Sicily: sparkling Syracusa

You left us still shaky from the attempted assault on Etna and preparing for the next leg: cycling to Syracuse (further down the eastern coast). 

Lest this turn in to a litany of cycling disasters, I will skim over the details of the ride (as I failed to skim over the S114) that eventually saw one of us limp into town hot, tired and dehydrated. There are lessons to be learnt from this but, instead, let's hear what Jan felt about our destination which turned out to be a good place to recover from the ordeal of getting there.

"In Siracusa the sun shines, the streets are paved with gold and the sea sparkles once more. Our apartment is down a tiny alley between the marina and the duomo - perfectly placed for exploring the city. We set off on a gentle circuit of Ortigia island to get our bearings. This is the Baroque centre, built on the much earlier Greek and Roman foundations, sometimes quite literally: the duomo uses the original Greek temple (complete with pillars) as its frame, with a wonderfully over-the-top 18th century facade. I was really taken by some of the votive offerings to the local saint - lots of jewellery and watches, and a collection on eye-shaped charms.  A good market, where we bought fresh fish and vegetables for supper. Then onto the real classical stuff of Siracusa: the Greek amphitheatre, which is in a great position back on the mainland, with views across the bay. On the hillside above the theatre (effectively at its entrance) was the amusement park: caves cut into the hillside that must have provided the concessionary stalls for popcorn and oysters; a series of niches for the Avenue of Stars; then grottos and water features to amuse the punters before the drama, or the games, began. And below, an amazing cave with odd acoustics which had allowed sentries on the hillside above to eavesdrop on prisoners incarcerated below. These days, the cave offers tour guides the chance to show off their renditions of 'O sole mio'."

Good eh? And she didn't even mention our visit to a bike shop for parts that ended up with my trying out a very smart folding electric bike which turned out to be fab and just what I need for my 70th birthday.