at the sea... ;_;
15:30 We leave the resort to reach the airport of Catania, Fontanarossa. We're actually 15 minutes late because a customer of the resort who should have joined us went missing. No idea why or if, in the end, they found him and he managed to reach us.
16:45 We reach the airport. Once I passed the check in I can buy cannoli and cassata from the airport shops (I couldn't buy them before because A) the hot weather would have deteriorated them and B) anyway they can't pass the hand luggage check in and put them in my suitcase would irreparably damage them...). I also get a couple of ceramics objects made in Caltagirone (a plate and... well it's a thing in which you can rest the stoves you use to cook like ladle spoons, spork and Spaghetti forks ^_-).
18:15 This is the time in which the plane should have left Catania... sadly the fly was postponed. -_-
19:15 Time at which the plane actually left Catania. I got a panoramic view of the city from the plane. It was really beautiful!
21:45 Time at which I was finally landed, got back my suitcase and be ready to leave the airport to get back home. And this is sadly the end of my holiday in Sicily... ;_;
And now it's time to get to discover what I missed while I was away. Is everyone well? Has something happened? Has CLAMP finished X? (okay, I guess the answer to the last question is no but a girl can hope can't she? ^_-)