The past few days I’ve been staying in a hostel in London and drinking many pints and coffee. Finally we visited part of London which really makes is London. Picadilly Circus is great, but it’s like a watered down Times Square. Camden is awesome, but it’s like Five Points in Atlanta. Westminster Abbey…. there’s nothing like it. The millennium eye was a great little circuit. The day began with the changing of the guard — the most ridiculous set of pomp you’ll ever see. We then went on the Eye then took a cab to Harrod’s. It’s ending with some great Thai food and in a bit we’re heading to see some of this much hyped British comedy.
Etna, emerging from the clouds.
My friend, Etna, the killer, again.
Sicily coastline.
Italy begins.
Paris at night.
A lot of people (namely Chuck and Meredith) have asked what the Catania apartment looks like. Here’s a walking tour.
You enter an walk down a squeezably narrow hallway.
Which comes to Chris’s room.
You turn right are presented with a weird, Escherian stair.
You look down the stairway to see where your feet will land. No floor is really on the same level. The living room is to the left. Bathroom straight ahead. Where I stayed is to the right.
The Living room.
Where I was staying.
We took this day-trip to a “village on the mountainside”. (Looks like Chris stole photos from under my pillow to make a blog post of his own!) Don’t get me wrong, Italy had been great. Sicily was great. Understand this: That day trip was it. Like the moment you fall in love. That day trip and I are BFF.
First there is this twisty-turny bus ride which takes us past the cyclops rocks and other awesome vistas. Okay, this is beautiful, I start to think. Then we get to this totally picturesque little town with its own greco-roman amphitheater. Quainter than quaint. All right, I think, This is really beautiful. The we climb this crazy hilltop to a church. Okay, it’s getting to be a little too beautiful, I think. At the very peak, some Germans (or Austrians) tell us that, you know, this doesn’t have to be the end. See that hill? Right over there? Even fucking higher than where you are now? You should go there.
That hill is Castel Mola. The Germans (or Austrians) were right.
Like some tenacious heather, Castel Mola grips the side of a cliff at seemingly impossible angles. We wind through the streets and find this church on the very edge of the world. We make it just around the side in time to see the sun setting behind Mount Etna, the active volcano. You’ve gotta be kidding me, my brain screams. It’s like someone was making fun of me things were so scenic.
This poor girl–not only has she embarrassed herself by bowling in the improper lane, but her lacy unmentionables have taken this as the moment to fall down. A perfect moment capture by a genius artist!
Chris an Richard laugh at death.
I’ve finally started to remember to bring my camera, have it charged and am thinking of some photos here and there. Today was another walk to the coast. In the 1600’s (I believe), Catania was burried in lava — about this much lava. Smart cars are everywhere. So are Mooninites.
A lot of taverns around here have themes. We ended up stopping at a Communist-themed bar (don’t tell McCarthy) , and rather than being filled with Hippies, it seemed to be the more family oriented spot we would visit. Richard and I are in a beer mood and, perhaps out of laziness, Chris suggests that rather than ordering three beers, we order one large beer.
What we got was an obelisk of shame. When they hauled this thing in, every other customer turned to see who the garish twats were that would actually pick such an eyesore from the menu. Chris is notably shamed. I tell him we should tell the waitress there was some sort of mistake in ordering, that we are Americans and that we were expecting something bigger.
The trip, despite being about 18 hours of travel, went well. The view from the north-facing passenger window on my trans-Atlantic flight was breath taking. Cities looked like intricate jeweled clusters; if they had been art I would have felt the designs were works of genius. Three hours into the flight I noticed the Aurora Borealis… I had never before seen the Northern Lights. Simply amazing.
I tried to get a little sleep and once I started dozing, a girl grabbed my face. Why she grabbed my face, I don’t think I’ll ever know. Maybe she thought I was someone else. Maybe she thought my face was her handbag. Regardless, she took off before offering an explanation.
Today, Chris and I explored Catania a bit.
This is some sort of structure meant for kids to hang out at and do lord only knows what. Apparently it got either too popular for kids and/or the homeless as the main structure on the right, which had little nooks and catacombs built into it, had it’s hide-a-way bits locked off. Barely locked off, that is. I went into that thing and the, uh, smell immediately told me it was regularly inhabited.
I walked along part of this coast. The waves, they come at a faster rate than I was expecting. Good thing I don’t mind wet feet with icky, damp socks and the feeling of impending athlete’s foot.
The idea had its genesis at this year’s state fair, but was finally realized last Thursday in a flurry of drunken activity: Cook up a bratwurst, and place three scoops of BBQ and BBQ side items (mac-n-cheese, coleslaw, okra, etc.). It’s the cholesterol-lover’s version of the Banana Split.
I’m just giving America what she wants.
