Province of Syracuse, Sicily, ItalyAfter another lovely breakfast and visit with our host, Alfonso, we were on the road to Syracuse. One missed turn and we were taking the long route to Noto ... our stop for lunch and a tour of this amazing Baroque city.
Our visit was cut short however when a scooter (driven by a 17 year old boy!) decided to pass us on the left on a one-way street when we were turning left to go into the old town!! So, we lost about an hour with the boy, his father and the caribinieri, filling out police reports, etc. Fortunately, the boy was fine --a few scrapes on him and his scooter (don't know about after he got home, though!).
We made it to Noto's main street, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, for a condensed view of the city's famous architecture. But first, a desperately needed beer for the driver and some lunch.
Then an hour to look a the Holy Savior (1703), the Church of San Francesco (1745), Then to the Piazza Municipio and the Cathedral of Noto and the Palazzo Vescovile, Palazzo Ducezio and Palazzo Villadorta. We managed to pass by the Palazzo Alfano and Palazzo Viladorta on our way out.
Gary's worried about reporting the accident to the rental company and, as yet we haven't been able to contact our AirBnB to confirm arrival and get details of access, etc. so time to move on to Ortigia.
We arrived in Ortigia around 5 . . . found a bar near our B&B and tried making contact. Eventually reached Expedia -- so, turns out we had an incorrect phone # and Expedia had neglected to forward the details provided by the owner! Finally in our apartment by 6ish. Tonight dinner and more drinks:-)
Time for a funny story -- at dinner, Gary had beer and I ordered a bottle of red wine (figured I'd bring what was left back to our apartment). However, G decided he'd help me with the wine so I asked our server for a glass. Seems he thought I was ordering ice (guess he thought I was French) and brought an ice bucket . . . ooops! For the rest of the evening, the staff laughed every time they passed our table. Gary did get a glass, eventually.
Sunday, a day of wandering. We started the morning discovering Ortigia . . . from ruins to churches.
Then, we walked across the bridge to Syracuse and the Archeological Park of Neapolis. We didn't cover all the grounds, but what we did see was impressive.
The Greek theater is one of the largest in the world at 455 feet in diameter. It was built in the 5th century BC. Its 42 rows of seats were hewn directly out of the living rock.
The AD 1st century Roman amphitheater was where Siracusans held blood gladiator fights .. . when they tired of the plays at the Greek theater:-)
And ...funny story #2 (still wine related, of course). once again, Gary's on beer and I ordered a bottle of wine. When the server arrived with the wine and 2 glasses I said Oh ... just 1 glass. So, he took all away and returned with 1 glass & poured from an open bottle! Oh, I said ... I wanted the whole bottle. His response ... came back with a bottle and pointing to my full glass, said 'a gift'.
Monday . . . Mt Etna is highest volcano in Europe, and one of the most active in the world. It's 3327 meters high with an average basal diameter of 49km.
Today we drove up about 2000 meters. Then we rode the cable car up to 2500 meters (you know Gary just loved this part ... up & down!)). We were then driven by jeep to just over 2900 meters.
There we met our guide, Pepe, who took us around some of the craters and looked in on the most recent eruption. Fabulous day . . . great weather and great views.
Tuesday ... our last day in Italy!! We're off to Catania to drop off the car (and deal with the dents, scratches & accident report, etc). Staying at an airport hotel ... we have a 7am flight (5am airport shuttle!) to Malta in the morning so nothing planned.
Arrivederci Italy!
2025-05-23