26. Sicily - Syracuse

The train ride from Catania to Syracuse was great. We got to the station early to make sure we got a seat and watching Etna in the distance, orange groves and the coast made the trip feel quicker than the hour it took.

Our accommodation was an Air B&B apartment on an island called Ortigia (pronounced Or-ti -jar) which we accessed by walking over a small bridge connecting Sicily to the island. Pic below was taken on the bridge.

The weather was perfect being sunny and cool. Being the European off-season for tourists, it was quiet enough to not have to wait in line to get into restaurants and cafes and yet enough people to give it a lively atmosphere. 

In the main Piazza was a group of locals dressed in traditional dress performing a dance.

The architecture is very similar to that found in Malta which includes narrow cobblestone streets.

These pictures are from the Piazza just up the road from us.

The street signs are carved in marble.

The cutest rubbish truck ever! Considering the island is roughly 45 hectares in size with narrow streets I supposed there have to be limitations with vehicle sizes.

Max contemplates life, the universe and everything...

A night out in the piazza with Aperol Spritz and Canoli.

 

And no, that's not the back of my head!

The view from our apartment overlooks a small excavation of ruins.

This is what one can get away with parking. The yellow Fiat is literally parked on the corner of an intersection on the outside of another car parked on the corner with the Alfa not letting it get all the attention. It was parked on the outside of that! Welcome to Italy!

There is a local supermarket on the island giving us the opportunity to buy goods to make some meals. I wasn't expecting to see this vending machine out the front...

Unfortunately, we couldn't book this apartment for as long as we wanted and we have to be out by Saturday morning. Max and I spent a few good hours looking for one similar to the one we're in. Being a small island, the new accommodation ended up being only 200 metres away. I hope it's as good as this one. We'll soon find out...