Sicily (2014, October)

Catania, Sicily’s second largest city, lies on the Ionian Sea and around Mt. Etna (“A Muntagna” as the locals call it), a massive mountain which has shaped the history and the actual existence of the city. This beauty and fertile grounds of Catnia has attracted travellers, artists, poets, and philosophers for centuries.

In 2014, I was very lucky to visit this city with ISH Travel Club,  and we managed to see the main Sicily town as well as venture further out in Taormina and its vicinities.

View from Castelmola, a quaint hilltop village atop Taormina

Itinerary

See: Check out the map I used for the whole trip here

With its well-preserved  architecture and beautiful natural scenery from  mountaintop to sea level, Sicily is a city of contrasts. It is the largest island not only in Italy but also in the whole Mediterranean region, and its capital Palermo is regularly featured as a street food capital, thanks to the influence of many cultures and civilizations throughout the island's rich history.

Day 1

Evening City Tour 

We arrived on the first day around 6pm, and it was already dark.

Instead of heading to our hostel though, our first tour awaited us. I was (pleasantly) surprised by how much of the city we managed to cover that evening, as we got to visit a few local sites, such as:

• Piazza Stesicoro (where the Roman Amphitheatre, which dates back to the II century, is located). 
• Via dei Crociferi, one of the most beautiful baroque roads in Italy which has a number of churches and arches
• Piazza Università
• Piazza Vincenzo Bellini, with its famous Teatro Massimo
• Piazza Duomo, with the“u liotru”, (elephant in Sicilian), which is the symbol of the city, and the Cathedral. 
• Pescheria (fish market)
• Castello Ursino, which hosts the civic museum of Catania.

 
We even saw a couple having a wedding photoshoot!

Dinner

After we finally reached our hostel and unpacked our things, we walked to at a nearby restaurant for dinner. 

It was funny listening to our travel leader, Jonathan, share what he knew about about Italy/Sicily, where his late grandpa was from, e.g.:

1. Italians like 'la passagiata' (people watching),
2. Italians love their food (I mean, who doesn't lol), 
3. Italians think non-Italians generally overcook pasta (i.e. pasta needs to be 'el dante')  but undercook the sauce 
4. Italians like saying '2 minutes' for a lot of things.
5. In Italy, tea is more expensive than wine, haha.

A yummy vegetarian meal I had

The first of many desserts in Sicily.

After eating, we walked around town for a short while before we called it a day. 

Gorgeous view at night!

Apparently it's not too safe to roam around at night though, so I just headed back to hostel with most of my travelmates and chatted with my roommates inside our dorm.

Day 2

Rifugio Sapienza & Etna Park

After breakfast, we went to Sapienza Refuge to explore the last eruptions of Mt Etna and the Silvestri Craters.

The sprinklings of snow in front of the entrance :)

With our guide Francesca, we trekked along Parco dell'Etna (Etna Park) and enjoyed the breathtaking view over the Bove Valley.

Mt Etna is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2013.

Our tourguide calls Mt Etna a 'good giant' because although it is one of the world's most active volcanoes, it is not violent. In fact, our tourguide joked that the lava that flows from the mountain is slow and lazy, like Sicilians haha.

Covering over 1000 km2, the size of the mountain kinda explains why ancient Greeks believed that Zeus (god of the sky + thunder, and king of gods) trapped Typhon, a monster, under it.

We were told that when Mt Etna erupts, it takes over 5 years for things to grow on the land that the lava has touched. Even though this might seem like a bad thing, volcanic soil is actually good for agriculture because it is fertile, which explains the vineyards and orchards at the slopes and plains of Catania. 

Since I have asthma, it was a bit difficult to trek this mountain tbh. 

It was cold, the air pressure was low, and I wasn't as fit as I should be lol. That said, the view from above the mountain was a sight to behold and I'm really glad I joined my group, even though I was a bit slow.

Lava Cave

After the trek, we visited a lava cave left behind by one of Mt Etna's eruptions.

Here, I learnt of Ginastra plant, which is called the 'queen' of lava. It is a Mt Etna native, and although it is not big in size, it can break stones! 

Us going inside with helmets and lamps

Since we don't have volcanoes where I come from (Malaysia is within the Pacific ring of fire -- we don't have volcanoes, but we are surrounded by countries that do), it was a bit difficult for me to wrap my head around the idea that active volcanoes can have greenery around them.

Although locals see the mountain with fear, our tourguide did mention that the mountain is also viewed with love and care, because it gives us much more than it takes.

Lunch

Next, we had lunch at a nearby at Randazzo, the town nearest to Mt Etna's crater.

Our tourguide mentioned that Randazzo, also known as 'black town', is famous for is volcanic lava stone that they have been using for centuries as building material. They use this for roads and even to decorate buildings and houses.

We didn't stop for long here. We just got some grubs before we headed to our next destination.

Lookit all those beautiful carbssss

I wrote something in my notes that there was a cute italian waiter at the restaurant. No photo of him, just take my word for it haha. See if you can spot which one he is, and enjoy the view around the place while you're at it ;)

Organic Farm

After the nature walks, we stopped by Zafferana, one of the most famous organic farms for honey, olive oil, wine, and other local products.

They even have samples of the products they made using honey, beeswax, and olives. They're so good, but I didn't buy any here because it was a bit out of my budget (and I was also afraid the glass containers might break after my trip).

      

Walking Around Town

When we got back to our hostel, we decided to walk around town for a bit.

There was a cooking class (or competition) for kids

Visiting the marketplace

Stacks upon stacks of chocolate

Dinner Time!

After a long day of trekking and walking around, the group separated into our own mini groups to find food.

Margherita and Norma

The dessert of choice on day 2 is gelato. And I had two.

Because how often do you get to eat gelato in Italy, amiright? Hehe.

Gelato ice cream #1 ~ limone (lemon) 

Gelato ice cream #2 ~ probably dark choc? can't remember lol

On the way home, we got to watch a fire dancer twirling flaming batons and such.

 

 What a beautiful way to end the night!

Day 3

Giardini Naxos

The daytrip to Taormina began by visiting fishing town of Giardini Naxos, the first Greek colony in Sicily. Our tour group leader Jonathan told us that he used to come to this part of Sicily to visit his grandparents, so this was quite an emotional trip for him.

Our awesome tour group leader going down memory lane :)

 

Look at how clear the water is!

Florence's Pleasure Garden & Ionian Sea

After driving along the seafront and the beautiful Naxos bay, we headed to Taormina, but our first stop was “Isola Bella”, a Wildlife Reserve considered the “pearl of the Ionian”. From Isola Bella, you can admire the bay, Capo S. Andrea, and Capo Taormina.

The view of the island on the main beach is beautiful, although it can be a bit crowded depending on the day/time of day, so if you can't/don't feel like visiting Isola Bella, chillin at the beach is actually quite pleasant too. There are some stalls along the beach where you can rent umbrellas, floats, towels etc so if you forget to bring yours, just be sure to carry some extra cash with you.

Isola Bella is connected to the mainland by a thin strip of sand.

To visit Florence Trevelyan's garden on Isola Bella (named by Lady Florence herself), we had to cross from the mainland during low tide. The island is not exactly for everyone as it is quite slopey and does require a lot of climbing (stairs and otherwise), so it may be inaccessible for some people with weak knees/wheelchairs, and shoes with good grip.

Good thing I wore a dress (easy to lift) and flipflops (shoes didn't get wet), yay.

Walking around the lil isle

In case you were wondering, Lady Florence was a real person. She isn't a native of Sicily though.

There are a number of theories how the she ended up here in the 1880s and never returned to her hometown in England, but according to this site, she was banished from Britain due to some political drama conflict.

Despite the rather sad history, the island is a thing of beauty. I'm glad that it is now well-maintained by World Wide Fund for Nature.

Taormina

Next, we visited the picturesque town of Taormina and saw some important monuments, such as:

• Palazzo Corvaja (The Corvaja Palace)
• Museum of Arts and Folk Traditions
• Teatro Antico* (The Old Theatre)
• Piazza IX Aprile
• Torre dell’orologio (The Clock Tower)
• Cattedrale Fortezza (The Fortress Cathedral)
• Badia Vecchia (The Old Abbey)
• Palazzo Duca di Santo Stefano (The Duke of Saint Stephen Palace).

 

There's just something about visting places of worship that is both mystifying and humbling.

Around the local shops here, you will typically see images of a Medusa head with three legs around it, one one top, one on the right, and one on the right. It symbolises the 3 'edges' of Sicily because the city - which was previously part of Greece - was called Trinacria ("three pointed").

Not an image of trinacria, but I saw a lot of images similar to this. Fascinating.

Castelmola

About 5km above Taormina, you get better views of the city. We drove up to this hilltop village called  Castelmola. It's accessible by car, van, or bus.

Some of the gardens, amidst antique buildings.

If you aren't staying here for the night and have time on your hands, we were told that it is possible to walk all the way down to Taormina. I'm not sure how safe it is to do so though, considering the traffic going up and down the place and also how steep the path is.

Love the contrasting colors here! It was so bright up there, hence the bad image quality.

In Castelmola, I found it so lovely that the folks here collect and display all sorts of adorable and amusing animal figurines.

Like this pack of chickens on some random street...

... and this quirky menagerie inside a store.

     
From fridge magnet displays to shadows on decorated roads - so many things to look at!

Although Castelmola is undeniably beautiful in many ways, the cobble path and slopes make it inaccessible for those who cannot/have difficulty walking unassisted, including wheelchair users. 

Lots of stairs and slopes when walking about - quite a work out!

Narrow roads and sharp turns - quite difficult for vehicles to go through easily unless you're familiar.

Lunch at Castelmola

After a bit of walking around, we stopped at a restaurant called Trattoria because of its standing menu, featuring essential Italian cuisine like penne, lasagna, pasta, antipasto... and also good ol' toast lol.

Of course I had pizza, tho. Pricey but yummers. 

Also had to get gelato because reasons ~ limon! 

After our meal, we drove back to our hotel. Everyone was tired so most of us just ended up packing our bags for our trip back to London the next morning.

What a lovely weekend trip this was <3

Expenses

Most of the trip has been paid for, and I spent some money on food and souvenirs.

In summary:

• ISH tour package = £250, approx. €290 *
• Souvenir postcards= €3
• Handmade locket = €6
• Isle entry = €2
• Gelato €2 x 4 = €8
• Day 1 dinner = €4
• Pizza lunch at Castelmola = €14.50
• Pizza dinner = €15
• Misc = €15

Total expenses here (my own) = approx. €350 @ RM1600


* ISH package as follows:

• One-way airport transfer ISH-London Airport
• Roundtrip flight London Airport - Catania, Sicily
• Roundtrip airport transfer from/to Catania International Airport
• 3 nights’ accommodation (single sex dorm) incl. continental breakfast
• £10 for day 1 dinner (excl. drinks, tips/service charges)
• Tours: Private Catania City walking tour, Private Mt. Etna Full Day Tour, Private Taormina & Castelmola Full Day Tour
• Full services of an ISH Group Leader.

So yeah.

For more info on travelling here, including transportation options and admission prices, do check out wikitravel.

Last Updated: 2022-11-16