Well the Catania is out of the bag, I've just come back from a day in Sicily...
And there you have it folks.
Some of the worst Sicily based puns you're ever going to read in your life in both a title and an opening line.
Right, I spent the day in Catania, Sicily yesterday and in case you were wondering whether or not to go to Catania, Sicily allow me to dispel any mystery and longing you might have about Catania, Sicily.
Don't go to Catania, Sicily.
Now bear in mind I only had a few hours there and maybe just maybe it serves as the gateway to many a beautiful place in Sicily and maybe just maybe there are wonderful places to go in Catania but my experience was, similar to what the streets are full of, complete trash.
I've rarely been to a more dirty and disheveled place in all of my time. Beautiful old buildings covered in graffiti and surrounded by garbage laden streets.
I'm not saying it should be wiped from the face of the earth, BUT, if Mt Etna were to maybe spew a few million tonnes of lava down over Catania and completely eradicate the entire town (not the people - the people were lovely) and the whole place could start again fresh and clean - that would maybe be a very worthwhile apocalypse
The only stipulation would be that this good chonky boys favourite street spot remains unblemished
Fig 1.A - A Chonky Catanian Boy
My Only Recommendations
The only place I found in my several hours wandering which was of value and worth a visit was the fish market which was a bustling thriving hub of classic outdoor european dining.
That beautiful piazza style eating experience that Mediterranean Europe does so very well - where hordes of families and locals sit outside in the beautiful spring sunshine and drink coffee and eat tasty morsels.
In this instance wonderful seafood pulled freshly out of the sea. There was a big old queue for a calamari place called Sirocco and I can tell you it was worth the wait and the queue.
As you can see in the photo there were scores of people enjoying the fresh sunny day on offer eating and drinking all of the good stuff.
Really quite a quintessential picturesque European scene :)
A LIDL surprise
My day ended in that classic European luxury holiday manner of going to LIDL to get some snacks and razors for shaving. Just like in the movies right!?
Maybe I'll go back to Catania someday and rent a scooter and bappity boopy around the place like a local and see the beautiful beaches (they did look amazing from a distance) and have a wonderful time and be forced to eat my words re the glory of Catania.
But for now it falls firmly in the "disappointing" category of cruise ports to visit
I apologise to any Sicilians reading this
Stephen