• TravelWithaCouple Unny Bindhu Catania Market , Sicily, Italy
    Cityscapes - Places

    MarketWatch: The Catania Market, Sicily, Italy

    May 17, 2015 - By 

    Catania is the gateway to Sicily as it has one of the international airports in Sicily. Our final destination was Taormina, which is about 55 kms from Catania. However we managed some time to explore the Catania market during our 3-4 day stay in Taormina. This is unlike any other market we visited earlier. We did not buy anything at all, let alone touch a single item on sale, walking and watching the wares (dead and alive) was fun. Here’s a walk through the clean and odourless fish market in Catania. Adjacent lanes have shops that sell groceries, vegetables, and…

  • Greek Theatre Syracuse Italy
    Heritage - History - Places

    Syracuse: 2700 Years of History & Heritage

    February 14, 2014 - By 

    Four hours cannot do justice to 2,700 years of history for sure. One evening. That’s all we could spend in the historical city of Syracuse (or Siracusa) in Sicily, Italy, where Archimedes was born. The massive Greek Theatre, several palazzos and churches, and the Maniace Castle (Castello Maniace) in Syracuse represent the best of Greek, Roman, and Baroque architecture. The city’s architectural monuments have stood the test of time, surviving two earth quakes in 1542 and 1693 and bombings during the Second World War. Syracuse was bestowed a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2005. In the few hours we had…

  • Circumetnea: Around Mount Etna, Sicily, Italy
    Places

    Circumetnea: Around Mount Etna

    October 12, 2013 - By 

    The little train chugs along the slopes of Mount Etna, one of the active volcanoes in Sicily, Italy. Passing quaint villages, you are treated to beautiful sights of orchards and vineyards flourishing in the fertile volcanic soil. As you climb up, it’s the grim site of black, hardened lava. But you can’t ignore the stark, somewhat frightening beauty of the terrain. Ferrovia Circumetnea (FCE) is a narrow-gauge railway line in the outskirts of Catania, Sicily. Starting from Borgo and ending in Riposto, it almost encircles the volcano Etna. Armed with Lonely Planet – Italy and a couple of words of…

  • Heritage - History - Places

    Traipsing Around Taormina

    July 15, 2012 - By 

    A building at the top of a hill by the coast of Ionian sea. Sitting on its balcony or verandah, the likes of D H Lawrence, Guy de Maupassant, John Steinbeck, and Francis Ford Coppola would have delighted in the sight of the mesmerizing blue sea below. For, this air seemed to have refreshed many a creative souls. And, it is not surprising. After taking over the control of this small town in 200 B.C., the Romans seem to have discovered its quaint beauty and made this a holiday destination. Taormina is a small town in coastal Sicily. Being ruled…

  • Food - Heritage - History - Hotels - Places

    Ragusa – Welcome to Sicily

    December 11, 2011 - By 

    An old Italian lady who speaks only Italian, a young Italian settled in Switzerland who could speak English and an Indian couple.  All in a small town in Sicily, at an almost-deserted bus terminus. A rain-drenched evening that welcomed darkness without embracing twilight. We started experiencing the warmth of Italian hospitality right after we got down at the upper Ragusa bus terminal. We had booked a hotel at Ragusa Ibla, the old city. The untimely rain meant we had to find shelter in a small shed at the terminal. We asked a lady for directions to the hotel but she…