Catania at night (and sunset)

Who would have thought, that we would find such a distinctive nightlife in Catania?! We spent hours roaming the streets of various cities at night and even in Rome you really have to have some insider information to find some good locations. But that's different in Catania and it wasn't difficult at all. Beforehand we were warned by different people, that Catania is known for their criminality and therefore we were a bit insecure at first to walk around at night, but that changed quickly and we almost felt saver than in some german cities at the same time of day. The first place we found accidentally after our visit at the museum at Castello Ursino,when we walked back towards the Piazza Duomo. There, near the fishmarket are not only many restaurants, but also some bars and we found some places where you can just join groups of people, who meet in front of those. After a beer or two and some take away fried fish, we then decided to climb up to the dome of the cathedral and enjoyed the view over the illuminated city. After that, we just followed some groups of younger people, who looked like they were ready to go out and they led us to Via Bellini, a street lined with bars and pubs. Even on our way back to the hotel we were super surprised, because we headed into some small, seemingly plain side streets and then right around the corner we ran into groups of people a few times, who gathered in front of some location. So I can't say Catania is missing some nightlife at all.

Catania - Museo Civico Castello Ursino

After walking around the historical center of Catania for a couple of hours, it was already late afternoon and we decided to still visit the Civic Museum at the Castello Ursino, which was also on my Tripadvisor list and nearby. The Museum is situated in the 13th century castle Ursino, which was built for Emperor Frederick II, King of Sicily. At the museum on display are diverse exibits from the castle itself, but mainly from Catania and its surroundings and from artists, who were born in the city, which date back to ancient times. Unfortunatelly the museum seems a bit chaotic or even improvised and there was a lack of information boards in english and in general a main theme. Nevertheless there is a colourful mix of artefacts and you won't get bored. My highlights were some paintings by some local artists for example L'effetto dell'hashish (1875) by Pasquale Liotta or Head of mad Ophelia by Michele Rapisardi.

Nachdem wir durch die Altstadt gewandert waren und es schon später Nachmittag war, entschieden wir uns dann noch in ein Museum zu gehen, was auf meiner Tripadvisor-Liste stand. Da das Museum auch bis 19 Uhr geöffnet war, passte dies perfekt. Das Museum befindet sich im Castello Ursino, welches im Auftrag Kaiser Friedrichs II. im 13. Jahrhundert erbaut wurde. In dem Museum befinden sich diverse Artefakte aus Catania und Umgebung, die bis zurück in die Antike reichen. Leider erscheint das Museum teilweise improvisiert und mir fehlten Erklärungen zu den Ausstellungsstücken und im allgemeinen ein roter Faden. Trotzdem entsteht ein buntes Allerlei und es gibt es einiges Interessantes zu sehen. Meine Highlights waren die Gemälde einiger aus Catania stammender Maler wie z.B. L'effetto dell'hashish (1875) von Pasquale Liotta oder Head of mad Ophelia von Michele Rapisardi.

Outfits - Catania Day1

Technically I ought to show some autumn clothes like normal people, but since we are still in Catania virtually, there is no way of doing that.;) And fortunatelly we had a nice late summer weekend with 26 degrees here in Germany, so this blogpost doesn't seem too ridiculous and out of context. And in one way or another, summer is my favorite season. I just don't like wearing layers of clothes, cause they make me feel constricted and not as light and free when wearing sandals and shorts. And speaking of shorts, my favorite new fashion find is definitely the skort. In fact they are shorts, but look like a skirt from the front. Super practical, if you like the look of a skirt, but want to move normally without too much caution. By the way, here I am wearing one from Stradivarius and a Tshirt by Pull&Bear. Tim is wearing a David Bowie shirt from Asos (which my sister and I are super jealous of) and some shorts by H&M.

Catania - First Impressions

So after one week in Puglia, we packed our bags again und travelled to our next destination, Sicily. We wouldn't have chosen that destination on our own, because we didn't associate much with Sicily and weren't that interested in exploring that part of Italy, but since my parents were also on holiday on the island at that time, we decided to meet there and then travel back to Germany together. So we travelled to Catania first and then wanted to go by train to their holiday resort near Palermo.

For our first day in Catania I didn't have a specific sight in mind. We booked an hotel right in the city center and just wanted see the neighboorhood and historic heart of the city.

I think it is so much fun strolling around, exploring new territories  and not having that pressure of time. And our first impressions were so different from what we expected. We thought it would be similar to Naples, but that was wrong. The streets are super neat, as well as the many large squares, lined with pretty, historic houses and baroque churches and palaces. Nothing what you think of when hearing the name 'Catania'.

Outfits - Late Summer Evening (His & Her)

In late summer it could be more than 30 degrees at daytime, but can also be a little chilly at night. So you can already start to get used to wearing long clothes again. Even if you don't want to. I love to wear boyfriend jeans, because they are loosely fitted and you don't feel too "dressed". And if it gets warm anyhow, your pants don't get too clingy. Also the one-sleeve-trend is perfect for a late summer evening. Tim's favorite long trousers for the summer evenings became cargo pants and these dark beige coloured safari style ones couldn't be more summery.

Gallipoli again

New evening, new luck. And again in Gallipoli. But if you just want to stroll around, this city is super nice, because you can choose from so many restaurants and bars, you will always find a nice place to eat. And afterwards you can also do a little souvenier shopping and enoy the sea air.When we are by the sea, we always use the opportunity to eat a lot of seafood, as we did that evening too. And because there is also an ice cream parlor, which is open all night long, we took a dessert too.

Neuer Abend, neues Glück. Und wieder in Gallipoli. Aber das Städtchen ist schon ganz nett, mit einigen Restaurants, Bars und Geschäften. Also wenn man nur gechilled durch die Straßen laufen möchte, ist dies immer eine Option. Wenn man am Meer ist muss man es natürlich auch ausnutzen und so oft wie möglich frischen Fisch essen, was mir auch zuerst getan haben. Und da es eine Eiscafe gibt, die sogar bis mitten in die Nacht auf hat, dufte ein Nachtisch natürlich auch nicht fehlen.

They didn't know what to do ...

... so they walked around and took some outfitphotos by the beach. 

When you travel at the end of summer, it may not be as busy and packed with tourist, so you can enjoy everything so much more and don't always have to wait an hour to get ,for example, an icecream. On the other hand, you don't have parties or festivals each day. But we don't have the energy to party every night anyways.;) But even if you just go to a restaurant or just walk around aimlessly and just get a Crêpe, it is always fun to dress up every evening while on holidays.

 ... sind wir herumspaziert und haben ein paar Outfitfotosgemacht.

Wenn man am Ende des Sommers verreist, sind die Städte nicht mehr so vollgestopft mit Touristen, so dass man nicht mehr eine Stunde für ein Eis anstehen muss. Andererseits gibt es auch nicht mehr jeden Tag Veranstaltungen, so dass man sich manchmal mit einem Restaurantbesuch zufrieden geben muss. Trotzdem gehört es für mich im Urlaub einfach dazu, mich jeden Abend aufzubrezeln, auch wenn man wie wir an dem Abend einfach nur zum Crêpestand geht und dann am Strand ein paar Fotos macht.