After accompanying Lenny to a job interview in Stockholm, I booked my first Wizz All You Can Fly ticket to Catania, Sicily with almost a full day layover in Warsaw. I mostly stayed at the airport to prepare my last minute visit in Italy, maximizing my Revolut Ultra lounge access.

I arrived in Catania at midnight and took the ALIBUS to the city from the airport. The bus unexpectedly took a detour from the train station missing my stop so I had to walk a bit more to reach my Airbnb.

As I learned the next day, I just missed the Feast of Saint Agatha which caused major road closures in the days of the festival. The road on Via Coronda was covered with melted wax that was slowly removed and cleaned in the next days during my stay.

My main objective during the visit was to spend a few days in the Mediterranean since the long winter in Northern Sweden is still challenging for me. Mount Etna, a still active volcano was on my bucket list so I hoped for a reasonable winter weather, rented a car, and headed out for a 40 minutes ride up to the mountains leaving the busy Catania behind. Adapting to the southern driving style after getting used to the overly defensive Swedish traffic was excitingly challenging in the first hour but after it became a bit of a burden on me. Luckily by leaving the towns behind, peace came during the serpentines up to Mount Etna. The climate changed gradually from the sea level up to around 2000 meters of Piano Provanenza (Northern entry) a ski resort covered with a descent amount of snow. On the way a landscape turned into volcanic with sulfur smell and reminding me of the terrain of the moon. I was unlucky with the weather, the beautiful mountain views were hidden behind a thick fog.