Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday was of course, time to get up and go to church, but instead of doing that we had a coffee in the piazza in Pozzallo and marvelled at the crowds of people who had turned out to look at each other.

Good Friday had been strange enough, when we had accidentally ended up in the middle of the festivities: first of all we had seen everyone going into the church and Ella had sneaked in for a look, and I followed. Everyone was going up to a reclining figure of Jesus (lifesize) and touching the red-painted "wound" in his side. Ella wanted to be part of it so she also touched the wound. Then we ran out. Later that same evening we'd been trying to get out of Pozzallo, but every way we turned there were crowds in the way. It was odd, it was as if they couldn't decide if it was a serious occasion (death of Christ and all that) or a huge celebration (surely that should wait until Sunday?) because there were balloon sellers everywhere. All a bit incongruous with the body of Jesus, I'd say. Anyway we were trying to find a clear road and then Ella turned the car along the main street and ended up behind the almost static procession of everyone following Jesus. Of course, an official looking woman turned us away and we tried to ignore people's stares.

Pozzallo Easter Sunday crowds

Sunday was simply (or so it seemed) an excuse for everyone to look at each other. They were dressed in their very finest, almost like if we Brits were going to a wedding or something. Despite the hot weather, everyone still wears their winter coats and scarves: seriously, it is not cold and yet they must be so used to scorching temperatures that something in the mid-twenties feels cool to them. So we get stared at constantly for not wearing a coat and we are staring at them for wrapping up like it's winter. So as we enjoyed another coffee, they all stood doing nothing in the piazza, waiting for Jesus, maybe, but mostly eyeing each other's designer outfits and ridiculous heels. (Many of them wear the highest heels imaginable).

Easter Sunday, Pozzallo

We went to another beach for the day, at Marzamemi, where we were a bit assaulted by the wind, but nevertheless it was quite peaceful and relaxing. We had a look around the village and by some weird coincidence, Ella bumped into someone she knew who happened to be there on his friend's boat, so that gave us the chance to have a quick look on board. It also turned out that over Easter weekend it was traditional for people from Catania to come there to hang out. I felt that we'd come to get away from the Catanesi but never mind.

On the Monday we had to return the car, so we spent an easy day relaxing. In the evening we watched the sunset on the beach was quite lovely.

Goats, gorges and Noto

Our second enjoyable day trip was to Noto, another Baroque town in the south-east, recommended by

one and all. En route the guidebook said we went through a gorge, which had old cave dwellings in the rock. We soon recognised these, which were little holes in the rock some boarded up or with little locked doorways. It was quite picturesque and also weird.  We stopped to get out and take some pictures, as well as visit a horse that was on its own by the roadside.  Jo helped it to some grass from the other side of the fence and made a new friend. I went further down the road where I'd spotted some gorgeous goats, white in colour but with cute floppy ears - all of them had black ears except one lone goat who had brown.

A few words in the goats' direction brought them all running towards me and I soon realised there was no fence as such stopping them from getting out, and although it was obvious that they were allowed to roam freely, I couldn't help feeling that an angry goat-owner might run out at any minute and ask me to stop bothering his animals.

Before we could make our escape, a couple of men stopped who lived inside the gorge area. We asked if it was their horse/goats. The man said no, but was interested in what we were doing in Sicily, etc, and held the obligatory large parcel of cakes fresh from the patisserie, for Easter weekend. He insisted on giving us a few. One of them was a biscuit in the shape of a dove.

The rest of the day we spent in Noto, a charming town with honey-coloured buildings not unlike those of Bath. It said in the guidebook that at sunset the stone glows. Jo and I were taken with what the book called one of the nicest streets in Sicily - it was open and unspoilt and quite pretty. Jo even got to hold a cute budgie for a donation to the budgie-owner. For some reason I thought he was going to sell it to her, but of course he wasn't.

We found a church that promised a good view of the town from the top of the tower. It was worth paying two euros as the view was quite impressive and there were many swifts doing their thing around the sky.  The church had a convent attached to it and we were rather aghast at a photo of their accommodation from an earlier time - very sparse and basic looking.  I also found some baroque balcony carvings, which are characteristic of the area.

In the evening, a lovely sunset on the beach near the resort.

Easter - Ipsica and Modica

I know it is a bit late to be blogging about Easter but we had a nice trip to south east Sicily, based near Pozzallo, a quiet seaside town, with a rather nice waffle shop where we enjoyed many waffles opposite the seafront.  We stayed in a small self catering apartment, in a Mediterranean looking complex - it was deserted when we arrived but the next day hoards of Sicilians descended for an Easter get-away and it turned out to be similar in nature to a Butlins, with organised entertainment for them (which, luckily, we were not included in).

the apartments

Pozzallo

We got in a lovely morning's sunbathing by the swimming pool, when it was still empty. The water was freezing, but being a true Brit, I pretended it was fine and immersed myself to get the shock over quickly.

On the first morning we had a rather fortuitous trip to the airport to hire a car (lucky because we ended up not being able to hire a car there, and found a cheaper and much nicer one in Pozzallo, and because I had a chance meeting with a former student).  Etna looked stunning from the airport: she is still snow-covered and sometimes takes your breath away. I swear she sometimes has a hand in things. Perhaps I've been here too long.

We went on several day trips to towns not that far from Pozzallo. It's the area where Montalbano is filmed, with the Baroque towns of Ragusa, Modica and Noto that attract tourists. We went via Ipsica to Modica. Ipsica was a rather appealing little town with several churches - everywhere has as many churches as English villages have pubs. It is quite surprising to see them all on every corner. Ipsica was all done up for Good Friday - there were lights rather like we have at Xmas, and a rather disturbing centrepiece depicting Jesus carrying his cross and being led by a black man. Ella was less than impressed as it's hardly a positive image. Inside the church we were simply befuddled by the bizarre decorations: aside from the usual blue and gold gaudy decorations, there were lots of flowers laid down in front of a carving of Jesus and whoever else, like at a funeral or wedding. But even stranger, along the walls there were freaky looking dolls hanging staring down at you. But not even that was the weirdest thing - hanging among the freaky dolls were what seemed to be plastic bits of limbs such as knee joints, a hand, a foot.

What!? For me, (not a phrase, I know, but it is now that we hear students use it so often) - For me, the weirdest thing, hanging near some dolls, was a bunch of carrots. A bunch of carrots. Jo swore this was for the Easter bunny. Oh and on the ceiling, a carved picture of someone hammering a nail into someone's head. We got out of there pretty fast.

Modica

Modica is a larger town and famous for its chocolate. Except none of us actually like the chocolate as it's quite strong and kind of grainy - you can taste the sugar grains. Modica was sweet though and we climbed up the hills to "Modica alta" (high Modica) from where we had a super view across the town.

All trips were punctuated by regular stops for coffee (espresso), to which I am sure I am now addicted. It really is so good here. I'm sure it's how they keep people here, as how can you go back to England when the coffee is nothing like the same.

beach near apartment

apartment pool