If you’d said to me at the beginning of the evening on Saturday 16 November that I’d be climbing up Etna at 3am the following morning, to watch her erupt close-up, I’d have said you were crazy. And yet … … Continue reading
A version of this post was originally published in November 2011, when I first arrived in Catania. Two years on and November (up until the beginning of this week) had been milder and less blustery. The cold is beginning to … Continue reading
“So there are three routes tomorrow: easy, medium and heroic. Which one does anyone want to do?” Curled up in front of the fire after eating an obscene amount of barbecued meat it’s easy to plump for heroic. The way … Continue reading
Some days, when you’re tired and fractious and under the weather, the only way to find balance again is to take a walk among the pines. And if those pine trees sit below a smoking volcanic crater turned deep red … Continue reading
“They’re totally synchronised; look!” comes a laughing stage-whisper from behind us. I turn my head and poke my tongue out at Donato and Roberta, who are trying to distract us as we power-walk down the mountain. Davide grins but keeps … Continue reading
Everyone has some kind of vice – something that they’re a little bit obsessed by. For some people it’s shoes. For others it’s food. Then there are those who just can’t get enough of either. These beauties were spotted in … Continue reading
“More people are killed by lightning bolts on Etna than by lava flows,” says Donato as we walk up a shallow incline, paved with blocks of lavic stone. He points to a corner a little ahead of us. “My grandfather … Continue reading
It’s my first day back at school today, teaching new levels that I’ve never taught before. So to distract myself from the terror excitement, I’m thinking back to a day a few weeks ago in Agrigento, when my parents and … Continue reading
September 2013 marks the start of my fifth year in Italy. At the end of this year I’ll automatically qualify for residence here, no questions asked. In many ways I feel like I haven’t progressed at all in the past … Continue reading
“Hey, it’s the kids from Catania!” The rangy, middle-aged man in the grey safari hat greets us with pleased surprise, calling out to his curvy, catlike wife in the water. She’s one step ahead of him, having already said hello … Continue reading
