Archive | March, 2012

quaint Ortigia

March 30, 2012 at 2:56 pm

After visiting the ruins in Siracusa, Carrie, Ginny, Lena, and I wound our way towards the beautiful old port town of Ortigia. Because of the narrow channel of water separating this island from the mainland of Sicily, Ortigia seems distinctly different from larger Siracusa. It felt like we had left the hubbub of modern Sicily behind and had stepped back in time.

We wound our way through a fruit and vegetable market, stopping here and there to snap pictures or dip into Sicilian ceramic shops. Carrie snapped this photos of Lena on my back as I bent over to take pictures of sun-dried tomatoes. Someone was getting a little weary of all the adventuring!

Eventually we walked into the blindingly white central piazza, Piazza del Duomo, where all the buildings and pavement gleamed of clean limestone. After some perusing of menus, we settled on a charming little trattoria with amazing pizza offerings. I ordered un mezzo litro del vino bianco della casa (hope my grammar is right, but I meant “a half-liter of the house’s white wine”), and we settled down to take in the piazza.

photo by Carrie

The pizza was amazing. I’m definitely taking our future visitors to this restaurant, with the strong recommendation that they order the quattro formaggio pizza: a four cheese pizza (made entirely with local Sicilian cheeses) hot out of a wood-burning oven… to die for.

photo by Carrie

After our dog-sitting adventure the other week, Lena is now obsessed with all animals, especially dogs and cats. She followed this little cat all around the restaurant.

After we had wined and dined to our heart’s content, we walked across the piazza into a trendy gelateria. Lena had her first taste ever of pistachio gelato and loved it.

We wandered back through town, snapping more pictures and soaking up the delicious sun, so warm and refreshing after a cold, wet winter. Just a minute before we reached our car, I looked down and discovered we had tuckered someone out completely. Sweet little thing, she slept the whole way home!

3 :: in friends, Lena, Sicily, travel

quaint Ortigia

March 30, 2012 at 1:56 pm

photo by Carrie

After our dog-sitting adventure the other week, Lena is now obsessed with all animals, especially dogs and cats. She followed this little cat all around the restaurant.

After we had wined and dined to our heart’s content, we walked across the piazza into a trendy gelateria. Lena had her first taste ever of pistachio gelato and loved it.

4 :: in friends, Lena, Sicily, travel

the ruins of Syracuse

March 29, 2012 at 2:20 pm

Meet Ginny (L) and Carrie (R), the two lovely ladies who stayed with us this week. They are from the D.C. area, as Elliott and I are. I loved having two girls my own age around to talk to, especially when it came to books, Downton Abbey, music, movies… the things that 25-year-old girls talk about these days. Whether we work for a non-profit in D.C. or live in London or mother in Sicily, some things are always the same.

On our trip to Syracuse, or Siracusa (as the Italians say), we first stopped at the archeological park on the outskirts of town. The first stop in the park was this overgrown Roman amphitheater, now turned brilliantly green in the lushness of Sicilian spring.

Later we turned in our tickets and walked into the main part of the park to see the three major sites: the Greek Theater, the Latomia del Paradiso (a sunken garden in an ancient quarry), and the Ear of Dionysius.

The Greek Theater was surrounded by caves in the hillside around top, and from one of the caves burst this rushing stream. The theater, large enough to seat 1500, looks over the port and towards the Ionian Sea. Workmen appeared to be building makeshift bleachers and a stage over the crumbling ruins of the old theater. I later learned the INDA (the Italian national drama institute) will be performing classical plays here this year! We might have to come back this summer…

photo taken by Carrie

We walked down into the “sunken garden” in the ancient quarry. It was a magical place, somewhat overgrown and Secret Garden-esque, with trees dripping with lemons and oranges.

We found the Ear of Dionysius, a huge cave in the limestone quarry. Legend has it that the tyrant Dionysius I of Syracuse housed political prisoners in the cave. The incredible acoustics of the cave allowed him to listen in to his prisoners’ secrets.

photo taken by Carrie

We spent some more time wandering through the gardens and admiring various locals soaking in the peaceful day. Meanwhile, hoards of tourists (about five school groups of Italian teenagers and seemingly endless cruise ship crowds all speaking German) filled the archeological park, and after awhile we’d had enough. We headed out of the sunlit grotto and wound our way towards Ortygia, the rustic town on an island just off the coast of Sicily. More photos from there tomorrow!

1 :: in Italy, Sicily, travel

the ruins of Syracuse

March 29, 2012 at 1:20 pm

photo taken by Carrie

We walked down into the “sunken garden” in the ancient quarry. It was a magical place, somewhat overgrown and Secret Garden-esque, with trees dripping with lemons and oranges.

1 :: in Italy, Sicily, travel

picnic in the valley

March 28, 2012 at 11:18 am

Hello, few and faithful who read this blog and care that I update frequently! I apologize for being MIA this week thus far. We’ve been entertaining some friends of friends who are visiting Sicily on their way through Italy. Lena and I have so much fun introducing Carrie and Ginny to a few of our favorite haunts near our home, and we also took a fun adventure to the ancient port city of Syracuse yesterday. I’ve got some pretty pictures to share, hopefully tomorrow!

In the meantime, here’s a bit of life around here…

For awhile now I’ve wanted to have a picnic with my friend Becca and her kids, but the weather’s been cold and rainy and windy, and thus a picnic hasn’t been at the top of our list of ways to hang out. However, as of mid-March, Sicily seems to have changed her opinion about what season we’re in, and spring has sprung!

And what better way to celebrate than to picnic in the great green outdoors?

It was warm and sunny and, other than a shepherd with his flock of sheep, we were the only people in the valley. After our picnic lunch, we hiked a little more through the cacti and green grass. The walk back up out of the valley at the end was the toughest part of our hike, but it was a rewarding way to finish a healthy, hearty picnic in our gigantic backyard!