Blogs from Sicily, Italy, Europe - page 6

Leaving Andorra after a secure 5 weeks was slightly daunting. Although only a short time, Andorra had become my home, I had my flat, my boyfriend, my routine, my friends. I was a local. Arriving in Venice, I had none of these things, and checking into the backpackers and looking at the bunk bed in the room I was to share with 3 others, I longed for my familiar large bed with my own private bathroom. Andy was meeting me in Venice and would join me for the first four nights, after which I would have the next four nights to myself before meeting Nelly in Rome for the final 7. I was starting in Venice and would train and fly south to finish in Sicily. All the places chosen were obvious tourist reasons with a ... read more

Nicht, dass Napoli allein Abenteuer genug wäre, nein, Lena und ich entschieden, Urlaub vom Urlaub zu machen. Sizilien schien dafür der geeignete Ort. Vom Porto di Napoli brachte uns eine Nachtfähre in (gefühlten) 12(0) Std. nach Catania, der zweitgrößten Stadt der Insel. Nach einer schlaflosen Nacht gab es dann erstmal ein Frühstück in einer Cafeteria, bevor eine etwas längere Suche nach dem Hostel begann. Später erfuhren wir: wären wir am Hafen in die andere Richtung gegangen, hätte der Weg nicht halb so lange gedauert. Aber direkte Wege sind auch nicht abenteuerlich genug. Das Hostel war soweit ganz nett und vor allem sauber und voll ausgestattet. Beides ist in Italien leider kein Standard. Der erste Stadtrundgang führte uns durch die Shoppingmeile Catanias sowie an zahlreichen Kirchen vorbei in einen kleinen Park. Dort fand gerade ein Fotoshooting statt. ... read more

Today we all decided to take a day off from sightseeing and stick around the villa to do some laundry and catch some rays by the pool. Dan got an early start by hiking the hills of the Parco before the hot sun came out and he got some great photos of the countryside while I putz around the villa starting to pack up for our next week of adventure. Later in the day, we decided to run into Ragusa for our final southern Sicilian supper and drove to the Centro and main piazza. We knew we were too early to eat yet as it was only 6:30 pm, and the sun was starting to set. Lissa wanted to take some photos of the sunset but we noticed that the sky was getting dark fast. A ... read more

Today we ventured off to the Donnafugata Castle which is located about 15 minutes from the Parco Cavalongo. In the mid-19th-century, the Baron of Donnafugata built the Neo-Gothic castle onto the 17th-century extant core. A half-century later, the southern facade was broken through to insert a replica of the Venetian Gothic arcade of the Palace of Popes at Viterbo. A Neoclassical temple was added in the garden. This fascinating amalgam of styles is further confused by the lush, gilded, trompe-l’oeil Baroque interior. The four of us wandered around the castle and grounds for quite some time enjoying the warm sunshine and fresh smells of the country air. The grounds definitely need some TLC but it looks like they’re working on it. Ron & Dan decided to enter the stone maze in the garden, only to find ... read more

Today our agenda is to visit another Baroque town called Noto. After having a quick breakfast and heading out the door, we drove the one hour drive to Noto through small winding towns and crazy morning traffic. Driving in Italy is crazy! You have to be very aggressive otherwise you wouldn’t get anywhere at all. No one seems to stop at signs or lights, and if you do do the speed limit, you’re going too slow. Cars fly by us as if we’re standing still which makes you wonder when you see all the roadside memorials. Noto is the queen of southern Sicily’s Baroque cities. The earthquake of 1693 also destroyed much of this town as well and had to be re-built in the valley below. The old town is abandoned to its lonely hilltop. All ... read more