LisaKinVA Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 We left the house a 5am to take a 730 flight to Catania, Sicily. Took the bus to the train station, grabbed a freshly made crepe filled with Nutella, and walked around...stumbling upon a cinema museum, and a WWII museum. The outdoor bunker area reminded us of point du hoc in Normandy (the Catania train station is on the coastline). Eventually, we took the train to Acireale (pronounced A-chee-Ray-a-lay), where our host picked us up to take us to our apartment for the night...steps away from the huge Carnivale festival. Carnivale in Italy makes Halloween look silly by comparison. The costumes range from simple masks to fully decked out amazing costumes, there was a huge parade, and carnival food. I discovered, to my delight, that my Italian is improving dramatically. I am now able to have short conversations in Italian. I also discovered the rudest ticket person I have ever met. Perhaps that's their secret to getting people to use the kiosk. Our host, here, is both an engineer and an architect, but can't find work. His mother taught Italian literature. They rent out rooms in their house because of it. There is a bookcase filled with Italian literature texts and anthologies in the bathroom. Our host has said only tourists are keeping the economy going. There is no work. Immigration has hurt the area greatly. And taxes take all of the money. His son hates it here. It's a bit depressing. Tomorrow, the kids swim at Divisionals, after which, we fly home to Naples. Buonanotte mi amici! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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