Sicilia

Last weekend I went to Sicily, an island in Southern Italy, with my study abroad program. We left on Thursday morning and took an hour and a half flight into Catania. Once we got there, we got settled into the hotel and went on a walking tour of the city. We saw the city center, the duomo, and il Monastero die Benedettini.

il Duomo di Sicilia

Touring the monastery was by far my favorite part of our tour (and frankly, of Catania in general). It is one of the largest monasteries in Europe and now houses the Department of Humanities of the University of Catania. The monastery is ornate and tragically beautiful. It was damaged many times because of eruptions from nearby Mount Etna, but hundreds of years later, the monastery still stands. It was strange to see rows of books and computers within the monastery. It was such a juxtaposition between ancient and modern.

Library in the monastery

I can't imagine going to school in such a historic place, but I like that in Italy, ancient buildings are given life and purpose. In America, similar historic buildings and monuments would be roped off and reserved for tour groups. However, in Italy, McDonald's is in the middle of a historic piazza with a roof built hundreds of years ago, track meets are held in beautiful arenas made of stone, and people hang out at night among ancient columns as casually as we would hang out at a park. Sometimes I need to stop myself to think "Wow, I'm in Italy right now sitting on the steps of the Duomo." Italians appreciate their beautiful city by experiencing it everywhere they go, not just reserving chapters of textbooks and a few field trips a year to appreciate their culture and history.
The next day we went to Taormina, a city on the coast of Sicily. It was beautiful and we got to see the Teatro Greco (Greek theater). We didn't spend much as much time there as I would have liked, but afterwards we got lunch and relaxed at a beach for the rest of the day. I forgot to bring my bikini so I laid on the sand and sipped wine--no complaints here!

Taormina

Teatro Greco

 The next (and last day) in Sicily we took a two hour bus ride to Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe and the reason why Sicily has been rebuilt many times over the last century. I can't tell you how many times people asked me if I felt like I was back home in Hawaii...eventually I just started saying yes.

The "hike" we did was really just a trail with lots of small, gravelly rocks and lots of wind. It's cool to say that I've been there, but there wasn't really anything spectacular. In fact, seeing the volcanoes in Hawaii is actually much cooler.
Speaking of cool, the weather in Sicily was unbearably hot. The temperature throughout our time there was in the high 80's and low 90's, which wouldn't be bad except for the 90% humidity. As soon as we left the hotel, we were immediately sweating.
Overall, my favorite part of Sicily was the food. It was flavorful and unlike any other Italian food I've had before. There were lots of vegetable dishes and a dish called arancini, which is a rice ball (usually in a ragu meat sauce) covered in breadcrumbs and fried. Other than the food, Sicily was not my favorite place. The weather was unbearable, the streets of Catania were smelly and dirty, and the people weren't the most friendly. Taormina was beautiful, but I would've wanted to stay in another Sicilian city other than Catania. Even though it wasn't my ideal destination, I'm glad I was able to travel there and see the differences between Northern and Southern Italy.
Here's a short video summary of Sicily. I wish I had more footage, but I forgot to charge my go pro so it was dead when we went hiking on Mount Etna.

ciao! xx