The weather forecast for Friday May 6, and continuing through the weekend and the following week, was for heavy rain so we opted to see what we could find close to home and let the weather decide what it would actually do. Aci Trezza is just up the coast north of Catania and is where we stayed in 2012. It is a cute little fishing village and we wanted to return just to check it out again. It also is the site, according to legend, where the Cyclops held Odyseus and his crew captive and the large rocks in the harbor are the ones he threw at them when they escaped. They look like ejecta from Mt. Etna to me but would I dispute Homer?

The weather did move in and kicked up just enough waves on the Ionian Sea to be interesting. We kept our rain gear handy but never did really need it. 

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On Saturday we hung around the house, did some laundry and went to dinner in Brucolli with Diana and Giovanni. On Sunday the weather cleared off and we wanted to go to Mass at the Cathedral in Catania. Our assumption was that the piazza would be relatively empty on a Sunday morning. Wrong again. The place was thronging with people by 10 AM and they were mostly locals. A sizable open air market had sprung up in the streets around the cathedral and some kind of techno fair was going on in the piazza. Tents and music. If my pictures look like they are at funny angles it's because I'm trying to keep the tents out. Mass was lovely and we then walked a few blocks to an area where we could find some food. This was the area with all the umbrellas. It was a very creative way to dress up this little district. And we did find food. 

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This was Jeanne Marie's dinner at the restaurant in Brucolli. Yes that is octopus on her plate. She's totally gone native.

Click the image below the octopus and see another slide show.

Cena!Yes, that is octopus.