Catania

We've been in Sicily for one week today. I'm not quite adjusted to the time change yet. Hopefully in a few days I'll be right as rain. I've heard that it can take one day for every hour change. Which is fine I've had jet lag before, but I now have to figure out what time change that is. Before leaving Jacksonville I went to Seattle for five days, then we went to Alaska for seven, and we only had three days in Jacksonville. What I'm basically saying is that I have no idea when I'll feel acclimated to the new time zone, but I sure hope it's soon.

We got our car today! Which means we will have the freedom and ability to travel around the island, and I suppose onto the mainland if we feel so inclined. We can't wait to explore Sicily and all it has to offer. There is so much history here, so much to see and do. We both feel so lucky to have this opportunity, to live here for three years. Our plan is to take total advantage of our time. Though I've said that about my study abroad programs in Siena, Italy and London before, and on each of those times I left feeling like there was so much more I wanted to do, and so much more I could have done.

This past weekend Nicole and Lew took us into Catania, the biggest city on this side of the island about 15 minutes from the base. They showed us around a bit. There is a huge fish market there, which is what the city is known for, as well as it's Duomo. We had granita which is a local specialty in Sicily, and more so in Catania. It's almost like a slushy or sherbet made with really fresh ingredients, often served with brioche. During the summer there are many more flavors because there is more fresh fruit available, I had pistachio and the others had lemon and blackberry.

We walked through another market, kind of like a flea market, but in the street. If you've never been to a market here in Italy it's hard to explain all it encompasses. There are stalls for everything! From dresses, to purses, to household goods, to deodorant, to bootleg DVD's, to underwear, to watches, to dishes, to, well you get the idea. The sellers are usually pretty aggressive and bartering is a way of life. This particular market was no different. There were over a hundred booths, zig-zagging through the streets. We walked through and left empty handed, but don't worry I'll go back.

We walked around a bit to explore the area, but we will take a 'field trip' here during the last week of our indoc class, so Nicole and Lew didn't want to ruin it for us. We enjoyed the city and will be happy to go back and tour through it later. As we walked through the fish market and the fruits and vegetables that line the outside ripe with eggplant and squash, I was imagining what I could make for dinner. What kind of new fish could we try? How might I prepare it? I can't wait to take some cooking classes here and learn about the local cuisine.

On our way back we took the long way home to explore some of the possible areas we'll check out to live. There are quite a few cities around the area, they are not geographically that far away, but with traffic commuting can sometimes be a problem. I have a dream place in my mind but doubt I'll be able to find anything like it. Sicily is very different from the areas of Italy I'm used to. Siena was a lovely city to inhabit, but I have to realize that each area is going to be different. Hopefully next week I'll be able to get out and check on some of the areas. I'll let you know how it goes. I wish that there was more I could do on my own, but there aren't many websites available, or I'm just too annoyed to put in all the time it takes to search through the websites.