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Lady Catania, apparently concerned with my less than raving first impression, showed a side today that reminded us why we desire to come back to Italy and when not in Italy, we think about going back.

But before we get into the food (which is a natural and huge draw for us foodies), the most interesting observation, or lesson even, of Catania to date is that sight is but one of the senses. In the era of Instagram, it’s easy to fall victim to purely visual aesthetics, but in so doing one would miss the other senses and one that stands out in Catania is for me is the aroma of what I can only crudely describe as an orange grove by the sea. If it wasn’t outright dangerous, one would be tempted to close one’s eyes and just be guided by the sense of smell; images completely belie this.

Our friendly orange blossoms met their match at today’s main event however; the Catania fish market; A veritable maze of fish mongers, fruits and vegetable stands and, of course, a plethora of meats and cheeses. Every bit the stereotypical Italian market that I don’t think we’ll ever tire of. With a shared glance of mutual determination we ventured forth, not as gawkers or browsers, not as ogling lookeeloos or observers of questionable wit, we proceeded as market customers with the hell-bent intent of cooking every ounce (or gram, this is Europe after all) of it. Instead of defaulting to the customary pizza lunch out somewhere, we went back and cooked a lunch consisting of flash-fried sword fish with roasted garlic potatoes with a side of butter lettuce and heirloom tomato salad. Dinner, also procured in full in its raw form from said market, became rather by chance mussels in a pancetta, wine and cream sauce with a baguette and the rest of the salad fixings. It should be mentioned that we bought these ingredients using less English than the poor merchant tried to as they attempted to control the conversation so to minimize the abuse on their proud mother tongue. We thus left with a sense of achievement in addition to our bursting bags.

For those interested in travel budgeting – Two times two rather delectable and nourishing meals clocked in under a total of 16 Euros (excluding a total of 7 Euros of wine; yes it became a two budget-bottle day). Regarding the market, if you shop frequently (and there’s something in the collective Italian DNA that promotes this, somehow), don’t expect what you pay to be an exact science. These guys don’t want to mess around and have their customers fumble with loose change, so pick one stand for your produce e.g. and get everything there if possible. Same goes with meats, cheeses and seafood.

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