Italy: Roughing it in Sicily
November 2007, by Tom
We woke to the rocking and swaying of the train carriage we were sleeping in. We could only assume that we had somehow been transported onto the train ferry and had left the mainland towards uncharted territory - that of Sicily! Darkness and boredom took over me so I checked my emails from my cellphone to find one from Paul, warning us to barricade the door to stop the almost certain gassing and thievery which the overnight train to Sicily is prone for. A quick scan of the room and everything seemed to be ok ... Nige was still snoring, Gini was still tucked up in her sleeping bag and all our gear was as we left it. A false alarm. Ignorance is bliss I guess.
A few hours later we pulled into Palermo train station - the capital of Sicily. A short phone call and we were being chauffeured via Fiat to our apartment - our home for the next few days. A cute little spot with all the necessities - a bed, a bathroom and a tiny kitchen. The balcony overlooked the mayhem and madness downstairs. What more could we want?
Our first day in Palermo was spent wandering through the crazy markets, tasting the local deep fried delights (some of which may have been horse intestines - but who knows) and wandering through a few of the cities sights led by TGT (Tour Guide Tom). The main attraction of the city was the Cappella Paletina. A chapel covered with amazing and intricate mosaics. Unfortunately it was mostly covered with scaffolding and was undergoing restoration, but it was still amazing. We left the Cappella via a tour of the Palazzo dei Normanni - where the Sicilian parliament now resides. They definitely know how to build extravagant buildings.
There wasn't a huge amount to see and do in Palermo so we decided to return to the markets and try our hand at a home cooked meal from the local produce.
We managed to push our way through the masses and the shouting sellers "buy my lettuce, it's the best!" to walk away with some olives, onions, capers two bottles of Sicilian wine and a kilogram of the biggest prawns you've ever seen. Nige ordered the prawns by holding up ten fingers - trying to indicate ten prawns. The fish monger took it as 10 euros worth - or a kilogram! One kilogram of the biggest fattest freshest prawns you've ever seen. We were back at the apartment and after a speedy cook up by Chef Nige, we were stuffing our faces with nearly a limitless amount of prawns. So good.
That night we paid the apartment owners restaurant a visit - Al Garage. Little more than a hole in the wall, Mario's restaurant was owned, waited on and cooked by himself. We sat at one of the two tables and awaited our dinner .. Not really knowing what to expect as we weren't given a menu. We weren't disappointed though, as a short while later, out came three plates - each with a whole pan fried fish. Perfectly cooked, it was bloody marvelous. Sicilian simplicity. No complaints there.
Feeling like something a little more refreshing - we hopped on the train heading toward the east side of the Island and the city of Catania. What we didn't realise was that our train was not a direct route ... Us foolish tourists took the train to the end of the line and ended up in Agrigento - on the south coast! Doh. The next train to Catania was not for another couple of hours so, with packs on our backs, we walked the small town in search of dinner. We managed to find a simple looking restaurant with outside seating and a lady behind the counter who was very enthusiastic for us to eat there so we gave it a go. Again, we weren't disappointed. Simple pasta meals and a few plates of nibbles beforehand and a donut type thing for desert to take with us.
What could have been a two hour bus ride (if we could find the ticket booth) ended up taking most of the day by train, but we had finally made it to the hostel in Catania. Exhausted, we booked a Mount Etna trip for the following day and went to bed.
Mount Etna, the top item on Nigels want-to-see list is Europes largest volcano and the worlds most active. We joined a group of four others and tour guide Paulo on an interesting geological journey from the base of the volcano where rivers have eroded through the layers of lava to create amazing canyons - which we were brave enough to wade through, to the top of the volcano, where there are various craters.
The landscape on the volcano was incredible. If the moon landing was in fact, a hoax, this would have been the perfect place to film it. The photos don't do it justice, but the landscape had an eerie feeling about it. We were shown where the eruption of 2002 had destroyed the road as well as a four story hotel - neither a match for it's ferociousness. It's weird thinking how recent the eruptions took place - coming from New Zealand where we have a similar geographic landscape but one which has been unchanged for centuries.
Unfortunately the weather was not on our side so we missed out on the amazing views from the top of the volcano and visibility in parts was only a few meters in-front of our noses, but it was still a great experience.
We returned to the Hostel with enough time to grab our packs, pop in on a fancy restaurant for a quick pasta and mission it to the night ferry - where we would spend our next nights sleep on the way back to Naples!
T
A few hours later we pulled into Palermo train station - the capital of Sicily. A short phone call and we were being chauffeured via Fiat to our apartment - our home for the next few days. A cute little spot with all the necessities - a bed, a bathroom and a tiny kitchen. The balcony overlooked the mayhem and madness downstairs. What more could we want?
Our first day in Palermo was spent wandering through the crazy markets, tasting the local deep fried delights (some of which may have been horse intestines - but who knows) and wandering through a few of the cities sights led by TGT (Tour Guide Tom). The main attraction of the city was the Cappella Paletina. A chapel covered with amazing and intricate mosaics. Unfortunately it was mostly covered with scaffolding and was undergoing restoration, but it was still amazing. We left the Cappella via a tour of the Palazzo dei Normanni - where the Sicilian parliament now resides. They definitely know how to build extravagant buildings.
There wasn't a huge amount to see and do in Palermo so we decided to return to the markets and try our hand at a home cooked meal from the local produce.
We managed to push our way through the masses and the shouting sellers "buy my lettuce, it's the best!" to walk away with some olives, onions, capers two bottles of Sicilian wine and a kilogram of the biggest prawns you've ever seen. Nige ordered the prawns by holding up ten fingers - trying to indicate ten prawns. The fish monger took it as 10 euros worth - or a kilogram! One kilogram of the biggest fattest freshest prawns you've ever seen. We were back at the apartment and after a speedy cook up by Chef Nige, we were stuffing our faces with nearly a limitless amount of prawns. So good.
That night we paid the apartment owners restaurant a visit - Al Garage. Little more than a hole in the wall, Mario's restaurant was owned, waited on and cooked by himself. We sat at one of the two tables and awaited our dinner .. Not really knowing what to expect as we weren't given a menu. We weren't disappointed though, as a short while later, out came three plates - each with a whole pan fried fish. Perfectly cooked, it was bloody marvelous. Sicilian simplicity. No complaints there.
Feeling like something a little more refreshing - we hopped on the train heading toward the east side of the Island and the city of Catania. What we didn't realise was that our train was not a direct route ... Us foolish tourists took the train to the end of the line and ended up in Agrigento - on the south coast! Doh. The next train to Catania was not for another couple of hours so, with packs on our backs, we walked the small town in search of dinner. We managed to find a simple looking restaurant with outside seating and a lady behind the counter who was very enthusiastic for us to eat there so we gave it a go. Again, we weren't disappointed. Simple pasta meals and a few plates of nibbles beforehand and a donut type thing for desert to take with us.
What could have been a two hour bus ride (if we could find the ticket booth) ended up taking most of the day by train, but we had finally made it to the hostel in Catania. Exhausted, we booked a Mount Etna trip for the following day and went to bed.
Mount Etna, the top item on Nigels want-to-see list is Europes largest volcano and the worlds most active. We joined a group of four others and tour guide Paulo on an interesting geological journey from the base of the volcano where rivers have eroded through the layers of lava to create amazing canyons - which we were brave enough to wade through, to the top of the volcano, where there are various craters.
The landscape on the volcano was incredible. If the moon landing was in fact, a hoax, this would have been the perfect place to film it. The photos don't do it justice, but the landscape had an eerie feeling about it. We were shown where the eruption of 2002 had destroyed the road as well as a four story hotel - neither a match for it's ferociousness. It's weird thinking how recent the eruptions took place - coming from New Zealand where we have a similar geographic landscape but one which has been unchanged for centuries.
Unfortunately the weather was not on our side so we missed out on the amazing views from the top of the volcano and visibility in parts was only a few meters in-front of our noses, but it was still a great experience.
We returned to the Hostel with enough time to grab our packs, pop in on a fancy restaurant for a quick pasta and mission it to the night ferry - where we would spend our next nights sleep on the way back to Naples!
T
and Vegetables
Another seemingly condemned building
Finally on the train to Catania
The path to wherre?
