Exploring Catania

This was our last day in Sicily.  It was also the first day of rain so we drove to Catania to explore.  We visited the fish market and a couple of ancient monasteries including Monsatero del Benedettini san Nicola L’arena, which is now the Humanities Faculty of Catania University. 

We had a fascinating guided tour through all the different levels, some of which at been built on top of lava flows from Etna in the past. 

Lunch was a delicious but simple meal in Trattoria Casalinga. We came back to Syracusa for a light supper in the railway bar and a fairly early night ready for departure in the morning.

We walked up to the Archaeological park in the morning to see the Greek Theatre and am amazing quarry with some fascinating caves.  There is also a Roman Amphitheatre on site. 

Following this we walked back to the old town for some lunch and then had a wander taking us into the Jewish Quarter of Ortigilia where there used to be a large Jewish population.  We saw some old baths about 80 metres underground, which were used for some old Jewish bathing rituals that have largely died out in the local community now. 


We had a quick beer in Archimedes square and acme back to the hotel for a rest. 

Our evening meal was at a good pizza restaurant, Casa di Pa, where we had a rather filling but delicious Pizza.

Mount Etna and Taormina

We left the hotel just before 9am today to drive to the Refusa Sapienza Nicolai about 1900 metres up mount Etna.  From there we got a cable car up to about 2500 metres and had a walk around the very dramatic snowy and volcanic lava landscape. 

There had been snow the night before so it was very fresh and the buses up to the top were not initially running.  A bit later they started running so we got one up to the top of Mt Etna – it was a four wheel drive vehicle with snow chains.  We were taken for a short walk by an experienced guide who showed us some of the recent formations from this year’s lava flows.  The ground was warm to the touch in places and you could see how much the snow had melted.  A very beautiful and dramatic scene.

After this we drove on to Taormina to see the Greek Theatre there and to have a wander along the main street, Corso Umberto I with some very expensive-looking shops and restaurants.  A 117 km drive got us back to Syracusa in time for a quick drink and then a delicious dinner back in Ortiglia, the old town.

Today we decided to see other parts of Syracusa and started with the market on Ortigio.  It had an impressive selection of fish and produce and we had a great snack in a local café there. 

After the market we walked out to the East cost of Ortigia and walked down the promenade to a castle at the end of the Island.  The views were good although access to the castle itself was limited.  We had a great lunch at a restaurant in the area called Il Veliero.  Gordon had an amazing trio of fish. 

Following lunch we picked up the tourist bus to get to the archaeological park as it was due to close at 6.30pm.  Sadly we got there at 3.40pm to find it had closed at 3.30pm so we came back to the hotel on the bus for a rest.  Did we say there are lots of cats in Sicily.  They are not very friendly!

We went out for dinner and tried a local bar but they decided they had closed their kitchen so we had a panini in the station bar opposite our hotel – it was actually very good.

Noto and Modica

Today was a driving say so we went first to Noto, a very pretty town that was more or less completely rebuilt following the 1693 earthquake.  We enjoyed exploring the sights and had a great lunch at a little restaurant called Il Giglio. 

Following Noto we drove on to Modica, a fascinating town that has a low and high part as it’s basically built in a gorge.  The sights there was also beautiful.  The drive back to Syracusa was about 1 hour and 15 minutes and we once again had dinner in Syracusa but our choice was very poor – the restaurant, MonCafe, had rude and indifferent staff and the Spaghetti alla Carbonara we ordered actually arrived as a disappointing tiny portion of Penne alla Carbonara. 


We came back to the hotel area and had a beer in the station bar and another game or two of Rumikub.

Exploring Syracusa and a puppet show

Today was a day to explore Syracusa.  We enjoyed the walk around and started with the archaeological museum and the catacombs of San Giovanni after the amazing modern church called Sanctuario della Madonna Lachrymee.  We walked to the archaeological park to find it shut so we picked up the tourist shuttle bus and went all the way round its one hour route. 

We got off at Archimedes and went to the church of St Lucy to look at the Caravaggio there, then visited the Cathedral.  We went down a passage where there were air raid shelters in the last world war and then had a granita and ice cream.  We walked back to the Jewish Quarter and got some puppet show tickets. 

While waiting we had a beer and a sharing board of cheese and meats at a local bar called Dada.  The puppet show lasted about an hour and was very dramatic and well-done.  Following that we had a couple of drinks and snacks at the bar on Archimedes then returned to the hotel to play Rumikub.

The start of an autumn trip to Sicily

We got up early today at 4am to drive to Gatwick ready to fly with Easyjet to Catania in Eastern Sicily.  All went smoothly at Catania and we picked up our hire car after a quick lunch at the airport.  The drive to Syracusa, where our hotel is, took about 45 minutes and we were arrived and unpacked by about 4pm.

We went for a wander around Syracusa and the old town on the island of Ortigia.  We had a decent dinner at a small restaurant near the sea front called Taverna Sveva after a few drinks on Place Archimedes.  We came back to the hotel and had quite an early night after the 4am start.