Catania Sucks (As Seen Graffitied on A Wall)
Catania, Sicily - March 2024
My sister and I arrived in Catania in the wee hours of the morning, after our already late-night flight from Malta was delayed. The woman at the rental car counter was unnecessarily rude and didn't really speak English. I know, not everyone speaks English. But you know what? Not everyone speaks fucking Italian, either. After a bit of an attempt at scamming us, we got into our little car and headed to our hotel.
We were tired and a little cranky, especially as we entered our hotel area (located in the city center area). As you can see from the photo, not exactly pristine. But we were exhausted and decided to give the hotel the benefit of the doubt.
We stayed at the Manganelli Palace, located on the 2nd floor of an unmarked building. It was lovely and the bed was comfortable. The desk clerk was a sweet young man who immediately brought us water and fruit. The breakfast on the rooftop was perfect. A really nice selection of pastries and fruits. Mary enjoyed her latte, and I LOVED the fresh squeezed blood orange juice that Sicily is known for. SO good.
We had planned to spend the following day checking out the city, but that morning we found our car had been broken into and a window smashed. My sister went to the police station happened in Catania, where it took an hour and iPad translator app to have a report filed. Afterwards we returned to the airport rental car agency and they swapped out the car for another. Unfortunately, THAT car had some issues, so they put us in a Mini Cooper Countryman and it was perfect. As it was already early afternoon, and we were beyond frustrated, we said fuck off to Catania and left for Palermo. Which, by the way, is a breathtakingly beautiful drive.
I'm sure there are plenty of nice areas in Catania, but we had no desire to find them. If you're planning to visit the city the only comment I have for you is steer clear of city center accommodations.
And don't worry, the rest of our trip so far has been AMAZING!