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Wednesday, October, 12, 2022
I woke up to find a message from our phone provider Google FI. They said that we’ve been using their service outside the US for a long time. Apparently their service allows for international usage but only for short periods of time. They are going to cut off our account. When I contacted them they said there was nothing they could do. When I asked how long I had before my service was terminated they said that it already was. That’s what I call good customer service. Of course, the entire reason we got them in the first place is because they told us we could use our phones overseas on an extended trip.
After investigating a few options we decided to go with T-Mobile. We can get unlimited everything for $70.00 for the two of us with all taxes and fees included. The problem is that we couldn’t sign up for their service. We’d had SPRINT before and my account information was supposed to have been transferred when they merged but it really wasn’t and everything was messed up. They claim to have 24/7 customer support so I called. They don’t. It’s only sales support. I have to call back around 2:00 pm my time to get technical support.
To make things worse we bought the wrong pods for the coffee maker, the Internet service has been flakey (our host said to use one of the other WIFIs but we only see one), and we can’t seem to find out where to dump our trash. Our host has been no help on this one either. A very frustrating start to the day.
After breakfast we got some “real” standup coffee and went in search of a full service supermarket. We found a nice place a few blocks away but it really didn’t have the things we were looking for. Across the street we spied a Lidl. It’s a huge German based supermarket chain that you can find in most of Europe. They are also starting to appear in the US. We visited a few in the States and they were a little disappointing compared to their European counterparts. In any event, this is the first time we’ve seen one in Italy, who usually eschews large multinational chains like this. Lidl had everything we wanted. Their wines were incredibly cheap so we helped ourselves to a bottle of €1.50 Chianti. We’re not expecting much.
After lunch in the apartment I started the process of moving our phone service. In total I was on the phone for five hours. Along the way I had to unfreeze our credit reports (it’s not clear to me why a cellphone company needs to check my credit especially when I’m giving them a credit card). They wouldn’t tell me which agency they used and insisted that I unlock all three. I was only able to do two out of the three because Experian wouldn’t let me login from overseas and will not take phone calls under any circumstances. Fortunately things worked out. I also had to call Google FI because the account/pin information that was required to port our phone numbers was wrong. It seems they regenerate this information when you try to leave their service. I also had to fight so I wouldn’t have to pay a $70.00 activation fee (more graft and corruption). After being on the phone for 45 minutes where they entered all of our information a supervisor told me I could avoid the fee by entering the information myself on their website. I tried that before I called but wasn’t able to create an account. It seems you can only create an account AFTER you’ve become a customer but you can still place orders without an account. Bizarre in the extreme. Anyway, after five hours and numerous phone calls we had new service and the transfer process was started. It completed sometime during the night.
We had planned to book several legs of our upcoming trips this evening but we were too exhausted after that ordeal to even think about. We’ve made some big decisions lately. We’ve decided to squeeze in a trip to Malta. It’s just a short ferry ride from Pozallo in Sicily. From Malta we can get a cheap flight to Jerusalem. It’s starting to get real.
Thursday, October, 13, 2022
We set out to do some exploring. Our first destination was Ursino Castle. When we got to the street, out of range of our WiFi, we tried to set a course. No service. Ugh! I flipped a few switches on the phone’s configuration and everything was once again good with the world. Unlike most castles that sit at the waterfront or high on a hill this one is situated in the middle of town. The castle hosts a museum of ancient objects. More on the castle when we visit next week. My sister is coming to stay with us in Catania for a week. We’re holding off on doing a number of things until she gets here so we can do them together.
Our next destination was the old city gate called, “Porta Garibaldi”. Along the way we stumbled onto an interesting looking church and took a peek inside. Chiesa Parrocchiale di Santa Maria Aiuto dei Cristiani or The Church of Saint Mary the Helper of Christians is a lovely little church that probably dates before the 16th Century. It was originally named for Saints Peter and Paul but was renamed in 1635 when a precious icon was deposited there. The icon is housed in an elaborate marble structure on the main altar.
Within the church is a large separate chamber containing a huge block of marble with figures carved in high relief. We walked around until we found an entrance and discovered a lovely little chapel with brightly colored frescos on the walls. A sign explained that this was a replica of the House of Loreto from 1740. The story goes that in 1271, after the Muslims invaded Palestine, the house that Mary was born in and where she first saw the angel Gabriel was lifted by angels and flown from Nazareth to Tersato, Croatia and then to Recanati, Italy and finally to Loreto, Italy. Today that house is contained in the Basilica della Santa Casa in Loreto.
Porta Garibaldi was just down the street. It is a triumphal arch built in 1768. It was constructed to celebrate the marriage of the Bourbon King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilys to the Austrian princess Maria Carolina d’Asburgo-Lorena. After the unification of Italy it was renamed in honor of Garibaldi. If you look through the arch, straight down Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, you will see the Cattedrale di Sant’Agata or simply the Duomo.
Next we went in search of what looked like a very large church we’d spied on our way to the arch. It turned out to be a police station. No doubt it was once a grand building of some sort. Across the street we found the Benedictine Monastery dedicated to Saint Nicholas of the Arena. This is another place we intend to visit next week. Nearby was another grand building that was once part of the monastery and is now a college. In front of the monastery was an excavation of a house an ancient Roman. The family was obviously wealthy because they had a bath inside their own home.
Next door to the monastery we found the Church of Saint Nicholas of the Arena. Originally founded in 1558 it was completely rebuilt after it was destroyed by an eruption from Mount Etna in 1669. The church also sustained heavy damage from bombings during World War II.
It’s a huge Romanesque style church with chapels along the side aisles. Pictures on display show how elaborately the church was once decorated. Most of the chapels have marble altars topped with large paintings but the walls are bare and the ceilings are undecorated. Restoration work is ongoing but it’s unlikely it will ever be brought back to its former glory.
Our intention at this point was to go back to the main shopping district and walk that street to the end. Along the way we had some more interesting encounters. Initially we found the excavation of a large Roman theater. We could see large parts of it from outside the fence. The odeon can be visited for a fee. We intend to do that next week. Further along we came to the Piazza Saint Francis of Assisi. On one side of the piazza there was the house that Bellini was born and raised in. Across the square was the Chiesa di San Francesco d’Assisi all’Immacolata. It was open for the first time since we’d been in town. We ducked in just as the rain was starting to come down harder. Apparently Bellini used the organ in this very church to practice when he was a child.
Because of the rain we decided to cut our plans short and go back to our apartment. In fact our apartment was just steps from the piazza. We really are in a fantastic location.
We had tortellini stuffed with prosciutto and covered with pesto for lunch. Later in the afternoon, when the rain stopped, we went out to buy some supplies. Of course, all of the stores were closed for siesta. Instead we went to our favorite cafe and bought some pastries to have after dinner.
Friday, October, 14, 2022
In the morning we went out and strolled down the main shopping district. This time we walked to the end of the avenue. We hate to think we missed something. After all, there might have been another church to see 😇. If fact we saw several churches including one that had a memorable back story: Chiesa di San Biagio Saint Agata Alla Fornace.
The story goes that Saint Agatha, born 231 AD, was a devout Christian who dedicated herself to God and took a vow of celibacy. A Roman Prefect named Quintianus wanted to marry her but she rejected his advances. To persuade her he had her tortured in several horrible ways, including having her roll on burning coals. Finally, when nothing would persuade her, she was scheduled to be burnt at the stake. When an earthquake interrupted her execution she was sent to prison where Saint Peter appeared to her and healed her. If you pay €1.00 per person you can walk up behind the altar of Saint Agatha and see a remnant of the “furnace” that she rolled in. It is said that her veil did not burn. That holy relic is carried as part of an annual procession in her honor.
After lunch at home we rested so we’d be fresh for an 8:30 pm performance of Mozart’s Requiem.
The performance started at 8:42 pm. That’s actually early by Italian standards. The cathedral provided a beautiful setting. A screen had been installed that obscured the main altar but left the frescos in plain sight. No doubt it was to help the sound project forward. The choir was from the Bellini Theater and they were very good (a shout out to the unusually strong tenor section). The orchestra appeared to be a pickup group made up of both professionals and conservatory students. They did a fine job. The glorious refrains from the Requiem filled the entire church. Because of the strong echo some of the counterpoint wasn’t as crisp as we would have liked and the acoustics tended to swallow some of the higher pitched sounds but overall it was a great performance and a wonderful experience. At €10.00 per person it was one of the best bargains in town.
