Saturday:
Our trip began on Saturday. We were all excited for our trip to Sicily as we left our hometown
of Pieksämäki by rail to reach the capital of Finland, Helsinki. Traveling from Pieksämäki to
Helsinki was efficient and comfortable. We had to spend a night in Helsinki, because our
flight left so early the following morning. After we checked into our hotel, we spent the rest of
the evening at the shopping center Jumbo, where we did some shopping and had dinner.
From the very first moments we realized that our group got along perfectly and this trip was
going to be one to remember.
Sunday:
After resting for the night we had to wake up early in the morning so that we wouldn’t miss
our flight. We had breakfast at the hotel, then we quickly packed our bags and began our
journey to Helsinki-Vantaa airport. After check-in and security check, we boarded our flight to
Budapest. The flights were spent sleeping and playing the card game UNO, which worked
as our entertainment during our trip’s long bus journeys. Our connection in Budapest was a
lot shorter than we expected so we didn’t have time to eat lunch at the airport. Once we
arrived in Palermo, all of us were super hungry so when we reached Palermo centrale, we
ate at the first restaurant to appear. The first we came across was McDonald’s, so we would
still have to wait a bit before we could eat some traditional Italian food. Not for long though.
Not an hour later we were welcomed to Cefalu. We met our Italian hosts as well as the
Lithuanian group which had arrived before us. Pretty much immediately after our arrival we
were seated at a restaurant ready to have a large dinner, even though our bellies were still
full from the previous meal. The food was delicious and we were quick to learn that dinners
in Italy are huge with multiple dishes served. We had a lot of fun getting to know our hosts
and even though we were super tired from our travels, one of the locals still gave us a small
tour of the extremely beautiful Cefalu.
Monday 29th. November 2021
Monday started with breakfast. In the hotel we stayed in small groups in separated
rooms. At breakfast we met, and we had a conversation about how we had slept and
what was to happen in the day to come. What comes to breakfast it was pretty much
different from what we are used to in Finland. There was no porridge and no berries,
but there were cakes and butter croissants.
In the morning we needed to be ready at 10 am. Of course, we from Finland were
ready as well as the others. The time had come, but our Italian teacher was not there.
We learned something new about Italian culture, like we had learned about the
breakfast. Few minutes later our leader arrived, and we started to walk to the old town
of Cefalu. The morning was beautiful. Sun was shining and everyone was excited. We
visited a local church, we saw the city’s historic attractions and admired the sea views.
Then unfortunately it started to rain, and we had not got prepared, we got soaked to
the bone. Luckily, we found a museum where to hide from the rain.
Then it was time for lunch. The restaurant was the same than last night. We hadn’t any
idea what we would eat because they had made the decisions for us before. We had a
lot of food, and we spent maybe three hours at lunch.
At 15.30 we started indoor activities in the sports hall of a local school. Because it was
still raining, we could not walk so we got a car ride. The ride was speedy. Roads were
narrow and winding. If I had been behind the wheel, I would not have driven that fast.
However, we got to our destination. The school’s sports hall was nice. Local young
people came also to play with us, which was so cool. Time felt like flying. It was time
to leave.
Late at night we still had a huge dinner. The dinner took maybe three hours again.
When we finally got back to the hotel, we were so ready to sleep.
Tuesday:
On Tuesday we went to school and we had for the first time all project partners in the same
place. We got name tapes and every country had a presentation of their school. After school
presentations we ate pizza at the school. Then school of Sicily had a presentation about online
slavery.
After school we had lunch in a restaurant. After lunch we went to a hotel getting ready for a
football tournament. The football tournament was inside a different school building than the
presentations. In the tournament we had three teams and we played a couple matches.
When the football tournament was over, we had a few hours of free time. We went for a walk
with students from every country. At 20.00 o’clock we had dinner at a restaurant.
Wednesday
On Wednesday morning we meet everyone in the hotel lobby. Then we took a walk to the
school. We had a tour in the school and a teacher told us about it. We started to plan our work
of the day which was made of metal. We were a bit tired and we found a coffee machine from
the school and then we took cups of coffee. Students from the school didn’t have lunchroom
so we didn’t have school meal like in Finland we would have. We had a coffee break and
after that we continued our works. We put a first letter of from our names on the piece of
metal.
When we had our works done we headed up to lunch which were in the same place than other
days.
Wednesday:
On Wednesday 1st of December we explored our host school and climbed on the Rock. One
student of Cefalu said that he had climbed to the Rock dozens of times. We were glad that it
were sunny day to climb there because the ground would otherwise have been really slippery.
We were hungry and little tired after climbing so then we had tiny free time. Glad we had
time to go take a shower because we met the Mayor of the city. We met him at the Town Hall
and he had a speech to us. After that we had a big dinner together in the same restaurant with
our Erasmus+ Project family.
Thursday:
We had to get up early on Thursday. As soon as we got dressed and had breakfast, we caught
a bus to Mount Etna and the city of Catania. The bus ride was pretty long, but the views of
the mountains were amazing.
Mount Etna was our first destination. Our time on the mountain was around 20-30 minutes,
during which we bought souvenirs and snacks from a small store located there. The weather
on Mount Etna was very windy. The temperature was around 2 degrees Celcius, and there
was snow on the ground. After the quick stop, we hopped back to the bus that took us to
Catania.
On the bus, our guide told us interesting facts about Catania.
Our visit to Catania was way shorter than expected. We had an hour to explore the town. We
Finns spend it eating Lunch at a cafe. The only attraction that stuck to mind was the Elephant
in the town square.
Following our stop in Catania, our bus took us back to our hotel.
At the hotel, we had a short break to change clothes or to rest. Next, we caught the bus again
to a nearby small village, where we had dinner. We ate a lot of meat that evening, and the
dinner took three hours.
As soon as dinner was over, it was time to go back to the hotel to rest and get ready for the
next day.
After Thursday’s trip to Etna and Catania, we were a bit exhausted. Despite this, we were
both excited and sad about our last day in Sicily. Once we became accustomed to the culture
and natural surroundings, we couldn't let them leave. Thus, we decided to make the most of
the last day.
Friday:
Our trip to Palermo began as early as nine in the morning. While on the bus ride, we once
again experienced spectacular views from the window. As for the city itself, it wasn't to be
missed. There were many old buildings. Nevertheless, they didn't lose their historical power.
Unfortunately, we only got to enjoy Palermo's sun briefly due to unexpected rain. We were
able to find rain cover at the closest pizzeria. As we couldn't resist the chance to taste Italian
pizza, we stayed a little longer to satisfy our appetites. After our small food break our next
destination was the local shopping mall. Due to our limited time there, many of us did not
manage to find something to buy. We did, however, get to taste real Italian ice cream, and it
was absolutely delicious.
In the evening we enjoyed a huge farewell dinner with a folk show. Despite having been in
Italy for a week, we were still amazed at the level of energy the Italians possess. Folk show
was one of the most memorable experiences we had during the trip. We even managed to sing
some of the played songs! Eventually, some people began dancing to the music and others
greeted them. Our dinner ended with a certificate ceremony in which everyone received a
certificate for participating in the Erasmus+ project. Once we said our goodbyes to everyone,
we went back to the hotel to pack.
Day 6 (Saturday 4th December 2021)
We have been having the time of our lives, seeing the sights, and tasting the flavors of this
beautiful place. We will miss the bright sun of this place, and we will look back on our time
in Sicily with fond memories. But it is time to say our goodbyes and head home. Our
departure date begins early in the morning with a minibus ride to the airport.
At the airport, we checked in and left our luggage in the hold. Our first flight was to Riga (it
lasted a couple of hours).
When we landed, many started to get hungry, so we decided to eat food at the airport. We had
a little time to shop at the airport, so some of us decided to look around and buy souvenirs.
On the second flight, we went by propeller plane. It was an enchanting experience.
When we arrived at Helsinki-Vantaa airport, we took a bus and headed to our small city. In
the middle of the trip, we stopped for dinner at Jari-Pekka. While we ate, our minibus rider
told us that the bus's transmission didn't work and got stuck in second gear. Then our bus
driver called his colleague to come pick us up.
Our first minibus driver made it to Hartola where another bus driver picked us up on the bus.
It was so late in the night, like about 11 pm. Luckily we all had fun during our minibus ride
so it wasn’t that bad waiting. After we got to go like a few hundred meters in the other
minibus, the other minibus driver called that one of our luggage fell off the ride. The bus
driver drove back to get that lost luggage.
We got an idea to bet on whose suitcase fell off the ride. It was amusing. The bus ride was
such an adventure and entertaining.
Overall, we all were so tired but happy when we finally got home at 2 am. Our whole trip
was an incredible experience.
