Day one in Siracusa
We are staying on the island of Ortigia-a small island connected to the mainland of Siracusa by a short bridge. This is the "old city", where the Greeks first landed. Roads are winding and streets cobblestone. The hotel is in the water and feels carved from stone 1000s of years old.
After another great breakfast (see photo of Deb's yogurt) we head out with Rosa, our guide at 9AM (it's already hot- really have to start early). She has perfect English given the fact she lived in Connecticut from age 7-18 before moving back to Sicily. Our guide on the other side of the island, Jackie, was born in LA and lived in Montebello, east of LA, until she was 16.
First we go to the Archeological park where she fascinates us with the history of the Greeks and Romans in Sicily. There is a Greek theatre (second largest in the world) built out of stone- pretty incredible. This is next to a Roman amphitheater built many years later. The Greek influence here is everywhere. She gives a great tour of the area- she's a great storyteller-and then takes us back to Ortigia where we go to the Duomo ( every city has one) and tour the underground passages built under a former Greek temple. It is so cool down there (18m under) that the girls would be happy staying down there for longer. Never seen them so interested by Greek and Roman history as when we were down in the tunnels.
It's now about 1pm and everyone is hot and hungry. Rosa steers us to a small cafe for lunch and shows us a great fish place for dinner. Lunch is spinach and mushroom tart things that are similar to spanikopata (Greek influence everywhere) and caprese sandwich.
Head back to the hotel for naptime (for 50%). We heard about Mitt's VP pick this AM and are trying to find it on CNN. Already missing the Sunday morning talk shows!
Update: Sarah finds CNN (linked to US CNN!) on the TV. We are watching Wolf Blitzer live. Lol.
After another great breakfast (see photo of Deb's yogurt) we head out with Rosa, our guide at 9AM (it's already hot- really have to start early). She has perfect English given the fact she lived in Connecticut from age 7-18 before moving back to Sicily. Our guide on the other side of the island, Jackie, was born in LA and lived in Montebello, east of LA, until she was 16.
First we go to the Archeological park where she fascinates us with the history of the Greeks and Romans in Sicily. There is a Greek theatre (second largest in the world) built out of stone- pretty incredible. This is next to a Roman amphitheater built many years later. The Greek influence here is everywhere. She gives a great tour of the area- she's a great storyteller-and then takes us back to Ortigia where we go to the Duomo ( every city has one) and tour the underground passages built under a former Greek temple. It is so cool down there (18m under) that the girls would be happy staying down there for longer. Never seen them so interested by Greek and Roman history as when we were down in the tunnels.
It's now about 1pm and everyone is hot and hungry. Rosa steers us to a small cafe for lunch and shows us a great fish place for dinner. Lunch is spinach and mushroom tart things that are similar to spanikopata (Greek influence everywhere) and caprese sandwich.
Head back to the hotel for naptime (for 50%). We heard about Mitt's VP pick this AM and are trying to find it on CNN. Already missing the Sunday morning talk shows!
Update: Sarah finds CNN (linked to US CNN!) on the TV. We are watching Wolf Blitzer live. Lol.
posted by csmcid at 5:59 AM
1 Comments:
Your trip sounds so great! The heat.... Well what do you expect from the Mediterranean in the middle of August? We are enjoying perfect la Jolla weather. Which is good because it is 110 degrees back at home.
Please remember that one gellato a day is the minimum, not the maximum as the song goes!
Love
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