March 24, 2014
Greek Column in 15th Century Cathedral
Temple of Apollo
Judi With Farmer's Salad
Finding Our Way
Last night, after dinner, we said good-bye to Mt. Etna. She was still spewing & spouting in the darkness. The clouds had cleared as she spit us a final red-plumed farewell. But it wasn't our final farewell! She watched over us as we drove towards Siracusa & we'll stay in Catania at her base on our last day in Sicily.
Old gal Garmin wasn't much help this morning. She got us part way then she thought we were lost. She kept "re-calculating" but was clearly trying to direct us to local roads with traffic circles. Our printed Google Map directions agreed with the road signs so we followed that. It took all of our brain power with three Bachelor's, three Master's, & one ordination degree to understand that we were on a new highway built post-our-Garmin. When we got closer to Siracusa & connected with the old road, Garmin kicked in & everything was in sync.
We are at the Hotel Gutkowski & have the luxury of free WiFi in the room. It's on Ortigia Island, Siracusa facing the water. The rooms have stone floors; the halls are hardwood. All is stark, clean, & this bathroom seems like a ballroom compared to our last hotel. The buildings here are ancient but the interiors are updated. We're in an annex & have to walk half a block to the reception area in another building for breakfast & to drop off our key. It's not a big deal unless it rains. Today is sunny but cold (mid-50's) & very windy on this island.
We walked to a market for lunch & enjoyed the colorful displays of produce & not so much the smell of fresh fish. David worked his way up to a vendor through a gaggle of tiny Italian women to buy olives then held them up as a trophy. We found a kebab restaurant, of all things, & had turkey & chicken shwarma. It was an excellent change from pizza. Colorful tiles decorated the walls, & tagines were lined up along the counter. One of the servers was from Morocco, but there was a touch of America. The TV was showing "Storage Wars" in Italian.
Last night, after dinner, we said good-bye to Mt. Etna. She was still spewing & spouting in the darkness. The clouds had cleared as she spit us a final red-plumed farewell. But it wasn't our final farewell! She watched over us as we drove towards Siracusa & we'll stay in Catania at her base on our last day in Sicily.
Old gal Garmin wasn't much help this morning. She got us part way then she thought we were lost. She kept "re-calculating" but was clearly trying to direct us to local roads with traffic circles. Our printed Google Map directions agreed with the road signs so we followed that. It took all of our brain power with three Bachelor's, three Master's, & one ordination degree to understand that we were on a new highway built post-our-Garmin. When we got closer to Siracusa & connected with the old road, Garmin kicked in & everything was in sync.
We are at the Hotel Gutkowski & have the luxury of free WiFi in the room. It's on Ortigia Island, Siracusa facing the water. The rooms have stone floors; the halls are hardwood. All is stark, clean, & this bathroom seems like a ballroom compared to our last hotel. The buildings here are ancient but the interiors are updated. We're in an annex & have to walk half a block to the reception area in another building for breakfast & to drop off our key. It's not a big deal unless it rains. Today is sunny but cold (mid-50's) & very windy on this island.
We walked to a market for lunch & enjoyed the colorful displays of produce & not so much the smell of fresh fish. David worked his way up to a vendor through a gaggle of tiny Italian women to buy olives then held them up as a trophy. We found a kebab restaurant, of all things, & had turkey & chicken shwarma. It was an excellent change from pizza. Colorful tiles decorated the walls, & tagines were lined up along the counter. One of the servers was from Morocco, but there was a touch of America. The TV was showing "Storage Wars" in Italian.
Disappointment
Our guide, Eva, met us at 3 PM to start our walking tour. She was energetic
& enthusiastic (maybe due to the espresso she chugged on the run) but I'm
sorry to say I was singularly unimpressed with what we saw. The buildings are
lovely, the views magnificent, the history rich. But we've seen it all before
& the most interesting occurrence had nothing to do with our
tour. Well, there was one remarkable building. I digress.
We started at the old port outside our hotel. The Greeks selected the location of Siracusa for trade. Looking across the sea to Greece, its natural harbors were perfect for their needs & it became one of the richest cities in the empire. Though mostly rebuilt in the Spanish Baroque style after the earthquake of 1693, the buildings are a medley of civilizations that also thought this was a good place to live: Roman, Byzantine, Norman, German, French, Arab, Spanish, & Jews (after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.)
Speaking of Jews, we were under the impression our guides knew we were interested in Jewish sites. The one in Taormina did; this one did not. I guess our travel agent in the States or the agent in Sicily forgot to tell her. In any case, the famous mikveh was closed. They needed an hour & a half to prepare it for viewing since it's fed by an aquifer & it floods. It takes time to pump the water out. Eva spoke to the owner by phone & tried her best but it wasn't to be.
She switched gears quickly & did take us to Via Guidecca (street of Jews) which still bore that name. She emphasized that it was the Jewish quarter, not a ghetto. The site of the old synagogue is now a church, of course. That & some buildings with Stars of David are all that's left. And the buildings with stars weren't even owned by Jews. One was built by a man who became wealthy in the leather business. He worked with Jewish tanners & put the star on his facade as nod to them. The other building was built as a copy of the first because the builders thought it was a pleasing design.
From the minuscule piazza in front of the site of the old synagogue we went to the enormous one in front of the cathedral. Here comes the remarkable building. This church was built around the remains of the Temple of Athena. Greek columns & all were integrated into the 15th century building. The columns were visible inside & out standing side by side with Baroque features of the sanctuary. Twenty-three centuries apart & co-existing. Pretty nifty.
Our last stop was a sixth century Temple of Apollo. It had been built over by a church, mosque, & barracks. When the barracks were no longer needed, they were dismantled revealing the Temple. Even the name of the Greek architect was visible on one step.
And now for the highlight of the day! We had an authentic Sicilian experience & learned one of their customs. I believe we call it "not getting involved." We were walking in the street (narrow is understood) when a car began to parallel park. The driver side-swiped a car as she aimed the front of hers into the space. She immediately veered away making eye contact with me. I noted her license plate number & asked Eva if she should report it. She said she didn't know the owner of the car that was considerably damaged. I asked if she should call the police. She told me they would not be interested. Saves on paperwork.
Dinner was at Locanda Mastrarua, a tiny place frequented by locals & suggested by Eva. The food was divine with artistic plating. The plates themselves looked to be hand made ceramic. They were each different bright primary colors & the unevenness of the shapes led me to believe they weren't thrown on a wheel. Judi's salad was large enough for all to share. The plating highlighted the glorious red cabbage, carrots, arugala, fennel, tomatoes, lemon & cheeses arranged in a circular pattern. Bread & the best breadsticks to date were served on a cactus leaf (prickles removed). The bass was fresh & perfectly seasoned & my pasta was hand made to order.
Our museum karma didn't hold up today. The archaeological museum was closed for renovation & I already mentioned our mikveh woes. Tomorrow is a new day. We're hoping to see a Roman villa (Armerina), a two-hour drive away. Eva called to make sure it would be open. Here's hoping with all our "aides" we find it.
Toby
We started at the old port outside our hotel. The Greeks selected the location of Siracusa for trade. Looking across the sea to Greece, its natural harbors were perfect for their needs & it became one of the richest cities in the empire. Though mostly rebuilt in the Spanish Baroque style after the earthquake of 1693, the buildings are a medley of civilizations that also thought this was a good place to live: Roman, Byzantine, Norman, German, French, Arab, Spanish, & Jews (after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.)
Speaking of Jews, we were under the impression our guides knew we were interested in Jewish sites. The one in Taormina did; this one did not. I guess our travel agent in the States or the agent in Sicily forgot to tell her. In any case, the famous mikveh was closed. They needed an hour & a half to prepare it for viewing since it's fed by an aquifer & it floods. It takes time to pump the water out. Eva spoke to the owner by phone & tried her best but it wasn't to be.
She switched gears quickly & did take us to Via Guidecca (street of Jews) which still bore that name. She emphasized that it was the Jewish quarter, not a ghetto. The site of the old synagogue is now a church, of course. That & some buildings with Stars of David are all that's left. And the buildings with stars weren't even owned by Jews. One was built by a man who became wealthy in the leather business. He worked with Jewish tanners & put the star on his facade as nod to them. The other building was built as a copy of the first because the builders thought it was a pleasing design.
From the minuscule piazza in front of the site of the old synagogue we went to the enormous one in front of the cathedral. Here comes the remarkable building. This church was built around the remains of the Temple of Athena. Greek columns & all were integrated into the 15th century building. The columns were visible inside & out standing side by side with Baroque features of the sanctuary. Twenty-three centuries apart & co-existing. Pretty nifty.
Our last stop was a sixth century Temple of Apollo. It had been built over by a church, mosque, & barracks. When the barracks were no longer needed, they were dismantled revealing the Temple. Even the name of the Greek architect was visible on one step.
And now for the highlight of the day! We had an authentic Sicilian experience & learned one of their customs. I believe we call it "not getting involved." We were walking in the street (narrow is understood) when a car began to parallel park. The driver side-swiped a car as she aimed the front of hers into the space. She immediately veered away making eye contact with me. I noted her license plate number & asked Eva if she should report it. She said she didn't know the owner of the car that was considerably damaged. I asked if she should call the police. She told me they would not be interested. Saves on paperwork.
Dinner was at Locanda Mastrarua, a tiny place frequented by locals & suggested by Eva. The food was divine with artistic plating. The plates themselves looked to be hand made ceramic. They were each different bright primary colors & the unevenness of the shapes led me to believe they weren't thrown on a wheel. Judi's salad was large enough for all to share. The plating highlighted the glorious red cabbage, carrots, arugala, fennel, tomatoes, lemon & cheeses arranged in a circular pattern. Bread & the best breadsticks to date were served on a cactus leaf (prickles removed). The bass was fresh & perfectly seasoned & my pasta was hand made to order.
Our museum karma didn't hold up today. The archaeological museum was closed for renovation & I already mentioned our mikveh woes. Tomorrow is a new day. We're hoping to see a Roman villa (Armerina), a two-hour drive away. Eva called to make sure it would be open. Here's hoping with all our "aides" we find it.
Toby
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