In Sicilian Transit

I'm on the train heading from Taormina to Palermo and the adventure has already begun. We had a transfer in Messina onto a train coming fron Venice. This is a sleeper train that apparently they usually attach some passenger trains to. Of course, this time they didn't. So we were about 40 trying to get onto a train with no seats. One of the train conductors told us to go to the sleeper car, so we did and we were relaxing when another conductor said we had to leave and go to another car. Now I'm here, between two people, hoping that we're ok in these seats.

Taormina/Giardini Naxos was a gorgeous little beach town. Taormina is up on a hill with an awesome Greek Theater overlooking the water. The water is so clear it feels like you're in a bath and it's ice cold so it's very refreshing from the killer Sicilian sun.

Some fun things I've noted:

-Sicilians don't wear helmets. If they do, they are rarely strapped on, they're just sitting on their heads. This baffles me because once I forgot to strap my helmet and it almost fell off before I made it two feet!

-In Giardini people dress up for no reason, all day. For their passegiata sul lungomare, they're rockin some heels on the cobblestone and short skirts with sparkley tops.... Where are you going????

-Platforms are IN. Even the 12 year olds were sporting wedges, platforms, espidrilles, etc.-Clear bra straps are also back. I first saw them about 5 yrs ago when I was in Italy for the summer. Here they're in full force. They are really quite pointless. The whole purpose is so that you can't see the bra strap, because it's clear + plastic so it.....disappears??? Well, it does quite the opposite

- it sticks out like a sore thumb and looks cheap. I hate them.

-The bagnino (they are the "lifeguards" but really they just lead people to their sun chairs and umbrellas) at this spot in Taormina apparently took a liking to me and we were chatting for awhile - please note: he was about 40 - and then he leaves and comes back with a postcard for me. I've been studying his message for awhile trying to read his writing. I THINK he wrote "(heart) Francesca the beautiful, with love il Mister Loris - the cousin of Rosario" NO IDEA then he gave me another little card with a piazza and time to meet signed Loris #1 .... Needless to say, we totally met up (totally JK mom!)

A dopo....

Catania

So here I am... Catching some rays with the Isole Ciclopi in front of me. If you had asked me last night if I wanted any more sun or heat in my life, I would have laughed and probably suffocated. Let me explain....

We arrived in Catania yesterday around 5pm, after a slight delay - according to our caption Pisa airport's fault - and went straight to our hostel. We're staying near Piazza Duomo, which they also neglect to mention is near the Pescheria. If I leave Catania not reeking of fish, I will be very happy. Anyway, after a delicious fish dinner we went back towards our place and had a few drinks at the bar downstairs. Finally we decided we were both dead tired, so we ventured up to our room or as I like to call it "the sauna of death." We were both so tired we thought whatever we'll pass out right away. Little did we know there would be no (and by no I mean NO) air. Not even one little breathe of air that the ceiling fan should be creating. Needless to say, both of us didn't sleep until 5am, MAYBE.

Today we slept an hour later than planned, and were awakened by the beautiful Sicilian argument outside in the street. Now I am struggling understanding this dialect, it's quite fun thought. Cristina has a hard time sometimes too, so I don't feel too bad. Apparently the fight was due to one man washing the car windows and accidentally spraying another man... we moved on.

Claudio, our free, local Rick Steve's, suggested a bar for a traditional Sicilian breakfast that was near to where we're staying. After discussing with bartender what to try, we settle on two Iris (Cri got cioccolato and I got crema) and two granite alle mandorle. The Iris is like a deep fried ball of deliciousness that could feed a small African village. It was delicious and made me satisfyingly feel sickly full after. The granita was the most refreshing thing ever.

So now, after about a 20 minute bus ride, we have arrived at Riviera dei Ciclopi and have taken a dip and are now relaxing and probably going to nap. All the "beaches" in Catania are really like porches with steps leading down to the water. It's actually very nice and I kind of enjoy not being covered in sand (for now).

A dopo...

Sicilia

My bag is packed (hopefully not over 10kg!) and I'm ready to go! Tomorrow I'm heading out for an 8 day trip to Sicily. Having never been south of Naples, I am very excited!!!

Places we will be seeing: Catania, Taormina and Palermo

A dopo....