It rained all the way to Syracuse. However, there was no rain once we arrived (one hour, 45 minutes by coach from Taormina).

Our first stop in Syracuse was the 2,500 year old archaeological park featuring Greek and Roman ruins . I was bitterly disappointed with what has been done to the Greek Theatre. They use the Theatre for staging operas and this, in itself, is not a bad thing but they have covered all the stone tiers with wooden seating. According to the local guide, this is a clever way to preserve the ancient stone work. That may be but you get no feel for the ancientness of the Theatre.

Inside the Park is the 'Ear of Dionysus' cavern. This is a huge cavern with fantastic acoustics. We were privileged to hear a tour group sing inside the cavern - a very memorable experience. When we heard the singing from outside the cavern, our local guide was not impressed that we all just wandered off back into the cavern to watch and listen to the singing group. We assumed the group must have been some choir group because they were singing in parts and were being conducted by one of the group members.

The Roman Theatre in the Park has been left entirely alone and, therefore, much more interesting with a feeling that you are viewing history.

One thing I found very strange and completely inappropriate in the Park were modern 'sculptures'. One such sculpture was a group of very tall brightly painted red figures of men and women. Another was of partly shrouded bodies in a boat that were depicted in various states of decomposition. The guide thought these were great . It's almost as if the people of Syracuse have no respect for their ancient history.

After our visit to the Archaeological Park, we crossed the bridge to Ortigia Island - the old town of Syracuse. As we were crossing the bridge, we witnessed a game of water polo. But they were playing water polo in kayaks. I could have sat and watched them play for some time but crossing from one side of the bridge to the other to take photos (not just me) had, once again, upset the local guide because we had diverted from her itinerary. Too bad! Get a bunch of Aussies together and you can expect the unpredictable.

While the Piazza del Duomo was a very large square that featured the Cathedral (Duomo), the water (kayak) polo was the most interesting part of the day.

Back in Taormina, we had drinks at the hotel and dinner at 'Romeo and Juliet' restaurant to celebrate Don's 60th birthday. [Don being one of our group.] Another member of our group organised a cake through the hotel and this was taken to the restaurant. The food was good and the live music was great - a very good night had by all.

There are lots of ceramic shops in Taormina but not a one sells door knobs.