Aug 27, 2005 - Catania, Sicilia

I feel like this entry should be entitled, "Jessica learns to use the train system." I was supposed to take a train to Naples, then switch to an overnight train in Naples to get to Sicilia. Seems simple enough, right? Well, it would have been except I had only 30 minutes to change trains, we were15 minutes late to Naples, and, as it turned out, I not only had to change trains, but change train STATIONS in Naples. I finally made it, however, to Catania around 7:30 am. A large portion of the city was built using lava and volcanic ash from the...

Nov 20, 2004 - Catania, Sicily

One train change in the middle of Sicily got me to Catania. It's one of the bigger cities and is a transport hub for eastern Sicily. I decided against going to Malta even though the farther south I went, the better the weather got. I was anxious to go east and get into Greece. I found a hotel near the city center, called i Vespri, about a 15 min. walk from the station. I passed by a parking lot Christmas (already?) store temporarily set up. They had a larger than life-size robotic Santa that was singing that old novelty song, 'OO EE OO AH...