Catania - The End of the Tour
Once we walked through Catania's Porto Uzeda gate, we could tell right away that this city had an atmosphere all its own, with black-and-white buildings (built with black lava rock), wide sidewalks, and large open plazas.​​​​​​​​​​​
We had the best pistachio arancini of the entire trip at a cafe recommended by our guide.
Why is there a fountain with an elephant in Catania? Turns out the elephant is the official symbol of the city.
The curtains billowed in the breeze coming in the giant doors of the Church of St. Agatha.
At noon we got to hear the bells of this church and five others ringing in the hour, one after the other. We imagined group meetings where they argued about which church got to ring first, second, third, etc.
If you went online and read about the "romantic yet gruesome" tale of these two lovers (mentioned in our section about Monreale), then you'll join us in hoping that it's really NOT a Sicilian tradition!
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Of real importance is the fact that these sheets do not absorb anything at all. At numerous restaurants all over Sicily we encountered these almost wax paper-like "napkins" (like what donuts are wrapped in). Guess what we're bringing on our next trip -- lots of napkins!
Even the bottoms and tops of tall lampposts were highly decorated.
This decorative memorial celebrates Vincenzo Bellini, who was born in Catania. He composed the famous operas ... um, okay, we are clueless when it comes to opera. But we did like the way there are musical notes at the base of the statues. And how about the fancy ironwork of the fence?
We followed a group of university students strolling down the busy Via Etnea and came across the Roman Amphitheater of Catania -- our last ruin of the tour! Smaller than the others we've seen, it still astounded us because it continues underneath buildings and roads. Imagine commuting down a road knowing there are amphitheater seats and tunnels beneath you!​​​​​​​​​​​
We didn't have time to buy a ticket and go down into this ruin. It looked like you could even walk into some of the tunnels in the main area. It's incredible what you can see and do in Sicily.
​​​Our group visited the impactful museum about WWII and the Allied landings in Sicily in 1943. The landings were crucial for Allied victory in the war in Europe. We got to spend a few minutes in a simulated bomb shelter, imagining how the people felt during a bombing. The photos and artifacts throughout this fine museum are a sobering reminder of the harsh realities of war.​​​​​​​​​
A photo of destruction in Palermo, taken by Phil Stern, who took many photos during his time in the Army Rangers during WW2. He later went on to photograph Hollywood icons like Marilyn Monroe. What a contrast!
A training bomb made of concrete.
Valerie thought this fascist uniform for a young child was the scariest thing in the museum. Different age groups had their own uniform. This still sends shivers down our spines.
Museum of the Allied Landings in Sicily 1943
BONUS MUSEUM: The WWII museum and several others have transformed what was once an old sulphur refinery. We had about 15 minutes before we had to get on the bus to the hotel and wave goodbye to Alessandro. So while others visited the museum of writing instruments, the Museo del Cinema, or just sat in the sun, we made a quick visit to the museum that displayed a lot of ancient maps of Sicily. We're map geeks, so we were thrilled that this free museum even had maps made by Mercator, who was a rock star of a geographer / cartographer in the 1500s!​​​​​​​​​ Ooh, and they had tourist maps of ruins for the 18th century European Grand Tour. And also ... oh, we'd better stop.
Cotume Cooking School
​We spent our last evening together as a group at a cooking class, having a fun time making hand-made curled cavatelli pasta and a cheesy beef roll-up called braciolette. Our hosts were a lovely couple who had left the rat-race behind to start their own cooking school. We couldn't take photos of us making the fresh pasta because our hands were covered in pasta dough!
This was a great way to end our tour activities. We ate delicious food and got to share our thoughts about our action-packed trip.​​​​​​​​​​​
Just a couple of geology geeks! Trina asked Jay about the interesting looking "Cyclops Rocks", which are large stacks of volcanic basalt in the sea. (So named because legend has it they were thrown by a Cyclops. Isn't mythology great?!)
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Ahem ... "She saw sea stacks at the seashore." Say that three times fast!
Cavatelli pasta with ragu sauce. Secret ingredients: wine and cinnamon.
Thanks for the Memories!
Stephanie asked everyone what they enjoyed most about this trip or had new insights about.
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Valerie said she was thrilled by all the ruins we've seen, and by all the activities -- who knew puppet shows could be such fun?
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Jay said, "I learned there have been so many historic events that occurred here, and that if you dig down or even turn over a rock in Sicily, you're going to find something historic." One couple who lives part-time in Italy sagely nodded their heads and mentioned how hard it was to make home improvements here. Indeed, antiquities abound.​
Hard to believe, but it wasn't until breakfast on our last day that we enjoyed our first lemon granita, because Trina insisted we try it. Oh dear, yet another dessert we like that we can't find at home. How will we get by without cannoli, gelato and granita?
Want extra gelato and more? Click on Travel Extras in the top menu, where you'll find helpful tips along with photos of Cats, Adventures in Food, Adventures in Restrooms, Good Things and Fanciful Fashion, and People At Work.
We say "Si! Si! Si!" to Sicily. Arrivederci!
We learned so much on this trip, and now we wish we hadn't waited so long to visit Europe. We appreciated how well-run and utterly enjoyable our tour was. Hooray for all the wonderful memories we made on this trip!
Have we made you want to experience Sicily for yourself? Learn more about the Rick Steves' Best of Sicily in 12 Days Tour by clicking HERE!