To whom Sicily may concern
Upon my return to Kyiv, I have no regret that I visited Sicily, even though it didn't live up to our expectations which weren't as great as the people around me cherished. That trip had a purpose and it well served to satisfy birthday boy's whims.
To begin with, there were 4 flights within a week. Much to my chagrin, wizzair English failed to get better, still being a muttering rattle. Exactly the occasion when my Polish language proficiency exceeds English, lol. I found Katowice-Catania-Krakow-Kyiv a very tiresome experience: from an alcoholic start and irrepressible talk to losing my sneakers and getting lost in a volcano of snow. Who could have predicted that my swimwear would be of no use? Apparently, a person who has a habit of checking weather conditions in advance. I, on the other hand, presumed I'd bitch around on the beach, sipping Aperol cocktails and looking up at the cosa nostra sky. But the godfather corrupted the royal plans of walking in the sun and soured the liquids.
We haven't been to all renowned Sicilian places. Maybe a fortunate event as at first I was disgusted by Catanian street rubbish and a revolting smell of piddle. Public awareness of the problem doesn't even bother to act on behalf of common-sense regulations. While walking in the immediate vicinity of the city's downtown, one may encounter pizza slices, shabby pink umbrellas, an orange orange, and a wine glass in the park waiting to be replenished with rain.
Catania has plenty of restaurants to offer. However, we could not immeditely calm down the need to eat delicious lasagne or some exquisite Italian pizza. In fact, our efforts ended up in vain: Domino's is better, Sicily is not Italy. The latter perfectly depicts the iconic preservation of autonomy in its various perspectives.
I must admit that rubbish is confined to Catania area only. Syracuse, a former city-state in the southeast corner of Sicily, seems to be a powerful historic embodiment of a call girl. Tourists come and go. Buses run as per schedule. No-ticket-visitors aren't accepted. Fancy barbies are delivered by an exhausted Sicilian van driver to the bus stop where others are already filled with joy of the clattering glasses sound. Only we stay astray. Only we stay astray in view of having lost a return ticket.
First 2 days weather didn't promise a lot. We had the bare clothing necessities on us: 2 jackets and a pair of shorts for two. Sicilians though had a full pack: a hat, an overcoat, and a pair of jeans. No wonder we felt absolutely non-indigenous to the locals. Anyway, we managed to find an active friend. Etna received us well, having in mind we're the ones who typically survive 127 days of winter.
Tip: If you decide to travel by bus, be aware of bus schedule and prepare yourself beforehand. Bring warm clothes and 2 bottles of whiskey. No, no, you won't need Coke.
Upon our arrival to Mount Etna, I understood that shortly I would RIP my dear white sneakers. The realization was dawning that our outfits were a major disaster. So, we rented Zara "hot" jackets and boots. Well-equipped, we gave it a try and got quickly delivered by cable railway. To our surprise, people sat drinking every bullshit they could pick up in that cafe. "Why is everybody got to be entertained inside? Why nobody steps out for the active volcano?" Of course, we are go-getters and don't waste a chance to please the adventurous spirits of ours. We went further up. None of the tourists lagging behind were following us. At some point, we agreed to go back to that bullshit place. So we did. Yet we got lost and were wandering in multiple directions for about an hour. We had 2 litres of water, hope, and disappointment to never see the ninth Game of Thrones season. Now that you read these lines, I'm alive, succeeded to be back to Catania, taste their warmed-up lasagne and walk in the rain.
Warning: Do not execute consciousness of being different if snow-cluttered!
Sicily is definitely a nice place to visit. Nevertheless, Sicily doesn't knock your socks off. We even maneuvered to have brought few pairs of them home.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained :)
