San Berillo, Catania

Getting information on Sicilian buses has improved. 98% impossible last year, 97% impossible this year. As a result we spent more than we needed catching a minibus to Catania airport, rather than the larger bus which, I discovered, stopped selling tickets 24 hours before departure. What's that about?

We wanted to go to Catania, not its airport a short way beyond the city, but that would have involved a taxi, a train and then another train or a bus and would have taken twice as long and cost more. At least the minibus journey offered us excellent views of snow-capped Etna.

Since Firstborn has offered to let me try out travelling with a wheeled case for the rest of my stay while he takes my backpack to the UK (the idea being that my knees might approve), going via the airport meant that we could weigh luggage then swap things around to match baggage allowances before the other three fly back to the UK this evening.

After that useful bit of juggling it was quick and easy to get the airport bus back into town then to dump everyone's baggage at my Airbnb near the bus stop - to the huge consternation of my host who thought I was illegally going to let them all sleep there tonight.

Catania is not highly regarded by most guide-books nor online reviews but I discovered last year (see here and here) that I really like its vibrancy and that it has some fabulous architecture and some lively areas. So I showed the others the lava elephant outside the cathedral, then the market (yes, even on an Italian Sunday) before we had lunch in umbrella street (extra 1). 

Near the castle we rested our feet at a cafe in a small square with live music, then found the exquisite Piazza Mazzini, where I immediately wanted to rent a flat and apply for Italian citizenship. 

We went to visit the Greco-Roman theatre, even more impressive than I remembered from last year, then it was time to collect everyone else's baggage, go back to the bus stop for the airport and hug goodbye. I was sad to see them go, but I have more plans for the next ten days so I wasn't ready to head back to England with them. 

In honour of my last night in Catania, I took myself out for a repeat of last year's eye-opening walk through the red light district (more active than I expected this early in the evening) and the San Berillo area (where every surface is covered street art - main and extra 2) for a 'typical Sicilian' meal at a highly recommended, good-value restaurant (Nuova Trattoria del Forestiero).

I discovered walking back that San Berillo is also the Senegalese quarter so having spent my time in the restaurant trying to eradicate Spanish from my Italian, I ended up speaking French on street corners.