After the class, we freshened up and then with Elisa’s help, we made the Sicilian specialty “pasta alla norma” – made with egg plant, onion and tomato based sauce and served with fresh ricotta cheese – it was such an easy, simple and delicious meal to make!
Another night, we went to Trattoria del Cavaliere – a typical Sicilian restaurant to try some authentic food. The red wine was flowing and we tried many different dishes including horse meat! It is a specialty in Sicily and was very lean and quite flavoursome. For the entree, we had a mix of vegetables, parmigiana, eggplant with cheese, bread crumbed zucchini etc. which was good! Emily and I shared a seafood linguine with prawns, octopus, mussels which was so delicious and for dessert, we shared a lemon sorbet with mulberry. Much recommended place to go for authentic food and good prices!
 |
| Pasta Alla Norma with Aperol Spritz – amazing first night dinner! |
 |
| Elisa’s homemade limoncello – to die for! |
 |
| Meat platter with the Sicilian specialty – horse meat |
Mount Etna
We took the bus to the base and we explored the area. We took the Schiena Dell’Asino trail up. There was a good incline but the walk wasn’t too straining at all. Unfortunately the weather was rainy, windy and foggy so it was advised that it was too dangerous to go up to the top of the active volcano if you didn’t know the route. We reached a point where we couldn’t go any further but it was still beautiful up there.
 |
| Mount Etna |
 |
Hike up to Mount Etna
 |
| Mount Etna |
 |
| Emily & I at Etna |
|
We made our way to Lipari which is one of the largest islands in the Aeolian islands (Isole Eioli). It was quite an effort to go from Catania and probably wasn’t worth it (time and cost wise) for a day and night. Regardless it was a beautiful little island and we got to enjoy the beach and sea.
However, the nightlife is lacking here so if you want to party, this is not the place for you. Regardless, we found a couple of bars to have aperol spritz and enjoyed the warm weather and atmosphere.
It would be great to come back here and do island hopping to the nearby islands such as Stromboli, Vulcano etc.
 |
| Lipari |
 |
| Canneto |
 |
| Laneways of Lipari |
 |
| Enjoying the view |
Taormina
We made our way to Taormina after far too many modes of transport – ferry, train, bus. We stayed at Hostel Taormina (much recommended) and the hostel balcony was stunning! We walked down to Isola Bella and the walk down the stairs was stunning. We hung out by the beach for hours which was fun and relaxing. We had amazing seafood dinners and explored the city including visiting the many squares, parks and Teatro Greco which had an amazing seaside view! Definitely a must go place when in Sicily!
 |
| View from our hostel balcony |
 |
| Amazing seafood pastas – had so much of this! |
Day In, Day Out 