VAMOS A LA PLAYA!
After breakfast at the town and some sightseeing we went back to the same beach club, Lido Azzurro, which is also the largest and oldest bathing establishment on Catania's vast sandy beach. The beach is wonderfully spacious, covered in fine yellow sand that looks almost like the finest dust in the desert.
The waves were a little bigger that day, which we absolutely loved, because we always hope to have at least one day of big waves during our summer holiday.
Oh well, someone got the ball, someone else got the shampoo and homemade beeswax balm that's supposed to be good for just about everything and so on... Whoever finds them first will find them useful, I am sure.
Well, after spending all that time riding the waves in the shallows, it was only natural that we'd worked up quite an appetite. I first tucked into the leftover, absolutely delicious fried seafood we'd bought that morning at Scirocco, at the fish market.
Oh, and I have to mention the super-friendly guys working there! We had such a lovely little chat with one of them, who recognised my name as I was writing it on the order board. He told us he had a friend from Serbia who shared my name. He also told us how he'd lived in London for a while, travelling two or three hours to get to work. We also talked about the unbearable heat Sicily was experiencing those days, and the time flew by while we waited for one of their signature specialities to be prepared. YUMMMY! You absolutely have to try their food when you visit Catania!
Of course, that wasn't nearly enough to fill me up, so naturally, I got myself an al burro arancina too, just like everyone else. Just look at that gorgeous golden, crispy ball, all sunny and beautiful!
And the inside? An absolute flavour bomb, with ham and mozzarella… I could easily devour one right now!
BAROQUE BEAUTY & A LITTLE NIGHT MAGIC!
After the beach, we headed back to the apartment, packed most of our things for the following day's trip to Palermo, got ready, and off we went into town!
Once again, we found ourselves wandering around the old historic centre, discovering a few new charming little streets and squares along the way. Just a leisurely stroll, cocktails, beer..
This building reminded me of the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul, probably because of those red balconies and window railings. They look so good against the softly illuminated, yelloish façade.
Along the way, I snapped a few more photos of other interesting buildings like this one. At this point, I honestly have no idea what half of the things I photographed even were. I was just happily clicking away, filling up my already overflowing Google Photos storage.
Btw, I'm one of those people who has around ten different email addresses, with the free 15 GB of storage on every single one completely full. And guess what? 99% of it is photos and videos. 😁
These blue doors caught my eye too. I also love the way this particular shade of blue works with the greyish lower part of the façade. Such a lovely combination!
Later, while doing a bit of online research, I discovered that this is the Roman Catholic Church of Santissima Trinità (the Church of the Most Holy Trinity).
And here's a little personal fact: I was born on Holy Trinity Day according to the Orthodox calendar and I was also baptised in a Church of the Holy Trinity. I've always considered that a great blessing. <3
And then we came to Teatro Massimo Bellini, Catania's famous opera house. It was named after the renowned composer Vincenzo Bellini, who was born right here in the city.
Since we couldn't see the interior because renovation work was underway, we decided to admire it in the evening instead, when it looks absolutely stunning, all beautifully illuminated against the dark night sky.
One of the many decorative details adorning the exterior of this incredible building is this eagle with its wings spread wide. Sometimes, all those statues on façades can feel like a bit too much for me, but details like this eagle never fail to impress me.
We stopped here for a drink and to cool off a little, because the night was just as scorching as the previous ones, and it was honestly hard to breathe in that heat. However, alcohol and high temperatures definitely don't go well together, but luckily, there's always a hand fan to save the day.
We sat down at Spritzeria, which had such a cute atmosphere, especially with those adorable lamps made from bottles of different alcoholic drinks.
On our way back to the apartment, and also towards the Garibaldi gate, we stopped to take another photo in front of this shop window. You might remember the photo we took in front of this very same window in the first blog post, during our first evening out in the city... I'll leave you the links to the previous blog posts in case you would like to catch up on the story and connect all the dots. (:
And then, as the cherry on top, we stumbled upon a trance party! It looks like we were too late to catch the main guy from the "Emozione" posters we'd been seeing all over the city centre, but this girl was absolutely killing it behind the decks, playing and mixing tracks like a pro (if that's even the right terms for that) Please don' judge me, though. I'm a complete newbie when it comes to this music genre. :D
NEXT STOP: PALERMO!
And tomorrow (or, more precisely, in the next blog post), we're off to Palermo! That's where the fifth member of our little crew will be joining us.
Stay tuned! <3
@bibana/sicilyyyyyyy-our-first-two-days@bibana/fish-arancini-an-elephant-and@bibana/cathedral-of-saint-agatha-ancient@bibana/dinner-at-l-iska-gelato@bibana/little-discoveries-around-every-corner
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