By Lesi Lee

Hi lovelies,

long time, no post… I recently visited Catania and I finally sat down and decided to write about. You reading it right now means the world to me (even though I mostly use this as my travel diary blog:)).

5th of May: Here we come, Sicily!!!

The flight from Vienna to Catania was super short, less than 2 hours. During the landing, you can spot the Etna volcano from the plane (first picture below). The hotel I chose was 7 mins from the airport. I specifically picked this one because of the location. Romano palace luxury hotel***** is an elegant, ancient looking place with the huge gardens, pool and the beach right across the road.

The beach belongs to the Rainbow club- restaurant/ café so you can freshen up throughout the day. The umbrellas and sun beds are free for the hotel guests. We only spent couple of hours there but managed to get sunburnt. Do not underestimate the Italian sun in May:)!

I have to mention the local restaurant La Baracca as well. The food was amazing, I could eat caprese every day and pasta is another serious addiction for me. The lovely music, guys shouting PRESTO in the background and the variety of food adds something magical to the atmosphere.

OLD TOWN OF CATANIA

I was actually surprised when we arrived here (10 mins by bus from the hotel). There are so many beautiful historical buildings and each of them is different. Top places to visit are definitely Benedictine monastery of San Nicolo, Porta Garibaldi (ancient arch/ gate) , Villa Bellini (parc with beautiful flowers and fountains), Castello Ursino, Basilica Cattedrale Sant’ Agata (worth visiting inside), Piazza Del Duomo (here you can find the elephant- symbol of Catania), Teatro Romano (very old ruins from the 2nd century BC). We wanted to visit Etna, but due to the lack of time, we chose relax at the beach instead:), maybe next time.

The best gelato is served at Don Peppinu. It is definitely worth the wait in a queue. I tried limoncello and chocolate of course:). YUMMY!

Overall, I would say 3 days is enough to explore Catania town, beaches and the area but there are also other amazing places like Etna, Taormina or Syracuse in the short travel distance. These trips are also organized by many companies in the centre so you don’t have to worry about anything. You can also rent a car at the airport or take a train from the main station.

The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the rubbish at the beach and even in the centre. It reminded me of Naples actually. That is not La dolce vita style but I guess kind of usual for Italy.

That’s all from me today, I hope you got inspired by this post a bit and might visit Sicily in the future:)! Wishing you a beautiful summer full of adventures, sun and gelato of course:).

See you soon in Kefalonia!

Lots of love,

by L. L.