“Sicilia antica dellu mi cori, quanti ricchezzi ch 'a'tteni tu!” – "Ancient Sicily, of my heart, how many riches you possess."
The organization
Even before Christmas, my colleague Dani and I decided to go to Italy. We both felt like going on a trip, I speak the language, we decided to travel without an agency. We bought tickets for the Sofia-Catania-Sofia flight, because there are no flights to Italy from Varna. WIzzair company, booking in December for the period February 21-25, 2024, price: 40 leva round trip per person. A real scam. We noted free hand luggage.
The funny thing is that the bus tickets cost 58 leva round trip per person. We decided not to use the train, even though it is more convenient, because according to the latest statistics, the trains from Varna and Burgas to Sofia are regularly late, catch fire, derail… and we are chasing a plane.
We made a reservation for overnight stays through Booking, a private accommodation in the center of Catania, with breakfast, kitchen and laundry included. Price: BGN 150 per person for 4 nights. We waited for the day.
Day 1 – February 21, Wednesday – travel
At 9 am on February 21, grinning like cabbages, we got on the Biomet bus from Varna bus station and set off. I was transported to the world of Storytel and didn't notice the journey, but Dani spent six hours listening to the chatter of a child behind her. We arrived in Sofia at around 3 pm. We had a few hours until our flight and decided to take a walk. We hopped on the metro, to the NDK stop - to stretch out after hours of sitting. It occurred to me to buy martenitsa for the landlady and tell her about the holiday. Slowly, we reached the Serdika stop and took the metro to the airport. Last stop Terminal 2... yes, but we were flying from Terminal 1. And the time was already ticking. We found out from other passengers that the bus that runs between the two terminals runs every half hour and we were a little worried. Fortunately, we managed to catch it at the last minute. Our plane was taking off at 19:50. I was a little worried because my backpack was 50 cm, instead of the required 40 cm for free luggage, but it was narrower and could fit under the seat. We passed the check, and as always they stripped me, undressed me, and groped me… We waited. I dived into Storytel again.
They started calling us. I passed without a problem, no one makes me measure my luggage in those pink… grids. And years ago, I had a problem with a bag, which, however, was just the right size... but apparently the employee was at fault then. I went with a rucksack for hand luggage and a small shoulder bag that holds money, passport and cigarettes; they didn't make me put it in my backpack like I used to.
The flight was easy and quick, an hour and a half. We landed in Catania at around 8:30 PM. For the second time, I had ear problems upon landing. The pain this time was bearable, maybe because I bought some gum as a precaution and drank water in small sips. But it hurt, it was unpleasant, and I felt better after about three hours.
We left the airport. While we were looking for a bus, we chatted with a few Bulgarian women; they were also out for a walk like us. We got on together. The “Ali Bus” and 524 go to the airport, at least we used these. A ticket costs 4 euros. You can buy it from the machines or from the driver and validate it on the bus, it is valid for a 90-minute journey. We asked the driver where we should get off to get to “Pozzo canale” street… he would tell us. We traveled for 30-40 minutes and got off somewhere on “Vittorio Emanuele II” boulevard. According to the navigation, we had to walk a long way and only straight, then a sharp turn to the right… We spoke to the landlady several times so that she would wait for us. We arrived at around half past nine local time (1 hour behind Bulgaria).
The landlady – a young, nice girl – showed us the room. From the street we entered through a high and narrow gate into an inner courtyard and from there into a ground floor room. A kitchen and bedroom in one, on the left a bathroom with a shower cabin, toilet and bidet, plus a washing machine. The kitchen was nice, not very equipped, but enough. There was also a coffee machine and loaded coffee capsules, an electric kettle. Under something like stairs next to the bathroom door there was a table with two chairs, on it were left tourist brochures, pastries, sweets, crackers (this turned out to be breakfast), tea bags. Opposite the door was a bed – a bedroom, instead of the expected two singles, tucked into something like a niche, above the bed and next to it two shelves, opposite the wall a TV (it was superfluous for us). In the kitchen there was a laundry prepared with a bucket, a shovel and a broom, a broom and floor cleaner. So far so good. But – there was no wardrobe anywhere. Under the TV there was a… I’ll call it a pole with a few hangers and some… like fabric shelves, hung on the pole, where we were supposed to put our luggage. They sell them at Ikea, I don’t know exactly what this contraption is called. Later it became clear that they were just starting to offer such services and apparently there was still something to improve. There was space for a cupboard, I was also missing another shelf, so to speak. There was another minus – you can wash your clothes, but there’s nowhere to dry them. There was a public laundry somewhere in the area, we glanced at it, then we couldn’t find it… we dried on hangers, on chairs, and the room was damp anyway. But – for 37 leva per night per person in the historic center of Catania, it was fine.
At that time, only the "supermarket" type shops were open on the road - small shops where there are drinks (alcohol, beer, juices, etc.), packaged foods, cigarettes, some household goods and products for personal and sanitary hygiene . These shops are kept mainly by Arabs and Negroes. Apparently they have found their niche, the locals don't like working late. The establishments were naturally open. We bought chips, beer and I don't remember what else and after settling in we sat down to eat happily tired. Then a shower, a Google search on how to get to Syracuse, and a good night.
© 2024 Iliana Dechkova