Part 9: Catania

October 29. 2010
This being one of our last days in Sicily, D had offered to take us into town to do some shopping and such.  The plan was to head into Motta, but after we piled into the car and got on the road, Sam noticed the plan had changed.  D was braving driving into Catania so that we could see a few other sites and shop  (We were going to go to Catania the next morning with B, but it would have been quite a rushed trip.

We got into town with no incident, and only had to do a little driving around to find parking.  We walked to the fresh fish market.  It was madness.  There were fish, shrimp, snails and all sorts of other edible sea creatures.  This lead into the meat and produce market.  The place was absolutely bustling.  Vendors were showing off their goods, yelling out prices and trying to get everyone's attention.

The market was right next to Elephant Square, a large open area next to the cathedral, with a large elephant statue in the middle.  Sitting at the base of the statue, there was a gentleman, playing the Godfather themem on his accordion.  We were going to explore the cathedral, but there was a service going on, so we walked across the square to the pastry shop (which had been a goal for the day).  Sam got a granita and I, a delicious-looking pastry piled with whipped cream, which I saved for later.   We continued walking through the market, where we stopped by a tiny bread shop (dear lord!  Did we ever stop eating on this trip??).  We got a small loaf of crusty bread, a ring topped with sesame seeds, and a variety of rolls.  The whole lot cost us 2.55 Euro (about $3-4).  I felt like we made out like bandits.

As soon as we walked out of the shop, I tore into the bag of bready goodness (I assure you, I will never go on a low-carb diet).  Some of the rolls were still warm!  I took a bite of roll, and I'm pretty sure I heard music...perhaps heavenly choirs from above?  This roll was soooo good, I accidentally stabbed Sam in the mouth trying to give him a bite.  So we walked the streets of Catania, exploring, taking pictures and eating bread like the starving orphans in Aladdin.  The other rolls we got were, in my opinion, even better than the first ones.  (To this day, if Sam wants to instantly distract me and put me in a great mood, he tells me to think about the bread we ate in Catania.)

We stopped by a coffee shop, where we managed to order and pay for our capuccinos entirely in Italian.  Woo!!  We made it back to Elephant Square, and the service at the cathedral was over, so we went inside to look around and take pictures.  After the cathedral, D informed us that we didn't have much time left before we had to head home.  She was babysitting her friend's son that afternoon.  So, Sam and I went into one of the shops and started picking out souvenirs and gifts for people on our list.  D had opted to stay outside with G; too many breakable objects in the store for her comfort.  When we emerged from the shop, she presented us each with a chocolate bar (citrus for me, pepper for Sam), and we walked to the car.

On the way home, we stopped at the base, where our hostess need to drop something off, and we all needed to get some cash for that evening.  (I had attempted to do this earlier, but was not paying enough attention and ended up getting the wrong currency.)  We rushed home soon after, and Corbin (the baby - just a couple of months younger than G - that D was babysitting) showed up soon after.  It was an afternoon full of babies sleeping, eating, playing and (assisted) walking.  In my case, there was also pastry consumption.  I wanted to share my dessert with Sam, but we quickly discovered that it was soaked in alcohol (likely rum) and, therefore, off-limits to Sam.  Speaking of food, lunch on this day consisted of yummy, yummy bread and the past we had made at our cooking class the day before.  Unfortunately, the noodle had stuck together during storage, but were still very tasty.  In conclusion, our first pasta-making experience had been mostly a success.

Eventually, B came home, Corbin left, and D recruited help to make preparations for G's birthday party the next day.  Come to think of it, some of this started during G's nap a little earlier.  I was on coleslaw duty, as well as beans.  The guys were sent to the store.  When they got back, duties were reassigned, and somehow, I ended up being the one to feed G his dinner, which was totally fine by me.  When that was done, B and D gave him his bath and put him to bed.  Mary (whom we had met at the cooking class and was a good friend of D's) came over with her family to babysit.  The rest of us had big plans that night.  It was finally agriturismo time!

We drove over to the place, buzzed in at the gate and pulled into a completely dark and empty parking area.  The kind gentleman in charge of the establishment led us into an empty reception room.  Somehow, with his lack of English and our lack of Italian, we figured out there had been a miscommunication.  We thought we had reservations for that evening, but it turned out, they were closed.  The poor frazzled man tried desperately to get us to reschedule, but we had to be on our way.  D tried calling the other agriturismos they had been to before, but they could not fit us in that night.

We ended up driving to Motta to have dinner at Donna Fortuna, a restaurant the R's enjoy.  The meal started out with the most welcoming staff in the universe.  When we got to our table, we were served a champagne-like cocktail.  The guys, thinking they were hilarious, started pushing all the glasses toward me, a la mango liqueur in Germany.  Their plan was foiled, however, because D was partaking in drinks this time.  We had two glasses each of the light, refreshing beverage.

B, feeling particularly American, ordered his favorite - pizza with hot dogs and fries - and a Coke.  D had grilled swordfish (very good), Sam had penne with four cheeses (super good), and I had tortellini, served with peas, peppers and mushrooms (delicious!).  Let's not forget, there was fresh bread served with dinner.

When we were done (and trust me, every morsel was eaten), even though we were all quite full, we went for gelato.  Don't judge!  We were only a few doors down from the gelateria from the day before.  It would have been silly not to go.  This time, I had peach and hazelnut.  Another yummy excursion!  And so, another day in Sicily came to a close.