Road trip in Sicily, part six: Caltagirone

(Date: 18-19.07.2007)
(Written: 20.07.2007)

After the visit of Piazza Armerina, and under a suffocating heat, we drove further to Caltagirone, a very scenic small town not far from there. Driving to the center was an adventure, because of the very narrow labyrinthine lanes, so after a while we just dropped the car in the center and walked to the bed and breakfast 'Tre metri sopra i cielo' (poetic name...). To reach the house, you must climb a HUGE staircase, which is used in spring to display thousands of flowers, or later in July to display some illuminated scenes with hundreds of lanterns. During our visit, however, the staircase was just for people, and we climbed up and down a few times during our stay.

The B&B itself was great. Very small (2 rooms and a common room and balcony), with an amazing view on the city, and a very friendly host, Gaetano Pace. He explained the whole city to me in Italian, and thus armed we could take a walk to the public garden, where we had a nice granite.

In the evening, after buying a few typical Sicilian products, and after a shower in the hotel, we followed Gaetano's advice and went to a restaurant nearby, Il Locandiere. There we had a great meal: first a lobster cooked with spaghettis (we chose the lobster ourselves from the display), and then a fish cooked in a salt crust and served with a sauce of herbs and melted butter. This was really a kingly meal. Walking up the stairs again that night was a real challenge, but we succeeded and enjoyed a peaceful night 3 meters under the sky.

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