Today we went to Zingaro National Park and walked along the beaches and went into the museum of Natural history. The museum was small, but there was a small display of animals, and some topographical maps. After the museum I hiked the trail with Megan, Elyssa, and Ilene, and we stopped at a small rocky beach. Part of me wanted to swim but the rocks hurt my feet so I decided to stay on shore and work on some watercolors and take pictures. When they got back we ate lunch, and we found both jellyfish and an eel-like thing. When we saw them, we all got excited and decided to catch them in a plastic bag and look at them. Of course, once we were finished we put them back in the water.
Friday, October 3rd
Today was the day that we traveled from Palermo to Catania. It was a long
drive, but when we were about half way we stopped at the Piazza Armerina to
look at the mosiacs. The Piazza Armerina was one of my favorites so far, and I
could have spent days in there looking at and studying all the mosaics. It's
amazing how much time and effort must have gone into them! I tried to read most
of the signs, but a big part of me still wants to learn more about how they
were made, and all the stories behind them. After we finished at the piazza, we
began our travels to Catania. It was a couple more hours, but once we got here
it was worth it! Catania is a lot nicer than Palermo, and it seems cleaner and
not quite so run down. The motel is also really nice, and while the internet
doesn't work well, the rooms are really big (and they have balconies!). For dinner
we went to this one restaurant, and I had tortellini's with cream and
prosciutto. It was amazing there, and I'll definitely be coming back!Saturday, October 4th
Today we went to the Greek theater, the ear of Dionysus, and the archeology
museum. First we went to the Greek theater, and we got to walk up to the top to
look around, and to look through the necropolis. Next, we spent a couple of
hours at the museum of archeology, and I really enjoyed looking at the
different pieces that were sorted by date and period that they were made. At
first I spent quite a bit of time looking around the museum, reading signs, and
taking pictures, but after I toured the entire museum, I decided to follow
everyone else around and try to learn as much as I could about the different
containers, and how to estimate what time periods different pieces were made
in. Sunday, October 5th
Today we traveled to Taormina, and I think this is my favorite place so far!
First we went to the Greek and Roman theater, and it was beautiful. It was on
top of a very high hill and it overlooked the ocean most of the way around. At
the top of the steps, you could see out over the top of the ruins of the
theater (which is still in use today) and see the ocean. There were also a few
quiet spots behind the theater that you can look out and view the ocean too.
After we learned about the theater, I picked a nice spot at the top and worked
on a watercolor. I probably spent about two hours on it, and once I started I didn't want to finish until it looked somewhat decent. When I was done, I
traveled around Taormina and looked in different shops. I found this really
upscale art store, and it inspired me (and made me wish I had a lot of money to
buy some of those paintings!). I also found a really nice garden (which was out
of the way, but it was absolutely amazing), and I enjoyed the peace and quiet
while I walked around. It was a large garden, and I'm sure that I didn't see
the whole thing, but there were towers there, and several small ponds, and lots
of flowers.Monday, October 6th
Today was our last day in Catania, and while I'm kind of sad to leave this
place I'm excited to head to Rome. I slept in a little while, and then when I finally woke up I traveled to the fish market. I enjoyed it,and I thought that it
was cool how all sorts of people can set up shop and sell their fish, meat, and
produce. A couple of places even had full lambs (I think they were lambs, but I'm not quite
sure what they were) hanging up so people could buy them. At one point, one of the vendors pulled Michaela aside to take a picture with her. When we were
done at the fish market we headed to the bus stop, but as it turns out we ended
up at the wrong place. We saw the bus starting to drive by, and we flagged it
down. Thankfully they let us on, but Mark and Micheal stayed back to try and
figure out where we were before our flight left. I felt so bad! Once we got to
the airport we were finally able to get a hold of them, and we all made it
there in time for the flight. It was a crazy day, and once we finally got to
Rome we were tired (but we still had enough energy to eat at this cute little
restaurant next to the hotel).
No comments:
Post a Comment