Is it really only Tuesday? I feel like it could be at least Thursday!

I didn't sleep very well last night and woke up a couple of times feeling sick (probably a result of a delicious dinner - tortellini with butter and sage, gravadlax, pear stracchino & walnut salad and then a slice of the most amazing orange and dark chocolate cake I have ever tried - I will get the recipe and come back with force!)

Last time I wrote about Catania in Sicily, I showed you pictures of the beautiful Chiesa di San Benedetto. What I didn't mention was that entrance to the church buys you a ticket to a small art gallery filled with interesting sculptures and paintings.




One of my favourites was a strange work of a man, standing and waiting with his back to us (you can see him right at the end of the corridor above). From directly behind he looked 3D within the frame but as you moved around, you discovered he was almost 2D.

I love a good optical illusion, when I chose to study Psychology at university, I thought far more of my time was going to be spent doing fun things like that!


Afterwards we went for a walk in the Sicilian sunshine. It felt a million miles away from the rain of Milan with blinding light bouncing off pale stone and palm trees whose leaves hung in the still air.


Back home, this little treasure awaited us.

Pinky the Schnauzer was a true character for the whole stay. She would jump into action, barking shrilly every time someone dared enter her part of the house before turning into a bit of a soppy thing as soon as attention was offered (or rather, food!)


We had a little play but there were other interesting things going on in the kitchen.


That's right dear readers, home made Italian pasta.

Or to be precise, home made spinach and ricotta ravioli with butter and sage (my favourite favourite favourite!)


Followed by roast rosemary potatoes and broccoli fritters which were so yummy I can almost taste them now...

Everybody approved wholeheartedly, polishing the lot off much to the dismay of the grumpiest cat I have ever met. Just look at that face!


I am definitely meant to be a dog owner!

After a long lazy lunch and a bit of a laze around to let our food go down, we walked through the city to see the puppet show depicting the story of Sant'Agata which I told you about previously, you poor unfortunate things.

Before we went in, we got to have a little nose around the puppet museum too.


This fella with the ginger beard is definitely Magro.


And this sassy lady with the sword and armour has got to be me. My nickname at school was Mulan for a while because I always tried to prove I could do anything the boys could do.


Pretty sure these aren't the most politically correct puppets I've ever seen...


After the show we went for a nighttime wander around the city. You can see my photos from earlier posts showing the busier streets but I thought I'd include more peaceful parts of the city here.


We then found the most incredible restaurant - but that's for another post!

Ciao for now!