Xenios Catania

I just checked out my 'stats' section and I'm quite pleased with my little blog and how much people are enjoying reading about my travels. I have over 20 5-star ratings and over 2,000 viewings. That is so incredibly awesome!<br><br>Apparently my photos are also not so bad. Travelpod has selected almost a dozen of them to be included in the daily ...

... kind of think I've perfected it. Anyway, in Italy, it does niente! An old man at the railway station stared at me the entire way I walked toward him and I could feel his eyes on me the entire time I walked away. When I realized that I couldn't get out where I thought I could (this trip really is exposing my unknown flaw of a horrible sense of direction) he watched me walk the entire way back. And he wasn't a dirty, old man. He was just a grampa. Just an old guy. But that's the Italian way ...

... Mount Etna. <br>Among shops, pubs, restaurants, coffee bars, pubs, discos, game rooms, <br>parks, banks, you can appreciate the many buildings and places: Piazza <br>University <br>and Palazzo San Giuliano, the Collegiate Church, the Church of the Child, Piazza <br>Stesicoro, Villa Bellini and Piazza Cavour, also known as "the village". <br><br>The B &amp; B Hotel Alba is 50 meters from the lively and ...

... condizionata, tutte le comodità per<br>trascorrere durante la permanenza gradevoli e rilassanti momenti,<br>all'interno del cuore di Catania, le nostre stanze, curate nei minimi<br>particolari, rendono perfettamente il nostro concetto di ospitalità,<br>dove pulizia e accuratezza permettono una piacevole permanenza, ed è<br>questo a renderci tra i migliori B&amp;B di questa stupenda città.

... in the 1669 eruption in which nearly 12 000 people lost their lives. It is not a brilliant black it kind of gives the city a dirty look. <br><br>Our early morning tour of Catania started with 'La Pescheria' (fish market), followed by the chaos of the produce market were we brought fresh fruit and some amazing panini, bread stuffed with tomato, mozzarella and a spicy olive paste. From there we headed up to the Castello Ursino and some Roman ruins (something ...

... br><br><br><br>Sobald der markt zu ende ist, wir aller abfall auf den boden geschmissen..ein wirrwarr von karton,papier, essensresten, schimmligen früchten/gemüse und vorallem berge von ausgenommenen fleischknochen, wo sich dann allerlei insekten und strassenhunde verköstigen&#8230;und in der brütenden sonne stinkt es gehörig J<br><br>Andererseits etwas weiter weg dann der unglaublich weitläufige markt mit kleidern und allerlei ramsch&#8230;ein labyrinth von st ...

A lovely quaint very old area. Stayed in a lovely hotel with great attentive staff would recommend it to any couple looking for a romantic break or second honeymoon. Just off the main shopping street of Corso Umberto but found that the shopping was over priced so don't go expecting any bargains.

The people from Florence are described as "changeable and moody".<br><br>Mt. Etna is much the same.<br><br>Evolution of the volcano is described as:<br><br>&#8220;destructive periods, collapses, landslides and subsidences alternate with constructive periods (explosive, pyroclastic activity &amp; emission of lava).&#8221;<br><br>Much like us people. J<br><br>Italians ...

... time touring that city and its buildings as they were lit up. Saturday was the big day to meet the Chiolo family of Mazzarino, Sicily. We used the morning to see a bit more of Catania and buy some souvenirs. Lava rock, ceramics, and ancient soldier figurines are common gifts from Sicily. We also bought pastries to bring to our family and walked through a very chaotic open air food market (with many animal carcasses just hanging around ...

... soup, or something else nice, and today she has bought us each an octopus, which fills the plate (if I opened out the tentacles to their full length it would be more than 30cms wide). She boils it and it is cooked to perfection - soft to the bite and juicy and full of flavour. She also fries sardines, which I love, so with a salad and lemon and oil and bread you could not wish for a simpler or more enjoyable meal. In the early evening I meet Letizia and Angelo at the Greek ...