Yes! I moved locations, a mini travel day consisting of a 2 hour bus ride, and another 20 minute bus ride, and I was at my new location. I have a long travel day approaching, so to ease the pain of too many moving parts, I decided to relocate closer to the airport before hand. So here I am, and here are my first impressions of Catania Sicily.
Chaos
Oh my, this is a huge and very busy city. I knew from research that Catania was a large place, so no surprise there. I also knew it was a very local and working town, not a tourist resort by any stretch of the imagination.
Even though it feels and looks chaotic, I was able to reach my hotel, Etna Suite, reasonably easy by taking the airport transfer bus for €4 which took me from the Airport of course to the centre of the historic district down town. Coming from lovely, peaceful and quiet Modica, Catania is noisy, busy and full of life!
Filth
I also knew from prior reading that the city can be described as ‘grimy’. Well, I can confirm this. Catania is a very dirty city. Not only are the streets full of garbage and trash along the curbs, the buildings are blackened by years and years of exhaust, grime, dirt and dust.
It seems the only clean area I wandered, was the big tourist street of Via Etnea. Go two blocks off this magnificent street, and you will begin to see the real Catania.
Gorgeous
I have to say, the buildings in Catania are stunning! Wow, I had my phone up constantly trying to get pictures of the buildings. The architecture is so beautiful and everywhere you look, you will see beauty.
Yes, much of it is covered in blackening grime, but one can still appreciate the grandeur underneath.
Walkable
I find the sidewalks and streets really easy to navigate and walk along. The ground beneath my shoes is in good condition, not a lot of unevenness in the pavement. I am able to walk and look around instead of concentrating on where each step will land me.
Like most places in Italy, at a crosswalk, you make the first move to get the traffic to stop, and as soon as I stepped out, the cars indeed halted for me to cross.
I am only here for a few days, but I can’t wait to explore the city as much as I can in that time. Having no kitchen as I am in a hotel, means I will get to sample the local food as well. Look out Catania, here I come!
