The last 2 days of INDOC (our orientation to life in Sicily) included a couple trips to the largest city near the base: Catania. We’d read about the famous Catania fish market before we arrived in Sicily, and it did not disappoint!
Fresh swordfish, anyone? We ate swordfish fillets later that day for lunch during a five-course Italian meal that the INDOC coordinators organized for our group. One of the Italian group leaders described it as “the chicken of the sea” because it’s a fairly bland fish, excellent with many seasonings. Italians eat a lot of it after grilling it with olive oil and lemon.
Little Lena seemed indifferent to the sounds, sights, and smells. We’ll give her a couple years to develop a love for it. Hopefully she’ll love seafood one day as much as we do.
The next day we took a trip to the beach in Catania. The INDOC coordinators took us to one of the sandy beach “lidos” where you pay an entrance fee for a couple beach chairs and an umbrella.
Next time we might try the rocky beaches of Catania. The volcanic rock of Sicily cleans the water until it’s crystal-clear and irresistible, perfect for swimming and snorkeling.
I remember being at a beach there when we were at Sigonella back in 1959. All of a sudden people started screaming and running out of the water: Zillions of jellyfish had come in toward the shore..