Returning to Catania

The Cattedrale di Sant'Agata in downtown Catania, framed by the Duomo in the foreground.

With a week before official practices begin in Innsbruck, we decided to head to Catania for a few days with our friends from last season.  It took only about 5 minutes to feel at home again there, with every turn in the car bringing back a host of fun memories.  The following 'photo journal' chronicles my first few hours back on the island and give a glimpse into the parts of Sicily that we missed.  Enjoy! 

A very 'typical' restaurant near the 'arches' in downtown.

Blood Oranges now in season - spectacular!

The Norman Castle of Aci Castello (hence the name: castello = castle) up the coast from Catania.  This is where we lived last season (on the hill behind the castle), with the rocks of Aci Trezza in the distance.  This stretch is called the 'Ciclopi Riviera' due to its mythical treatment as the home of the Cyclops in Homer's Odyssey. 

Prickly Pear Cacti blooms along the coast.  The locals call these buds, "Fico d'India" and it is used in a variety of foods and beverages.  Take that Claudio for LOCAL FLORA KNOWLEDGE!

A good adjective to describe many of Catania's buildings would be 'gritty.' Case in point: this door.

My favorite window in Aci Trezza, which we walk past every morning on our way to...

MYTHOS!  This local institution (maybe just in our books) sits on the promenade in Aci Trezza and serves up some of the best GRANITA on the island.  For those of you just tuning in, the rock in the distance was supposedly thrown by the blinded cyclops at Odysseus in that classic aformentioned Greek tale.  Because there are three large rock pillars, this small community is named Aci Trezza (three).  

And number one on David Letterman's "TOP TEN LIST OF THINGS I DIDN'T MISS ABOUT CATANIA" - Driving!  This road may be one of the worst, as what should be one lane each way morphs into 5 or 6 vehicles wide during rush hour.  The culprit of the backup is the arches on the right side of the picture, where vehicles merge every 20 feet causing major delays and daily accidents.  I LOVE IT!

~ J. Twice