Caltagirone

Caltagirone is a small town in central Sicily. The town is known for its lovely ceramics and massive staircase. 

The staircase would have been a street if the city planners hadn't deemed it too steep. There are 142 steps in total and each one is decorated with a unique ceramic pattern. 

These were two of my favorites. Funky peacocks and dragons. Do you spot the fish? 

This is the dog of the steps. I think he has owners, but when we were there he was just running up and down the stairs like it was easy on his tiny legs. Hardcore pup. 

Map of Sicily in ceramic. This was outside a store by the stairs. Supposedly, the ceramic shops get less expensive as you climb to the top. 

At the ceramics museum, the works ranged from giant Greek amphora to colorful modern pieces. I like this one with the circus animal and performer. 

The Symbol of Sicily. 

Happy New Year! 

Taormina

In the summer, Taormina is full of tourists from around the world, but in the winter crowds disappear and many shops close. While it isn't a ghost town by any means, I liked how calm it seemed compared to Rome.

The Greek Theatre we visited has a great view of the Mediterranean. You can see a bit through the arch.

Okay so these signs are kind of weird. We went to a museum and these plaques were sort of thank you notes to saints for being saved from death. The cat lady above was attacked by her own furry kitties and the chefs were bit by a dog. They were just so funky that I had to include them in a post!

Taormina had a chocolate festival going on while we visited! These were a few of the sculptures at the choco-art gallery. The jewelry was really cool, if not practical. 

On Christmas Eve fires were lit in the center of town. There were orange sparks in the air and whole crowds formed around. 

Candy! These candies were sculpted to look like fruit. They even had candy roast chicken!

The beach. There were even a few swimmers on the sunny day! 

Nativity Scenes in all Shapes and Sizes

I saw this chocolate nativity scene on my first day and I though it was pretty unusual, but on my trip I have seen many original scenes.

This one is in beeswax

We found these two in Caltagirone, where many people specialize in ceramics. 

I found this one in Taormina and it is made out of candies. As you can see, the nativity is occurring inside of Mt. Etna. What?! 

This one was pretty big. It took place over a small square. There were waterworks!

This fountains was created by putting plastic over a set of stairs to lead the water down. 

Before coming to Italy I didn't see many nativity scenes. Here, I find them everywhere and in many mediums. There are also a lot of life Nativities in the towns we visit. 

I know it's a bit late for a Christmas related post, but these Nativity scenes are everywhere these days even after Natale. I wonder what the next Nativity scene will be like!

A Kitoto Look-Alike

Today I met a dog that is officially Kitoto's doppelgänger. Wouldn't they make adorable Kitoto babies?! I've got to find this dog again so that they can have a meet up.

Kitoto

Kitata

Just as crazy too.

Day Two in Sicily: Parco Archeologico, Labrotorio Pupi, and Cake

Day two in Siracusa was spent mostly in the rain. We still managed to get out to the archeological site though! It was amazing to be basically the only tourists at these large sites. 

Our view by the hotel. 

Before you start giggling let me say that Pupi = Puppets in Italian. So a Pupi Laboratory builds puppets.

Puppet making is a Siracusa speciality. They are so detailed!

Feeling silly in my poncho...

Getting over it...

And then embracing it completely 

Kitty! Sorry you got stuck in the rain lil' buddy!

These pictures are from the Parco Archeologico. This is the Greek Theatre 

This is a picture of the ceiling in il Orecchio di Dionisio. The cave had an amazing echo and you could hear the coos of pigeons amplified. 

The entire cave was created as miners quarried rock. It's huge!

Pistacchio and Chocolate cake. So good!

Night view of the ocean.

The Parco Archelogico was definitely a good way to spend a rainy day even if we did soak our shoes and pants a bit. 

Day One in Sicily - The Necropolis, Santa Lucia, and Kindess

I'm now in Sicily! I've been enjoying the fresh air and the landscape so much! Here are a few pictures of my first day...

Pantalica is a necropolis near Sortino. People would bury their dead in small cutouts of the rock during the 13th and 10th century BC. The rectangular openings lead all the way down the valley.  

This pool was really cool! The water was such a pretty blue.

Kitty! He followed us around for a bit so we gave him some cheese. 

A chocolate nativity. Just what I wanted for Christmas.

These rusty tools are actually made out of chocolate! What?!

The Christmas lights are everywhere now! 

So on our first night there was a special event for Santa Lucia. The heavy silver sculpture had been gone to the cathedral for a week and on its return, hundreds of people came to the main church to welcome her back. Here you can see her being carried in.

The people in the green hats were in charge of carrying her in.

The people in Sicily are maybe the nicest people I've ever met. When we got lost in Sortino, a man jumped in our car to lead us into the main town center. He walked with us to three different restaurants before we found an open one.  

Today it was raining really hard and we sort of got stuck at an archeological site (more on that later). One taxi driver was busy with customers, but after dropping them off he returned to pick us up. Then he helped us find a lunch place by personally getting out of his car and checking with the owners to see if there was space. 

Everyone has been so lovely! It's been great!