An afternoon in Catania

I finally got out of the house today!  Since being back in Sicily I've been busy with house stuff and Les has been working hard and studying a lot so we haven't been out much at all.  Today it had to change.  He had the rare day off so we took the afternoon to roam the streets of Catania, cameras in hand.  We had a fantastic time!

As a photographer I've been trying to get more comfortable with taking pictures of random people on the street.  The best way to learn is to do, right? So here are a few "street scenes" from Catania:

Waiting for church to start?

On the steps of the Catania Duomo

The art of doing nothing

Piazza Duomo, Catania

To truly enjoy a day strolling in an Italian city one must stop at a cafe, sip a coffee beverage, and nibble something delicious.  My choice today was a Latte Macchiato and a Calzone.

 Refreshments in Elephant Square (aka Piazza Duomo)

 Traditional-style puppets on sale for the eager tourist

 The gates of Chiesa della Badia di S. Agata

Texture

I loved how the fence and the brightly painted car looked together

Shooting from the hip

I just pushed the button on the camera at a random moment and this is what it captured. A motorcycle on the sidewalk, vespas zipping past, pretty typical.

 Still showing the effects of Carnivale

Notice the bit of silly string?

Another thing I love to do while strolling the streets in Italy?  Stop for random glasses of wine.  :)

We ended our evening with a delicious kebab piadine which I should have taken a picture of but I was too busy eating.  On our way back to the car I saw an old lady walking her cat. Wait, what? walking her cat?!?  People were stopping, pointing and quietly laughing as this old lady tried to maneuver her cat down the sidewalk. I turned to go back and take pictures and people quickly stepped out of my way so I could record the moment.

Um, yeah...I think the cat had other ideas than going where the lady wanted to go. Too funny!  And notice the improvised harness - it looks like the wrong end of a dog leash around the neck and a satin ribbon tied around the cat's chest.  Hilarious!

Crazy cat ladies - a worldwide club apparently!

Anyhow, it was a wonderful afternoon and evening. A badly needed trip out of the house and away from base and also good date with my hubbie. I can't wait to go out again!