So was Catania a dud?

And just like practically everything else in life, the answer to the question above is 'It depends'.

Yes we could have easily cut out a day here as there really is not that much of direct interest for most tourists here. A most interesting fish market which took about 10-15 minutes, a city piazza where we have spent about 30 minutes walking around, a few interesting churches and to fill in time we spent about 90 minutes on the obligatory red hop on hop off bus going around the city and 10 kms along the coast.

The city has been inundated with volcanic rocks from Mt Etna over the centuries so the beaches we saw have huge black rocks to sunbake on or to dive off and the sand is also quite black. So now in full summer these surfaces have built up a head of internal heat which must help to cook any citizens keen enough to want a swim. We declined the opportunity this time, despite the water looking as inviting as ever.

 

Being a bit slower these days with some things I have visited the port area several times and I am finally understanding how the bus/ferry system from here to Malta actually works. The bus leaves at 0645 tomorrow (Friday) to go to the Sicilian port of south of here. And I now know how I can convert my piece of paper into an actual boarding pass for this bus/boat as I finally fixed it all this morning. During my early morning walk I also checked out how to get out of here on Monday (after Malta) when we head to our next Sicilian stop of Siracusa.

But at another level, we are looking beyond the back streets full of rubbish, the mostly broken roads and footpaths and the chaotic traffic that surrounds us here. Graffiti is endless and often annoying and we are feeling sorry for the also endless and often African people who are trying their best to earn a living peddling trinkets or whatever.

Our B&B is well located and a modern renovation. It is inside a huge building from maybe the late 1800s that has a sizeable inner courtyard of great potential. And there are a lot of buildings in this city of clear renovation potential. But will renovation ever happen? The big streets are huge and powerful often dominating us people. And there are plenty of tourists, Italian, and French in particular wandering around just like us.

As with everywhere else we have been, the people are great, friendly and helpful. We are continuing to learn a lot in particular Italian history, food and culture. And ourselves of course.

But now we are on the move again early tomorrow morning. This is definitely an add on just because we think we are close to Malta. And yes we are tiring a little as expected when you are planning and executing the whole process yourselves. So the rest here has been appreciated and we managed to catch up with our sporting interests too. Glad for Croatia in the football, sad for Roger in the tennis and appreciating watching 'Le Tour' during our afternoon break in the airconditioning and not at 1 am as per usual back home.