GO TO SICILY…
Do not be afraid of the language barriers that others have posted about on travel blogs or trip forums. Yes, knowing a bit of Italian helps, but translation apps on smart phones or a simple pocket phrase book will be enough to get by in most places.
FOOD & DRINK
Eat as much local cuisine as you possibly can. Some of the delightful Sicilian delicacies that we tried: Cannoli, granitas, focaccia and a variety of almond cookies. There was so much more desserts to try but we wanted to maintain a healthy weight and good dental hygiene. Of course there was all the local produce that was in season and in early April it was more than we expected. Oranges, lemons, asparagus, artichokes and field strawberries (the little guys that taste like Spring). There was also some small orange fruit called medlars and prickly pears from the cactus that we did not try… maybe next time.
Me & He like to cook when we are on the road so in Taormina, on Good Friday, we made a traditional Sicilian dish called Pasta Alla Norma with an eggplant that we bought from the market in Palermo. We pan-fried swordfish a few times and grilled mackerel on the BBQ in Siracusa. We steamed fresh mussels in cream from the glorious fish market in Catania and cooked up some lovely little shrimps with the best tasting parsley in Taormina. We even made pizza a few times.
Wine was our main drink of choice in Sicily. Our tour guide on Mount Etna gave us a glass of this wonderfully dark (almost black) red wine that is only produced at the base of the Grand Mamma as the grapes need the rich volcanic soil to thrive. We only drank wines from the region and our split was 60% white 20% Rose and 20% red. There were even a few bottles of Peroni thrown in for those days when I was wined out (don’t tell my dad).
TRANSPORTATION
Take the bus. We abandoned Trenitalia, that we relied on so heavily while traveling in the North back in 2013, as the locals and online community kept saying that the trains did not run on time and that they were slow.
We used two main bus lines during our stay in Sicily.
Interbus: Catania to Siracusa; Siracusa to Palermo; Catania to Taormina
SAIS: Palermo to Catania (en route to Taormina)
The bus to from the Catania Airport to the city centre is run by Alibus. It was €4,00 each, very frequent and made multiple stops in town.
ACCOMODATION
This is of course a matter for personal preference, but as mentioned above Me & He like to cook while we are away so we choose to stay in AirBnBs that had kitchen facilities. Below are the links to each of our choices. All of the places were clean and equipped with the basics amenities.
Catania – pro: centrally located with an amazing terrace. con: location was not easy to find and the stairs to the kitchen from the living room and bedroom were very steep.
Siracusa – pro: centrally located, quiet and calm surroundings. sort of con: inner courtyard patio got little sun.
Palermo – pro: very centrally located. con: very basic kitchen supplies and noisy. However, this would be the case for most other places in downtown Palermo. Bring ear plugs.
Taormina – pro: centrally located, multiple terraces with amazing views, lovely decor, all of the essentials and more. con: wifi was a little slow for He’s work needs.
Not convinced to go yet… Let travel guru Rick Steves convince you.
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One Response
Ohad
Oh, the food and produce in those pictures!! Lucky the two of you are naturally skinny. Others would probably have to run a daily marathon to burn off the calories.