Alright kids, I'm terrible at updating, I admit it. Things have just gotten so busy (so I guess that's good, yes?) and it's getting busier. The last few days have been more than a little stressful; I've been running around getting shit done and planning all my shenanigans with everyone for the last few weeks. I haven't really talked much about how I've been viewing everything (in terms of the societal side of the places I've been) so I'll try to focus more on that. My earliest posts were a lot more involved much like my old Xanga blogs but I have so many pictures now that tell the story for me. Problem is, it only tells the whole story to me because I know it. Workin' on fixing that.
McDonald's! I wanted a Tiramisu milkshake but alas I settled for cappuccino because they didn't have it.
The Bed and Breakfast we stayed at. "experts in ... story telling and ...homemade jams!"
The woman, Elenora, cooks us a nice egg breakfast every morning- scrambled with the most perfect amount of salt. We'll start with a cup of cappuccino, and some legit Italian bread. There's butter, jam, and homemade marmalade.Sicilian oranges, of course.
She gave the recipe to Sarah, which I took a picture of.There's a jar of cookies on the side, and a liter of water. A short amount of time into our breakfast, she'll bring us a pot of coffee to finish off, and we'll leave when we're done, taking a single blood orange each.
I had my first blood orange here. I've never even heard of them before.This place also turns out to be their home. When you walk in the front door, there's the living room and a study with a large desk. Turn right and there's a glass door/wall that contains the dining room (patio) which leades to the terrace.
The terrace is a dull white and terra cotta colored checkered floor with sky-blue, white, and rusted furniture accenting the whole area.
Most of the plants are actually cacti. A tree of baby oranges provides a pop of orange color, and a very minimal amount of yellow flowers are littered throughout. Upon first entry, Mount Etna can be seen very clearly in the near distance. Mount Etna is an active volcano, so it still smokes. Such a humbling thing to see.
Back in the home, if you turn left, the first door on the left is a pretty pink bathroom with plenty of books for reading material ;) and a large vanity. And mirrors covering every wall, including the ceiling of the shower. The rooms on the right are all guest rooms. Kat and haven stayed in the second and Sarah and I stayed in the third. Across from us is what I assume is Elenora and Signore (Giovanno?)'s bedroom.
Creepy painting of a boy above my bed.Mirrors were all over the place, including the hallways. one side was almost entirely mirrors and the other was drowning in photographs of the old couple. The souvenirs, trinkets, and everything like such that are practically piled up everywhere can only be what I assume are a collection of things they've been given from guests or things they themselves acquired on their own travels. Every object screamed a story to be told. The walls were painted solid, (mostly bright, summery colors.
Another resident of Sir Tanus.We were directed to an old-school pizzeria called Pizzeria Della Nonna (basically, Grandma's Pizzeria). Nobody there spoke English but Sarah got us by. We had literally the absolute pizza I've ever had in my life. Pizza usually doesn't really ever impress me because I've had so much of it in my life but this pizza... the cheese was perfect. There was a lot of cheese. It stayed melted, the crust was thicker than the pizza everywhere else I had it in Italy but not as thick as the States, so it was perfect. The first night, I had pesto pizza. I was surprised it didn't make me sick because there was SO much olive oil but ohhh it was so good. SO good.
They also sold pastries which only fueled my passion for baked goods. Cannoli and unknown creme filled cakes were my favs.
And this strange eggplant thing? Ohhhhh, it was so delicious. And the people there liked us so much that they gave us massive discounts on the pastries. It's usually €2 for a pastry or something like that but they'd give us 2 for €1. SCOREEEEEEE
The lift we had to take back that BARELY fit the 4 of us.
We spent a lot of time on the beaches because there wasn't much else to do in Catania. There were an endless amount of those perfect shells. I took a LOT back with me to make jewelry out of and sell or experiment with.And for dinner one night... basically a buffet of appetizers.
SO MUCH FOOD. A bit too much salt but the people were so nice.
And best of all... I had been craving fruit for a LONG time but I'm too poor here to invest in fruit. And when they brought out this masterpiece of a platter (included with dinner) of beautiful fruits covered in whipped cream, my eyes widened and my jaw dropped (only slightly!) The waiter laughed when he saw me, and asked later if it was good. :) I just laughed my "I-know-what-you're-saying/mean-but-I-don't-know-how-to-respond-in-Italian-so-you-can-understand-me" laugh.We finished off our stay by walking around Catania to see its historic sites.
And said goodbye to our favorite Italian grandmother. The old couple were so sweet! The language barrier made it difficult for me to express how much I appreciated their kindness but Sarah helped with that too haha.
To top it off, the girls tanned a bit. :)Goodbye, Catania. Now for the long trip home...
+Love+
