After an early breakfast, we caught a bus to the ferry. The ferry took us back to the island of Malta, where we caught another bus to the airport. All had gone well until we learned of limited access to the Catania airport due to ash clouds from volcanic activity on Mt. Etna. Our flight ended up being delayed by four hours, which made us need to re-schedule check-in with our Airbnb host. From the plane, we were able to see Mt. Etna with a puff of ash rising above its peak. We arrived after dark on Friday evening and wandered around for a short time with our backpacks, before eventually checking in to our apartment after our host got off work. The apartment, "Cortile Pardo", is located right at the main, most central square, Piazza Duomo. Our temporary apartment features a very narrow, cool spiral staircase. On our first morning in Catania, we wandered through the fish market, discovering that it soon gives way to a meat market, and then an extensive outdoor produce market with great prices and mostly friendly vendors. We picked up nectarines, bananas, and red peppers. #jamesonstreetart We spent most of Saturday visiting Syracuse. When we returned to Catania, we walked to a supermarket to stock up on groceries. En route, we found another huge outdoor market selling all manner of things. At the supermarket, 12 euros bought us a huge haul - limoncello, beer, gnocci, cheese, chocolate, yoghurt, potato chips, lemon sorbet, bottled water, a baguette, and eggs! Being so close to the main piazza, there is noise late into the night, but I still managed to sleep well. Church bells woke me early Sunday morning, but I immediately went back to sleep. After breakfast, we checked out the historic Via dei Crociferi, featuring four churches and many baroque buildings. The surrounding area is dotted with still more churches, several of which were conducting services. We ended up sitting in a park watching an aerobic dance group set up for a video shoot, and then heading to the grocery store once more. There's even a Roman amphitheatre on the main tourist road, Via Etnea. We took advantage of having our own kitchen! After consulting the internet, we went for another walk to see the Castello Ursino and the Monastery of San Nicolo. In between them, we also stumbled upon more Roman ruins in the heart of the modern city. We spent Monday visiting Taormina and its beautiful surroundings. After deciding against a trip to Mt. Etna, Tuesday became a rare "spare day" in our itinerary. This meant a photographic expedition through the fish and food markets, as well as a trip to buy running shoes. On our last day in Catania, we made several short local excursions. Catania University, 1434 At the last moment, we decided to go for yet another walk - this time to La Playa. Catania's beach has the potential to be incredible, as the sandy swath goes on for kilometres. Unfortunately, it is dirty and untended like the entire area, and the old facilities seem virtually abandoned. We'd prearranged a 5am transfer to the airport for our return to Malta.
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