Catania, Sicily…We took a walk…

September 22,2023

So we had a plan for the port of Catania…a drive up to Taormina, a photo op at Castelmola and then lunch at Belmond’s Grand Timeo hotel. Since before Covid, I’ve imagined enjoying a long lunch on the enormous terrace and admiring the view of Mt. Etna. The hotel’s Instagram photos are marketing gold.

Anyway, when we woke up, you might have thought that I’d run a marathon at Olympia the day before… it had been a full day, with no rest for either of us, and we were quite tired after Gil’s birthday celebration and the White Party. So we aborted the tour …thank goodness for “cancel for any reason” insurance. Mornings like this are also why we like to tour solo, we can change our minds and no one else’s plans are negatively impacted. We slept in, enjoyed coffee and pastries in our stateroom, fetched a port map from guest services and headed to the complimentary shuttle provided by Crystal. The shuttle took about 10 minutes and dropped us very near to the fish market and Piazza Duomo.

Such an adorable sign at the entrance to a gift shop. We purchased postcards and might have browsed a bit more, but when we witnessed a woman sneeze twice into her bare hand and then continue to touch everything in sight, I was done.

Beautiful selection and reasonable prices at the fruit and veg market.

It’s amazing how Timmy fits in seamlessly.

Just in case you were wondering if I was going to post a door.

We walked along Via Vittorio Emanuelle II for a bit…snapping photos.

Not sure if this phone is still operational.

Here’s Hannibal’s ride. I was tempted to crop the photo so that the elephant is more prominent, but I wanted to give a sense of scale.

After a leisurely stroll, involving dozens of photos, we made our way to the Teatro Romano. The ruins consist of a larger theater and a smaller semicircular theater. I parked Timmy on a stone and got some steps in.

This kitty blends nicely. Made me wonder if Freddy and Fluffy are tormenting Kim, our cat sitter. Hope not.

One pic of lots …all from essentially the same angle. This is my favorite.

Timmy is sitting, waiting for me …so he goes to Wikipedia to research Teatro Romano and a verrrry similar photo pops up. Look it up…how does mine compare?

Once again, so lucky to experience an ancient site not teeming with other visitors.

Timmy snapping my photo, as I was snapping him.
I walked all around the theater, up and down the steps.

I’m struck that here we are, standing/sitting in a space that dates to the second century AD. So freaking amazing.

Timmy and I travel to experience other cultures and expand our frame of reference…and we visit ancient ruins and archaeological sites to inform our historical perspective. Travel allows me to appreciate the full value of my humanness, affording me a deeper understanding of my place in the Universe. These past two days…in Olympia and here in Catania have been wonderful, and I’m at a loss as to explain how I feel, except to say: I feel so freaking lucky.

One last photo before we head off. #reallyoldrocks

Anyway, back out on the street we relied on Google maps to direct us to the Duomo and Piazza Duomo. After walking well past where we thought we should be, we consulted our paper map and realized that Google maps was useless in Catania. No worries, we were able to experience some cool streets, buildings and piazzas.