My partner and I loved our wonderful stay at andrea's place. We arranged everything very late and completely didn't expect to come across the place of our dreams.
Gallina beach, Andrea's helpfulness to get us around, and his father's handmade wonderland (AKA the solarium) is the best thing that could have happened to us. Big seas and big skies are what i miss most from back home, and the thunderstorms just made it better.
Sicily had been blasted by the hottest summer on record (up to 48 degrees!), without rain for months and months, and we arrived to a panoramically beautiful and very parched dusty orchard overlooking the sea. There are olive and orange groves, capers and prickly pear all around and everywhere, but the property itself has that and much more- there is a big carob tree, clementine, rosemary, sage, sumac, jujube, figs and lots more, including of course the small vineyard between the house and the cliff over the sea. When we arrived mostly the landscape was green grey and silver.
After a couple of days, thunderstorms hit in incredibly dramatic bursts as the clouds and lightning got stuck between the sea and the hills that fringe Gallina. We stayed long enough (12 nights all up) to see the overwhelming effect of a lot of rain on thirsty fertile land- by the time we left everything was covered in a fresh carpet of green shoots, and the dust had washed off of every leaf. A lot of the landscape and sea view photos on the profile i thought were just of the surrounding area, and actually they are of the property. The view is breathtaking from the solarium. It's pretty well protected from the wind, and is simple, beautiful, and comfortable day and night.
The house itself is hard to describe but a pleasure to spend time in, living the good and simple life. It's clearly different from everything else around it, at the end of the street, up a driveway past the little but cared for orchard, to a house made of lots of wood, and lots of handcrafting from Andrea's father. The upstairs deck is probably where you'll hang out if you're not at the solarium or on the beach. There were a couple of beach umbrellas and enough fridges, and a simple small kitchen, also a big kitchen storage room to the side. There was the perfect pasta pot available of course, but could do with a bigger chopping board and knife.
Although we got away with not hiring a car on our trip thanks to Andrea helping us out, in general, I think most people who to stay here should consider their transport options. There is no bus servicing Gallina, and there also isn't a shop within walking distance. The road in between the towns is also not good for cycling if you're planning to get groceries. There are bus stops between Catania airport and Avola town center that show up in a google search. But there other stops too, pretty much unmarked- the closest to the house is at the hospital, the next stop is near the first supermarkets on the edge of Avola, in front of a shop called acqua & sapone.
The walk to the beach in Gallina is quick and lovely and you get to rock-hop a bit. The walk to cape negro is also easy and lovely, better as a sunset thing. First you come to the rockface beach (?), not really for swimming but amazing to see, then back up to a big old barracks ruin on a cliff with a great view.
We were there in the first weeks of september- the start of off season and the crazy weather, so the beach was really not full at all and still hot and beautiful when the sun was out.
We really loved our stay, thanks Andrea!