Well, yesterday we finally felt well enough to have our first full day of sightseeing, and Allen promised he would write the blog post.   He did, but it's on his computer, which now has to be taken to an internet point to upload, so you'll all have to wait with baited breath!

We've heard all your tales of blistering cold and gale-force winds so we hope you'll feel a little better knowing it has been overcast and drizzly the whole time we've been in Italy, save for 1 day in Rome and 1 day here.  But it's in the 50s,  so not bad enough to prevent us from doing things.  The biggest obstacle (after getting rid of our colds) is really the daily schedule.  You see, things are pretty regimented in Sicily.  Stores and tourist attractions are ONLY open from 9-12 and then about 4:30-7:00.  From 12 to 4:30, the only thing that is open is restaurants.  They definitely have taken the siesta concept to extremes over here! Thankfully, there is a new law in Italy prohibiting smoking in restaurants, but they don't seem to enforce it much around here.  In one place the owner and all the waiters were smoking (cigarettes hanging out of their mouths while carrying food around!!!) and in today's osteria, there were ashtrays on all the tables!  No chance of getting dinner before 8 pm, so our whole day is restructured to accommodate the meals.  But today we had a great find: something called arancino, so called because it looks kind of like an arancia (orange).  It's a deep-fried ball of risotto, filled with meat or fish or whatever you want.  They have them at all the little bars, which are open most of the time (bars and tobacco stores are the only thing you can count on!) and they only cost about $2 each.  One is more than enough for a meal, and importantly, I can eat it.  (Okay, YOU try being in the land of pasta, pizza, gelato and cannoli and be allergic to wheat and milk!)

Today we found Catania's own lover's lane, which is in the Bellini Gardens that respectable people stroll through on Sunday afternoons and the rest of us stroll through when nothing else is open.  The gardens are notable mostly for the interesting mix of palm trees and evergreens, and for the way they carve the date into the bushes each day.  We also made it out to the seashore, which is about a 15 minute walk to the very unscenic port area, and about a 2 hour walk to the somewhat less unattractive (so we discovered) waterfront where various restaurants overlook the shore.  At least we know we aren't missing anything by staying downtown.

On the way we discovered that, at least here in Catania, each street or neighborhood specializes in a certain kind of merchandize.  On one block there are 10 or 12 plumbing stores.  On another, all kinds of material and sewing needs.  One block has nothing but toy stores, and you would not BELIEVE the number of costume shops!  But more than anything else, we saw wedding dresses, store after store of them, elaborate and frilly designer dresses unlike any I've seen in the U.S. (not that I've spent any time looking).  We imagine that must be the one major activity around here - getting married in a big fancy ceremony  - because a city of 300,000 can not possibly support this many bridal stores. 

We also treated ourselves to a concert at the Massimo Bellini Theater, which was a lovely way to feed something other than our stomachs.  We had hoped to hear opera, but a symphony orchestra was all that was playing this weekend, so we took what we could find.  Regrettably we are not seasoned symphony-goers so we didn't realize that front row seats were probably not the best idea.  (You see a little more than you want to, and hear a little less!)  Had we known that the entire theater was walled in private boxes - about 200 of them, to our count, all gilded and paneled in velvet - we certainly would have opted for one of those!  We heard Mozart and Hummel and Tartini and Haydn, with a trumpet soloist (well, it said tromba, which means trumpet, but it was so little!  What do you call that thing, a coronet?  a flugelhorn?  Maybe one of you cultured people can set us straight with a comment!)  Tickets were cheaper than DC (about $35 each) and the starting time later (9 pm), but I swear it was all the same blue-haired ladies with their ancient mink coats.  They must have had a special on Alitalia or something.

More tomorrow from Allen, and hopefully some photos!