CATANIA

I flew in from Istanbul this morning. Anneli and I arose at 4.20am and took a cab to Attaturk Airport. We've had 16 amazing days travelling together, and she's had to endure me snoring for 16 nights. She caught a later plane to Zagreb, Croatia (Game of Thrones), while I took the earlier plane to Catania.

Beautiful blue skies. Etna in the distance puffing white. And Giangi picked me up from the airport without a hitch.

He drove me to their appartment on the top / 7th floor in Via.Lago di Nicito, where I met Alex, his partner and Francesco, their 22 month old son. From the rooftop is a 360 degree view including Etna, the Duomo and the sea. They made coffee and gave a really good run-down of Catania and what is possible over the next 4 days. He drew a great mudmap and suggested 2 places where I could try granita and arancini.

This I did. Its day 1 and I'm speaking Italian!!  'un granito pistachio per favore - quanta costa?'' I take it to Bellini Park and the tastiness of it expands my sensorial Palette! Mmmm. These Italians know all about taste! In all guises: colours, fabrics, food, music, art.

I walk down Via Etenea, sensing my way around traffic and the African Street sellers, until I find my way to Stesicoro. This is a square with a portion of Roman  Amphitheatre being revealed underneath ornate baroque buildings.

See, there have been 8 eruptions of Etna over Catania, the last being in the 1600s. So the buildings we see today date from that time and are essentially baroque. No frills spared. Buildings have the fanciest decorations, some bursting at the seams with cherubs, and others with more expressive human forms.

From piazza del duomo I took Giangi s advice and took an open topped  tourist bus to explore the city for 15 Euros or $20.

This was well worth it, as we were introduced to the 2 symbols of Catania - The Elephant and Santa Agneta. There was an elephant fountain. Santa Agnetas story seems a bit like Santa Rosalia. She was married off at 12 and martyred young with signs of warding off the plague.

The bus took us by the harbour and up the coast to Aci Castello, where a Norman Castle was built on a huge rock or stack coming out of the sea.

Next stop was Acitrezza and this place is attributed to where Ulysses meets the Cyclops and the giants on the way back home from Troy.  The rocks out on the harbour hold those stories, much like how the Dreamtime Stories hold the stories of the formation of the Australian landscape.

I was thinking about that poem Music Teacher Stacey gave me @ the beginning of this Blog. It was about a journey. It was encapsulated in the outer journey as a reflection of the inner journey. My inner journey feels like bravery, travelling alone when we fear Sicily for Mafia and Pickpockets. But then I think is that any more an illusion than what people associate with Australia - sharks, crocodiles, poisonous spiders and snakes and idiots of ex primeministers. The more I walked on my own with my walking stick, the more I relaxed into it. Myself, the Tourist.

I've gained an extra hour and I'm quite tired now. I will go out to eat in the restaurants nearby that Giangi suggested, then I will turn in for an early night, ready for a mini train/bus trip circumnavigating Etna tomorrow.