Catania believe it? We are in Sicily.

Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean, lies just off Italy’s mainland. Sicily has been enriched by classical cultures including the Romans, Greeks, North Africans, Normans and Franks to name a few. We look forward to enjoying the plethora of architecture, art and most importantly, the food. Our visit will include an incredible hike (Magna Via Francigena) which crosses from Palermo on the north shore to Agrigento on the southern coast, a pistachio festival in Bronte, and a wedding in Taormina (packing was a challenge).After a long day of travel, we arrived in the port city of Catania. This is not a picture perfect city; it has a gritty working vibe. The overcast skies hid a view of Mt. Etna and did not highlight the few buildings of historic note. We did, however, find a terrific trattoria and tried both a catanese (potato and mozzarella) and a pistachio arancinu, (deep fried rice balls the size of softballs). They are served warm and you do not use utensils to eat them. Our drink, a cafe freddo, was like an espresso Italian ice and it was delicious, too. Unfortunately, this left no room for cannoli.We will pace ourselves for more Sicilian food deliciousness tomorrow. This is just a quick stop for us. We head to Palermo for the next few days to explore before we begin our hiking adventure.