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slivka.com > Trips > Paris and Sicily 2011 > Sat May-21

Sat

May-21

Tour Eiffel, Eric Kayser bakery, CDG->FCO->CTA, Anfiteatro, Catania Cathedral
Before Lisa left Paris, she had an hour to walk along the River Seine towards the Eiffel Tower. The Eric Kayser bakery down the street from the hotel had lovely pastries (but no photos allowed inside!).

Lisa took the train back to CDG and flew on the 12:35 p.m. Air France flight #9846 (operated by Alitalia) to Rome, arriving at FCO at 2:40 p.m. After a brief layover, she flew on the 3:30p Air France flight #9916 (operated by Alitalia) to Catania, arriving at 4:45 p.m.

Catania was quite the contrast to Paris! Lisa was not expecting to find a city with a population close to 300,000 in Sicily. There were lots of people out shopping and socializing on the streets on a Saturday night. The city has been buried by lava a total of seven times in recorded history, and in layers under the present day city are the Roman city that preceded it and the Greek city before that. The Roman Amphitheatre (Anfiteatro) in the photos is from the 2nd century, and the Catania Cathedral is quite spectacular. The first structure was originally constructed in 1078-1093 on the ruins of the ancient Roman Achillean Baths. The current structure was rebuilt after the earthquake in 1693 and is Baroque in style.