February 17, 2026

Torino, Italia > Gela, Sicilia

Travel Day. We are making our first Ryan Air flight together today. Ryan Air was chosen only because if offers a flight between Torino and Catania, the nearest airport to Gela. Ryan Air is a low cost (ha, ha) no frills airline that offers the flight for €19.99 (about $25) each way. Cheap right?

Well, what is included in this “Basic” fare? You get a seat somewhere on the plane. They will assign it. You get one bag which must fit under the seat. That is it. Now, you can “upgrade” to “Regular” for an additional €24.62 (about $30) making the total now €44.61 each way. But now you get a reserved seat, priority boarding and a 10 kg cabin bag in addition to the small carryon. Or, there is “Plus” – if you need to check a bag. The bag may be check and weight up to 20 kg. However, you only get your small carryon and a reserved seat. That will cost you €32.55 more.

Lastly, you can choose “Flex” for €99.20 more. Here you get the small bag, a 10 kg cabin bag, reserved seat, up front seating, priority boarding, and fast track through security. The bottom line is that our flight cost us  €328.66 (about $400, $200 each) for a round-trip flight. We chose “Regular”. The “other” problem is that these definitions change constantly. On the same flight on the same day, the meaning might be different. You have to be really careful when booking your flight, unless you are going basic. The truth is that is still less expensive than a regular airline, and they go to places others don’t. Seating is six across, although the leg space is ok.

This morning we are on Ryanair Flight 1019 which is scheduled to leave Torino at 10:55. We have breakfast in the B&B and then head downstairs just before 08:45. Dario, our car and driver, is scheduled to pick us up at 09:00. Just as we get downstairs We get a WhatApp massage at 08:46 confirming he is here. Due to street access he is actually parked in front of Lao a block away. He comes and meets us and we are off to the airport.

Ryanair no longer had paper boarding passes. Everything is electronic. There is only a guide to help you through the system. Since we don’t have any bags to check, we go directly to the Fast Track Lane and go through security. Very quick and mostly painless. We’ll get used to not having paper boarding passes someday.

Security was fine but Mary didn’t realize the bags were carryon. So, she still had two very small pairs scissors. They gave her bag and extra search but let her keep them. After security was the standard gauntlet of duty-free shops where everything is more expensive. We got though that and still had 45 minutes before they posted the gate.

We walked around, looked in the shops, bought a sandwich and some water for the plane. We were keeping a watch on the Ryanair App as well as the electronic display. The Ryanair App was first to post a gate 6B. It still wasn’t on the board, but we headed in the direction anyway. Shortly after we got to the gate the electronic board posted 6B. We were the second group of people down the passageway to gate 6B.

Using the boarding pass on our phone, along with our passports for identification we were immediately processed at the gate and headed to plane. About halfway we were stopped because ti was roped off. They processed nearly everyone, at least those with priority boarding, before allowing us to start of the plane again. Downstairs, they didn’t use a jetway here. On to the tarmac and another stop before we could cross the active roadway to the plane. At least there is no bus.

They blocked the roadway, then let us cross the road and go to the plane. Up the stairs to the plane and into our seats. After that they packed everyone else on the plane. We probably took off on time, but both of us were asleep before the plane left the ground. We woke up about an hour later when they announced we were about to land. That didn’t make a whole lot of sense because it is a two-hour flight.  Turns out, the flight was a half-hour early.

Amazed we were that early, we climbed down the stairs, the up the next set of stairs into the airport. No bags to collect so we headed directly to the pickup point. The driver wasn’t there, why would he be we’re a half-hour early. Using WhatsApp we contacted the driver to let him know and he wrote back immediately. A few minutes later he was there. He said he would hold a yellow sign. Indeed, it was which made him easy to spot.

We walked out to the parking lot, got in the car and headed to Gela. The ride took about an hour-and-a-half. It was a beautiful ride through the countryside of Sicilia. Apparently, it is artichoke season. There were fields and fields of artichoke and oranges.

We arrived in Gela, but the driver was from Catania, so finding the B&B in the narrow one-way streets of the old part of town was somewhat difficult, but we did it together and made it. We were able to check-in and get into our room quickly.

We are staying in a B&B called Palazzo Gioffrè on via Ventura (#24). IT is one a one-way street not far from Carmen’s shop and the main shopping street in the old part of town. It is a recently redone building, well at least on the inside. The units are on the 1st floor (2nd in American). The stairs a covered by beautiful marble.

It is missing a railing halfway down, but not a problem. We enter into a common area with a couch. Our room, labeled Mango, is just off to the left of the entrance. It is a nice large room with a big table. It will be good for playing cards. We ate the sandwich we bought in Torino Airport, then decided to go for a walk. We wanted to make sure we knew where Carmen’s shop was. Found it without any problem. It is just a couple blocks away.

We then walked down Corso Vittorio Emanuele past Ottica Contarino, Carmen and her sister’s (Anna) shop. We continued on to Piazza Martini della Libertà where the street changes name to Via Cappuccini. Cappuccini is not the plural of cappuccino. There is a legend, often debated that suggests that in 1683, after the Battle of Vienna, Capuchin monk Marco d’Aviano was given bags of coffee left behind by the retreating Ottoman forces. He found the coffee too bitter for his liking, so he added milk or cream to soften it. In doing so he created a drink dubbed the “Kapuziner”, remember he is in Vienna not Italy, in honor of his order.

Another possible explanation is that the name “cappuccino” was derived from the Franciscan order of Italian Capuchin friars because of the color of the coffee, when mixed with milk, has the same color as the brown robes and distinctive hooded cloaks (cappuccio) worn by the monks. Today, in Vienna, a cappuccino is espresso topped with shipped cream (Schlabobers) rather than just frothed milk. This maybe have been the historic recipe. Modern Viennese cafes do offer cappuccino with form, but many still use cream. There is a slightly lighter version of the whipped cream cappuccino called a Wiener Melange, still cream just not whipped.

All that is unimportant. We stopped at a church, actually an old Monastery called  Ex Convente Padri Cappuccini at the end of Via Cappuccini. We looked inside the church. It was quite beautiful. There was even a Capuchin friar in the church. At the end of the street was a plaza from which you could look down on the shore and beach below. A very nice view.

We walked back up Via Cappuccini. There is a park next to the church, was probably part of the monastery at one time, now a public park called Villa Comunale Giuseppe Garibaldi. Currently is it being “renovated” Looks like it will be really nice when they are done. We walked back down the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, past the shop, and further west. It was getting to be our dinner time (18:00) but way before Italian dinner time, which usually begins no earlier than 19:00.

We looked at a couple different menus along the way. Nothing was hitting our fancy. Then we came upon Due Archi. The internet said it opened at 18:00, so we walked a little further turned around and arrived back at 18:00. We went inside but they said the didn’t open until 19:00. Disappointed we walked across the street to Bite Bontà Italiane which again the internet said was open.

They were open, but only the bar was open. So, we sat and had a drink and come chips. We waked to look at a menu. Saw something we could share and tried to order it. The guy thought we were nuts. It is too early for dinner, but I’ll ask the kitchen. We could have it ready in 45 minutes if you want. We said no think you. We finished our drinks and headed back across the street to Due Archi.

Why was Due Archi so important? Well tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. So, no meat tomorrow, or on Fridays, for a while. Due Archi has steak! We ordered a bistecca alla fiorentina. Before the steak arrived, they offered us patella. This is a typical Sicilian aperitif. It is a “fried bread” about 3 or 4 cm square made of chickpea dough. Served with lemon and pepper. Really very good.

The bistecca alla fiorentina was about 2kg and maybe 5 - 6 cm thick. It was served properly – no more than medium rare, and was clearly cooked over charcoal. It was nicely served sliced and ready to eat. We ordered a nice bottle of Sicilian wine – Amira Nero D’Avola 2023 from Principi di Butera. It went well with the steak.

After dinner we walked home and called it a night.

Buonanotte e Ciao,

Enrico e Maria