Sunday 6 September 2009

We have breakfast downstairs in the restaurant. The range of food is wide and of good quality. We go out and explore the old quarters of Ortigia . De district is on an island separated from the mainland by a narrow stretch of water. First we have a coffee near the waterfront and then head for the piazza del Duomo. The Duomo or Cathedrals was originally a Greek temple from 530 BC and this is clearly visible on its western side both outside and inside.The Doric columns are still part of the structure. In 1693 the church was heavily damaged by an earthquake. The Norman façade collapsed during the quake. The church was reconstructed in baroque style and the new façade fitted with statues by Marabitti shows its 17th century origins. The square in front is great too with a few baroque palaces and a giant modern work of art depicting a half buried giant.  

We continue to the Piazza Archimede with a 20^th century fountain and the building of the Banco de Sicilia. We walk on and arrive at the ruins of the Temple of Apollo near the bridges connecting Ortigia with mainlaind Siracusa.  From here we take a taxi to the Neapolis, the “new” Greek city with the large  Greek theatre. The ticket office a quite walk away from the entrance, but fortunately the taxi driver forewarns us saving us the extra walk back and forth. The grand theatre could hold 15,000 spectators in its heyday. The Romans undertook some changes to make it suitable for gladiator fights. The 17^th row was removed, probably to separate the classes. Underneath the theatre there are some stone quarries from Greek antiquity. Most see worthy is the first one nicknamed  “Dionysos' ear” and is the only one open to visitors these days. A travel group from the Abruzzi starts singing there regional anthem. The cave is 20 metres high and 60 metres deep and with a bit of fantasy can be seen as the inside of an ear. We walk back to the entrance. 

We take a taxi to the Basilica San Giovanni. This is a partly ruined basilica, that has kept its ordination. It is a cross basilica, enriched with a Norman rose window. The church was built over the grave of saint and martyr San Marciano. The underground grave and chapel can be visited with a guide. There are 12th century fresoes showing saints and the apostle Paul, who according to the bible spent 3 days here on his way to Rome. In honour of this event there is frescoe of him too. Then follows a tour of the catacomben, in which Christians of Siracusa buried there dead from the 4^th century onwards in what used to be a Greek water distribution system. All the dead and their valuables have been robbed in the course of centuries, but for one sarcofagus, that the thieves had overlooked. It was dug up in the 19th century and is now on display in the local archeoligical museum. After a good half hour we back at ground level. We take a taxi back to the hotel. 

After some refreshment we go out to a pizzeria for lunch. It is so hot outside the a break for siesta is the only sensible thing to do.  

After our siesta we take our usual route to the waterfront, where we order a beer. It still fairly warm, even around 6pm. After our beer we go back to the hotel for some cooling down. Around 8pm we are in front of  pizzeria Fiorentina. Recommended for the best  pizzas in town. That is no exaggeration. What we did not know that it is also the loudest restaurant in Europe. The waiters are constantly shouting the orders to one another and all customers are loudly welcomed and shown out. Waiters litterally run and jump through the room. You hardly know what hits you. Are they all suffering from ADHD, are the on pills ore coke or is it just a game. In some odd way it is rather funny, but it gets tiring after a while. Lots of mistakes are made and some orders just disappear to the wrong tables. When we are back on the street again there is is line of people waiting to get in. 

We take a coffee and a cocktail on the waterfront. . 

Weather: warm, 33ºC/91ºF

 

Monday 7 September 2009

 

Last night we had some heavy rain storms. During the early hours of the morning it is still raining (showers). Today we will be making a tour around the South Eastern part of Sicily.  We drive in the direction of  Noto, a small town about 65 km South of Siracusa. Noto has a beautiful town centre around the traffic free Corso Vittorio Emanuelle. First thing to do In Noto is climbing the tower of the San Carlo church. From the top I have a great view on the town centre and the Duomo across the street. The stairwell is very narrow. You have to wait until the previous visitors have come all the way down. Next on our list is a visit of the 18th century baroque Duomo. In 1996 the dome collapsed. It took 11 years to restore it into its former glory. The frescoes inside are still covered and will be revealed shortly. Across from the Duomo is the town hall.  Just like most other historic buildings, it has been restaurated quite nicely. Here we visit the hall of mirrors, now in use as a mariage room. It has a 19th century interior, the stained glas work is early 20th century. From there we walk down the corso until the city gate Porta Reale from 1838 topped by the three symbols of allegiance to the Bourbon dynasty: a dog, a tower and a pellican, symbolising loyalty, strength and sacrifice. We walk back on the Corso for a visit to the 19th century Teatro Communale. This theatre has a grand interior. Many visitors like to have their picture taken while sitting or standing in one of the boxes. After the theater we sit down at a side walk café for a coffee. It starts raining again. When the rain seems to blow over we rush to the car.  

Next stop is Ragusa. There we want to see the San Giorgio church.  En route we weather a couple of rain showers. Raguse has two parts. The lower older part, Ragusa Ibla and the new upper part Ragusa, that was built after the very destructive earthquake of 1693. Ragusa Ibla is charming mishmash of cobled streets, while the comercial city live is played out in the upper town. We arrive in Ibla around 1.30pm. The San Girgio is closed by that time. We go for lunch at Cucina e Vino. It turns out to be very delicious.: filled sardines and Sea Bass with lobster. After lunch we have a look at the church from the outside. 

We then set course for Caltagirone. Almost an hour's drive north. Again lots of rain during our drive, but by the time we get there it is dry again. In Caltagirone we look at the gigantic staircase, La Scala connecting the Senator square with the former cathedral, the Santa Maria del Monte. Early 17the century the staircase was constructed as a road, but soon people realised it was far too steep. Hence the steps. The ceremic tiles on every step date from 1954. These days Caltagirone is famous for its ceramics. There are many shops selling tiles and other ceramics. Also the San Francisco bridge is decorated with ceramic tiles. Before we drive back to Siracusa I drink a espresso (standing up; €0.70). It has gotten to 5pm already and we have some driving ahead of us. We arrive in Siracasa around 6pm. 

We have a rest, take a shower and go out to the waterfron for a prosecco. After that we have dinner at  La Foglia. Also a special place to eat, but in a totally different way than yesterday's chaos. La Foglia is decorated and furnished as an antique shop and run by a rather artistic and idiosyncratic gentleman. He is called Beppe and doubles as a sculptor. The restaurant is like a living room for him. The kitchen is run by Nicoletta, his wife and their daughter Luciana, who is also responsible for the crocheted table cloths, the antique unmatched glasses and plates. The menu is remarkable too: soups, ravioli or linguini with 10 different sauces. Some Sicilian specialties of fish and meat. Erik takes Palermo veal and I choose Sardines alla Beccaficu (breaded and filled with garlic, parsley and pecorino cheese and then fried) Finally a typical Sicilian dessert, which is iced but otherwise hard to describe. It is all delicious. We round off with some espresso before we head back to the hotel. 

Weather: with rain temperatures drop to 23ºC/73ºF, but as soon as the sun returns it warms up to 29ºC/84ºF 

 

Tuesday 8 September 2009

 

After breakfast we go out to have a look at the puppet laboratory. Siracusa has a puppet theatre, which is part of centuries long tradition of puppet theatre making in Sicily. In the workshop puppets are made for use in the theatre. The workshop is not open yet, but through the gate we can the tiny workspace, full of equipment, tools, parts and work in progress.  

We walk back to the hotel, pick up our baggage and walk to the car. From Siracusa we drive straight to the airport of Catania. We arrive there around 11am. We return the car and drop off our luggage at the Brussels Airlines window. Staff is not as efficient as the Brussels collegues. Some elderly passengers mix in our queue and they need a lot of assistance, but when it is our turn everything goes fast enough. We go through security and take a pizza slice at the bar. Facilities for food, drink and shopping are rather poor at this airport. 

Boarding starts on time. With a bus we are driven to the aircraft. It leaves about 10 minutes late at 1.05pm. The flight goes smoothly and is fully booked. In Brussels we have to do quite some walking from the arrival gate to the baggage reclaim area. Then we have to down four floors to the railway station. The train is waiting for us to take us to Brussels Central. There we have to wait 30 minutes for our train to the Netherlands. The train is overcrowded and we cannot sit until the first stop at Mechelen (10 minutes) where a lot of people get off. We arrive in Rotterdam at 8.06pm and take a taxi home. 

Weather: sunny 27ºC/80ºF; in Brussels 26ºC/79ºF, in Rotterdam 21ºC/70ºF

 

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