This weekend, our wonderful friends Maddie and Justin showed us around Catania. Catania, the most densely populated metro of Sicily, is also known as “the black city,” as it’s buildings have been dyed black as a result of ash and soot from volcano Mt. Etna over the centuries.
Naturally, I was so excited I neglected to bring my camera. So, iPhone photos will have to do for this trip.
Our first stop was at the archaeological area of the Theater and Odeon in Catania.
The theater was built in the first century A.D. (that’s somewhere between years 1 to 100 A.D. in case you were wondering) and seated approximately 1,500 of Sicily’s most elite.
It was actually built over at one time (with buildings) and was “discovered” in the eighteenth century. Subsequently, the buildings that covered the theater were removed in the twentieth century.
The Odeon was off to the side a bit, and was used for poetry, music, and rehearsals for the Theater. It was also once covered by houses that were later demolished.
Many apartment buildings and a church actually surround the Theatre.
It was quite a site to behold… and my first of many theaters!!
After exploring the Theater and Odeon, we headed to an adorable little cafe to grab a snack since we still had five hours or so before dinner.
Justin and Maddie took us to an amazing little pastry shop, Savia, in which we purchased sweet pastries (they also had savory ones).
After enjoying our pre-dinner snack, we headed back to their car, where we were greeted by the parking police. While you may have heard traffic here is crazy (if you haven’t heard, now you have – there are basically no rules), parking is strict. Luckily, Justin was able to talk to the attendant and she let us pay the meter, so no ticket was had!
p.s. McDonalds delivers here.
Next, Justin drove us to Aci Trezza to see the Cyclopean Isles. If you’re familiar with Greek mythology, these are the stones thrown at Odysseus in The Odyssey by the Cyclops.
Here, we stopped for a drink (which is served with a small board of food) and then drove to back to Catania for dinner. It was dark by this point, so I didn’t take too many photos. We plan to go back another day, so I will update this post then!
Once we got back to Catania, we explored the main square, Piazza del Duomo, and the city center. Here are two photos I managed to take: one of the old city (in which in new city is built on top of, as is the way here), and me on the smallest set of stairs E V E R. Okay, so I don’t really know if they were the smallest set of steps ever, but I had to get a photo just because.
After seeing the city at night, we had dinner at Alvicolo Pizza and Vino – where I had both pizza AND wine. Here is a photo of our pizza, and a snippet of the menu, in which you see the word “cavallo” in #39…
…meaning “horse”. We didn’t try that one yet, but maybe one day!
Ciao from I T A L Y!!
We are finally here!! It feels like forever since we started this whole process, but we made it.
Updates since my last blog post:
-We sold our dining room table
-We sold my car (in less than 5 days!)
-We sold our house (in less than a month)
-We packed up our luggage and all four of us hopped on a plane to Sicily.
Bye, Virginia Beach and 1812 (our lovely first home!!)
The night of our arrival, we were able to go straight into our new home thanks to our awesome sponsors (seriously, they are so awesome).
We LOVE our new home. It’s bright and beautiful and we can’t wait until all of our things arrive so we can fully furnish it. Right now, we are just using loaner furniture. Hopefully our car and household goods will be arriving in the next few months (IKR?!)
The kitchen, dining room, living room, and laundry room are all on one floor.
Upstairs holds three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
We also have closets that are too tall for us to reach (not ideal for shorties like me!!) And, two sets of French doors that open to our quaint little yard THAT HAS A LEMON TREE!!!
Oh, and a view of volcano Mt. Etna….
Overall, our digs ain’t too bad!! What do you think?
Well, this update is a bit overdue. I have been MIA for a bit ever since our big announcement, but that’s because I have been just a tiny bit busy. And, because I couldn’t figure out how to operate my laptop – but that’s neither here nor there.
We shipped our car a little more than two weeks ago (it feels like it’s been an eternity). I’m not sure if you’ve ever shipped a car overseas, but there are quite a few regulations you have to meet including: no leaks, no cracks in the windshield, no recalls, clean car inside and out (which was pretty difficult with all of the snow we were getting at that time), and less than a quarter tank of gas at the time of turn in. Long story short – don’t accidentally overfill your tank before shipping . Trying to get the gas out of a car is like watching a pot when you want it to boil. Three hours of me driving around town the morning of our appointment and somehow we made it happen! See ya in Italy, Mini Cooper.
The pack out for our home was this past week. It was a crazy time with three movers, two dogs, and us running around going “pack THIS, not THAT,” but somehow we managed to get it all done. Now we are left with a kitchen table (that we will eventually sell), an air mattress, and four luggages worth of stuff. With only less than two weeks left before the move, it’s starting to get real!! And, also a little bit stinky, because let’s be honest, I have very few clothing options!!
Here are some photos from the pack-out:
Yes, you read that right. We are moving!! And, what’s more, we are moving to ITALY!!
Making the decision to move out of the Virginia Beach area was a HUGE decision, as we have a home and steady jobs here. Moving out of the country, however, is maybe borderline crazy. But, we are SO excited for the adventure!
So, what does that mean for Mandalyn Renee Photography? Well, it will stay, but with an extra added element…a travel and living abroad aspect. The blog will slowly shift over the start of 2018 to more of a personal blog, incorporating both the move, travel, and photography. My husband will be joining in on more of the blogging action and it will become more of a joint venture.
We are SO excited to see what 2018 will bring. We hope you’ll stick around with us to see how it goes!! Make sure you subscribe for blog updates!!