Days 40 – 41.
Sunday May 26th 2024 Fiumenaro Sicily.
This campsite is in such a great spot we just had to stay another day. Once again we did nothing apart from beach walks for Meg and lazing in the sun while she dug big holes in the sand.
She is so cute, when either of us is going into the sea, I think she feels she has to come and save us. She won’t go back to shore unless we are coming with her 
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Day 41. Monday 27th May 2024. Fiumenaro to Catania, Sicily.
Sadly we had to say goodbye to Andreas and his lovely campsite. Our aim was to get to Noto, a small hill town said to be the best of all the Baroque towns on Sicily.
Once we set off we realised that it was over 4 hours drive away and not wanting to waste the day, we decided, instead, to stop at Catania.
Catania is a port city and has an old town in the centre. The Aire we wanted to use doesn’t open until June 1st, like a lot of places here we have found. So as we were looking for somewhere else, a young German man ran up to me (I was chancing our luck by trying the gate of the Aire) and told me there was another parking area further down the road.
I thought I recognised him, and as his wife and babies caught up with him, we realised they were on the same campsite as us this weekend 
. So friendly 
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We drove back around and found the parking area. There was a chap who directed us to a spot next door to the German camper. He said we could stay all day for €10, so I asked if we could stay for 24 hrs – via Google translate – and yes, that was possible.
Brilliant. We were under a tree so we had some shade and the town was approx 30mins walk away. The walk took us along the port road. As to be expected it was scruffy and there were a lot of abandoned buildings along the route.
As there was a lot of broken glass about we had to keep a watchful eye on where Meg was walking.
Finally we reached the old town via the famous fish market. The market was finished for the day and most of the fishmongers had packed up and gone. Walking through the market you are led to cobbled streets lined with fish restaurants, selling today’s catch and more. Above the canopies umbrellas and ticker tape was blowing in the breeze, very pretty.
It was late in the afternoon so we chose a restaurant purely because they had a free table in the shade and ordered lunch. Gareth had aubergine stuffed ravioli with a swordfish sauce and I had Diaviola (spicy) pizza. We shared a tomato, red onion and black olive salad 
. Some of the pizza came home with us as it was very filling, also a little of the ravioli for Meg’s treat later.
After lunch we wandered past the main attractions. The buildings are Baroque, with big doorways and windows. So pretty. There are lots of churches, standing tall and commanding their spot in the city centre.
They have a thing about elephants here, there’s an elephant square with an elephant fountain in the middle. Apparently Catania is known as Elephant city, due to the legend of a dwarfed elephant that protected the city from other animals.
Another name for Catania is the Black City, as the buildings were blackened by soot and ash from Mount Etna erupting.
We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of beautiful buildings in such a small area. Most of the old towns main attractions are clean and cared for. But, step off the main drag and you’ll be disappointed in the scruffy and dirty side streets. Evidently, these streets were once grandiose and glorious. Now, they aren’t 
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Don’t let that put you off though. Catania is buzzing. It’s a very busy place whichever path you take and has a magnificent beach!
On our return to the van, we explored the beach. Wow 
we weren’t expecting that. There are 9 rows of beach huts on the beach where we were, and still there is a lot of space before you get to the sea.
Red flags were up, I’m not sure why other than there were no lifeguards at the lifeguard stations. From the beach you can see the port with container ships and car ferries moving about. You also get to be a plane spotter as the airport is practically next door and the flight path comes out to sea over the beach.
Today there was a lot of green seaweed on the tide, not sure if that’s a constant or just a one off. As it was, we didn’t let Meg off of her lead, she’d try and hoover it all up 
, but she still had a fab time burying her stick and then digging it out again – covering yours truly and Gareth in sand….again 
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Back now at the van, not the best overnight stop but saves driving late in the day. We have popped the ‘beware of the dog’ notices in the windows and hope for a good night’s sleep
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