Catania - non mi piace

[joizy]

Today is my last day in Catania and I’m ready to go.

If it weren’t for this fabulous Airbnb that I am renting, and some terrific little restaurants I found nearby, and two spa experiences, I would write the whole place off.

Ok, so there were some positives. The Airbnb is one of the best places I have ever stayed. And it’s a good thing, because I am spending a lot of time here. I had a facial today and a massage yesterday - two different spas, and they were both great. And lunch every day has been really good - all restaurants right outside of my door.

Catania itself has seen better days. It’s dirty, grimy, congested, noisy, rough, graffiti and shit (human and animal) everywhere. It needs a really good bath. It doesn’t have the same appeal that Palermo did for me. I’ve heard people with opposite opinions - they didn’t like Palermo but loved Catania. This is my opinion and for whatever reason Palermo felt more welcoming and easier to figure out. There also seemed to be more to see - amazing mosaics, markets, baroque architecture and fountains, and the people were very friendly.

I had pretty much given up on Grindr and after an aperitivo came back to my Airbnb to charge my phone before going out for a light dinner. A guy contacted me. He was nearby. His screen name was “etero” - straight. He was looking for a blowjob. Seemed right up my alley. He sent a dick pick and it looked very nice. Caution flew out the window. I thought my luck had changed.

He had a hard time finding my building. First I sent him the location from inside, which I guess had him in the back alley, but I had also given him the address. He said he had arrived, but I didn’t see him. He sent a photo from an alley. I told him the street name and then the number - 50.

He finally arrived.

He was cute in a scruffy straight Italian sort of way. Thin, smaller than me, tight body, the same 5 o’clock shadow that they all seem to have, lightish coloring. He seemed straight and a little rough around the edges. 

We came up and he stripped. I started sucking him. He encouraged me to take my clothes off little by little. Something was off. I thought he was straight and wanted to get sucked. He started playing with my dick. I thought he wanted to suck me, but he didn’t, but it was clear he wanted more. How straight was this guy? He wanted to get fucked. His legs flew up in the air like his feet were filled with helium. I fucked him a little and it was kind of hot, but weird, and not what I wanted. Then he told me to suck him again, but now he couldn’t get hard.

I finally said it wasn’t going to work.

He said he wanted water.

A red flag went up. I mean, it was hot, but he wanted me to leave the room. Peter’s story from Honk Kong helped me think a little, but I could have done better. 

I picked my pants up from off the floor and threw them on a small bed on the side of the room and then went to the kitchen to get water. Damn, I forgot how big this apartment was. I walked very quickly, got water, and came back. He was standing in the middle of the room. I picked my pants up to see if my wallet was still inside. If I had really been thinking, I would have just put them on, but I didn’t want to be too obvious. Lesson learned. Don’t worry about being obvious when it means you might get robbed.

I gave him the water, and started to get dressed.

I told him I was leaving tomorrow. He said he had to go to Rome and asked if he could ride with me. I told him no.

Then he said, “regalo?”

I said he hadn’t said anything. He said, “you said in your message”. We looked at my our exchange and he pointed to the 50 I had written for the address.

Honestly, I didn’t want any trouble and was happy to get rid of him. I also am trying to get rid of my final euros. I gave him 50 and led him to the door.

So that is two guys who came here for money and neither one was worth it. I also had two others hit me up today asking for money. None of the other guys who contacted me either appealed to me or came through, so all in all, Catania was a bust on Grindr and it wasn’t that nice of a city to visit, even though there were a few bright spots.

I’m sharing this as a caution to anyone who does come. There is a sauna and apparently a few gay bars, so if that’s your scene, it might work out, but be careful about meeting guys on Grindr. It didn’t work out well for me.