Edie tells me there were thunderstorms during the night, but I did not hear anything. However when I got up at 5.45 the sky was very grey and the ground was wet. As the big buses are not allowed to enter the street along the waterfront, we had to walk for about 10 minutes to where the bus was parked. Half way there it started to rain. We got a little wet before we reached the bus, but we had to wait for the others for some time as they must have taken shelter.

 By the time we had reached our first stop (factory outlet for honey, olives, garlic, wine and who knows what else) it was drizzling. Outside the shop was a large trellis with a grapevine that had an exceedingly good crop of grapes. We did actually buy some honey and some gift bottles of three different desert wines including limoncello.

We started to climb Mt Etna ( which means fire) and the weather was starting to clear and we thought all would be good. Not 5 minutes later and we were in cloud. When we got to the car park it was a whiteout. We couldn't see any buildings. We were supposed to spend 3 hours here, but this was cut down to 30 minutes. The cable car was not running because it was too windy. So when the cloud cleared a little bit we staggered across to a building where we could get a drink and use the toilets. The wind was bitter and there was a sort of sleet hitting us.  So in time we set off down the other side of the volcano and it cleared enough so we could see the lava flow from the 1992 eruption . The road we travelled is new as the previous one was wiped out. We saw the remains of a house caught in the flow. Hundreds of farmers live on the slopes as the soil is very fertile. So the mountain gives but also takes away.

 It was arranged that our hotel rooms would be available a little earlier and our optional tour was brought forward an hour. Syracuse is a large modern city today, but it was founded by the Greeks in 800BC. Since then just about every power around the Mediterranean has been and gone. So the tour took us to the Archeological Park where we saw a Greek Amphitheater, a limestone quarry used by the Greeks to get building materials for their temples and theaters. What had started out as a very cold morning, was now a very humid afternoon, where everyone was jostling for shade.

 The next part of the tour was the old town where the Greeks first colonized the place. Some original pieces remain, but most have been destroyed by earthquakes and wars. However the layout is the same, so there are many narrow streets. Most of the buildings date from the 1700's.

We were once again footsore and rung out. We decided that we did not need more pasta and a large main course, so we skipped dinner and went for a walk along the main street and stopped for a toasted sandwich and a drink. When we got back the others told us that dinner was dreadful and we were wise to miss it. Early to bed tonight.