Sicily
- By Denise
- February 23, 2016
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December 2015
A quick four day trip to Sicily was planned a couple of weeks before Christmas and we took advantage of a great deal offered by Virtu Ferries for a return trip to Malta. Up early and off on to the fast Ferry which took just a few hours to get to Sicily and then onto a bus and ferried further into Catania – one of the main cities in Sicily. We travelled really lightly with just our small day packs with the intention of purchasing some hard-case cabin bags for our further travels.
View of Mt Etna from our bedroom window! So close…
Our accommodation was a small Hostel with a great view of Mt Etna from our room (The Lava Room) and included breakfast which was a welcome change in style with Carter having to enjoy salami, bread and cheese for breakfast instead of his usual coco pops or cornflakes. Having said that, they did have other cereal on offer. I took full advantage of the salami and cheese offer as that was simply superb.
We wandered the streets of Catania and got our bearings and taking in the sights. Because it was Christmas the street lights were in abundance and there was a festive spirit in the air. There was a distinct difference with the people of Sicily compared to our current home of Malta in that every person seemed to be dressed up at all times – including men, women and their children and it didn’t seem out of the ordinary to have the children up very late on any given night whereas we rarely saw any children at night in Malta.
A local fish market was a treat as we were able to stand on a bridge above the fish mongers and see them selling their wares – cutting up the fish and bagging it up for their customers.
Overlooking the daily fish market
Fish Market – Catania
All the fish is out in the open and further along the street was the meat market and likewise it too was all hung outside ready for you to choose your cut of meat from the carcass. This seemed to work beautifully – there did not appear to be many or any OSH requirements!!
Open meat market
We booked a full day’s trip to Mt Etna, winery and restaurant and other things for the next day. This was to be a real highlight as our trip ended up being quite personal with just two other tourists in the jeep with our guide being a born and bred Sicilian. We first got decked out in tramping shoes and jackets ready to tramp up the volcano and then made sure we had full water bottles! The volcano had just erupted a few days beforehand so the volcanic ash we were walking on was extremely fresh. It did cross our minds ‘what if the volcano erupts while we are here?’ But our guide was confident we would be fine – it’s amazing how we put our trust into these guys!!
On top of a crater on Mt Etna
Due to the recent activity no-one was allowed to go up higher than a particular point on the mountain but we certainly got the feel of being on an active volcano. The many craters the volcano had created were impressive and deep in places.
Having fun in one of the craters!
Not long after we had come down from the mountain we were privileged to witness it erupt again however, we were very grateful that we were not still up the mountain!! Our guide had only witnessed this twice in his life before (most eruptions happened at night so not able to be seen) so we were extremely lucky.
Mt Etna in the distance – about to erupt…
Mt Etna erupting – a rare occurrence witnessing an actual eruption!
A trip to a local winery was interesting as the Sicilians use their sheep to mow between the vines, still use corks for their bottles and are very generous in their wine tastings! It couldn’t be a sip – it was almost a whole glass! We ate a three course meal at the winery and it included lots of pasta, bread, olives and salami – most of which I love. Dave couldn’t get enough of the olives – he was in heaven and just loves Italian cuisine.
Sheep in among the vines of the Don Saro Winery
Don Saro Winery
This day’s outing was one to remember and cherish as we felt we got to see some of the real Sicilian culture.
Syracuse
Next day was a trip down the island by local bus to Syracuse and sightseeing by the sea. Yet another historical town and sights of ancient buildings and views of the ocean. Just beautiful and yet again another place we felt comfortable in. Of course we had to try the original gelato icecream – what a treat. So so yummy…
Greek Roman Theatre – The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi backs onto the Cavea
One more day at the markets visiting the Greek Roman Theatre with residential buildings all around and generally taking in the Sicilian culture and it was time to hit the ferry again for our return trip to Malta. It was at this point we decided we had made a mistake in choosing to stay for 2.5 months in Malta – perhaps we should have split the holiday to one month in Malta, one month in Sicily. Oh well…
Catch you again soon.
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