Sicily

29th April 2014 on my way by a night train:

Entering the night train to Siracusa is not one of my favorite memories from this trip. In the train compartment there were already two women (a mother and her grown up daughter) with lots of luggage. It seems they felt disturbed when I was coming. When I made place for the mother getting in I was putting my things on my bed. After that I started to put my luggage down again, but she was already explaining how to make the bed. I told her, that I know. I think she did not understand English either, because she first tried to continue explaining. Tired as I was I have got angry and told her again: “I know how to do, I know”. Unfortunately I have not had any plaid, so I was looking for the conductor but did not find him. I did not get much sleep that night, because I was freezing.

30th April Siracusa – Pozzallo – Valletta (Malta)

Last time I was going by a night train it was in Sweden. If I remember right, there was a little breakfast at the train, really not much – but just so you can stand a little while. At this Italian night train there was no breakfast at all, but something to drink. When I arrived in Siracusa I was looking for two things: A coffee shop and somewhere to deposit my luggage, because I had some hours to spend in the town. I could not find anything at the train station, but outside. There was a coffee shop where I also could left all of my luggage, really all of it and all that for a price of only 8 Euro.

My first coffee that Morning – at a Coffee Shop in Siracusa

After becoming really awake (I have had a cappuccino and a kind of filled bread) I was walking to the city center. Also here the worst houses were close to the station, the better ones in the middle of the city and at the sea side. I also found old things for remembrance and new and old churches. The new church looked from the distance to be a very interesting building, but when I came close I saw it was a church. Close to the church I also found a map of Siracusa. I did photograph it so I was not in the need of buying one or to use my gps. The picture helped me later to find the way to the seaside, but first I saw more churches and a little park (as Mauro told me, in Italy there are churches everywhere, each third street has a church ;-))

Close to the Train Station = One of the First Impressions of Siracusa

The Church Madonna delle Lacrime

At the seaside were no nice restaurant, but I found an Italian gelateria later and bought an ice cream. I really love Italian ice cream – I did prefer that in Sweden and Germany, too. On my way back to the train station I saw some local departments, one of them on the Via Malta.

Via Malta – Corner

The name of the street was for me like a greeting from the island. Luckily I was back at the train station in good time, because I did not understand that it is a rail-bus for Pozzallo and where it will leave, but five minutes before leaving. If I had not looked around wondering about what platform 2b means, I had not seen the rail-bus. The conductor helped me to put my luggage onto the train and a young man put it into the upper net. Fortunately he was also going to Pozzallo and helped me there to get it down again.

Arriving in Pozalla a taxi was waiting for me. Because I am always afraid, that taxi will be very expensive for tourists like me, I denied when the driver was asking me if I would go with him and also explained that it is a long way to the harbour. He even showed me his taxi driver license, but I still denied and was going to the supermarket straight over there. I bought something to eat and when I was coming out of the supermarket the taxi driver were there again and told me one more time, that it is very long to go, around 4 km or 4 miles. I still had a lot of time and also thought, that I will see more of the city if I am walking and I did. I was a little surprised that I could not use the pedestrians way, because they were to small if there were some stairs or flowers on the most of them. In the beginning it looked liked the way was only going down, but there were also parts going up again.

Here You Can See it Very Well: The Bassins on the Roof – for Warming up the Water

Pozallo at 7:30pm. The clerk at the desk was not service minded either, but he was asking if I wil buy a senior ticket.

Afterwards I went to a little park and was sitting on a bench for a while, when an Italian man tried to make conversation with me. Unfortunately he only spoke Italian, and my Italian is still very poor, but I understand that he would like that I come with him to his home and he will accompany me in time to the ferry. I denied because the language barrier. I was not afraid that he will not well. He was leaving but came back one more time. I still denied.

Because it was becoming cold – the sun was going down and in all countries I have been it becomes cold when there is no sun any more – I was going to a restaurant across the street and eat a kind of sandwich with “seppia” and cheese. I did not know that it was octopus, but it was a very big sandwich and I could only eat half of it, so I put the rest in my breakfast box. After a while I’ve got a very hard itching. I am allergic against seafood, but I did think I can eat octopus, because I only have eaten fried octopus rings before. Now I know I cannot eat octopus either and will never eat it again! The only seafood I still can eat is tuna.

Looking at the Harbour of Pozzallo

Pozzallo because of Malta, as they told us. It was hard wind and they ferry was not allowed to enter the harbour. We left Pozzallo around 11pm, maybe it also were half an hour later. The ferry is an high-speed Catamaran and we should have been in Valletta (Malta) less than two hours later, but we were not.

Did I reach my destination this night? Click here to find out.