Ostend is a city on the North Sea in the northwestern part of Belgium. It is not among the top tourist destinations in Europe, but I was interested in visiting it. The trip was short – for one afternoon, but I was glad that I saw the town, the beach and the sea itself.
Taormina is one of the most beautiful places on the island of Sicily – a town blessed with wonderful natural features and a rich history. When you visit Taormina, you’ll find it set on rugged terrain high above the Ionian Sea, charming visitors with its historic center, cozy atmosphere, small shops, fragrant restaurants, and narrow streets that seem to embrace you the moment you step into them. This is one of those places that gives you the feeling you’ve traveled back to a beautiful moment in time.
Syracusa is the city of the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes and more. We visited it during the second day of our Sicilian trip this fall. There we touched the remains of ancient times, Sicilian baroque and maritime romance. Before them, however, we had to find a place to park twice because it was full of people – it was Sunday and it was a day with free entrance to the Archaeological Park in the city.
Noto quickly made it onto my wish-list of places to visit in Sicily when I was planning our trip to the island and it did not disappoint me. It revealed a wonderful baroque historical center with huge buildings, mostly churches and palaces, in a honey-peach color. In addition, we happened upon a medieval reenactment event, which made our experience even more vivid and memorable.
This is my guide to visiting Catania, Sicily. With the island’s main airport, many travelers start their trip to Sicily from Catania.
Catania was our first touch with Sicily. We landed there, took our first walk on the island, and passed by there almost every day, traveling somewhere. The city is located on the coast of the Ionian Sea and lives in constant connection (visual and functional) with the Etna volcano – powerful, unpredictable and beautiful in its own way. Black volcanic lava is everywhere – in the stones, in the streets, in the architecture. As the ancient Greek geographer and traveler Strabo noted, Catania’s proximity to Etna was both a test and a gift – the volcano destroyed the city several times in the past, but at the same time endowed the land with exceptional fertility.
Caltagirone was one of the places in Sicily that we decided to visit a bit on the go. There we climbed up to the popular Santa Maria del Monte staircase, connected to the city’s centuries-old livelihood – pottery production. We also tried the typical cannoli sweets of the region.
Randazzo (pronounced with the accent on the second “a”) is a quiet and peaceful town on the island of Sicily, located at the northern foot of the Etna volcano. It is located at 765 m above sea level in the valley of the Alcantara River and is a strategic crossroads between the provinces of Catania, Messina and Enna. In the past, the city has suffered damage and destruction several times as a result of earthquakes and lava flows. For the most part, the streets and buildings of the city are built of blocks of volcanic rock.
Messina was our first stop on the fifth day of our trip around Sicily. My first impression of the city was the port and a huge cruise ship docked there. I later read that Messina is a must-see destination for cruise ships carrying tourists around the Mediterranean. My second impression was how difficult it is to find parking spaces in the city center. The third thing was the hilly location of the city and the large difference in altitude between the coast and the more inland neighborhoods.
The Boboli Gardens (Giardino di Boboli) are located on the hill of the same name in Florence on the left bank of the Arno River. They form an integral part of the magnificent Palazzo Pitti complex, once owned by the Medici family, and span an impressive 450,000 square meters (111 acres).
About 15 years ago I visited Spain for the first time and it captured a part of my heart. I really like it – people, weather, sights, infrastructure. Since then, more visits to different parts of the country followed, which confirmed my good impressions. During most of our time in Spain, we rented a car to explore as many places as we could. We spent the longest stretch – four full days – in Madrid, and for good reason – Madrid is worth visiting.
