Syracuse Factoids

Today's adventure is a trip to Syracuse which is further south on the island along the coast.  We aimed our little Smart car to the Archaeological Park and soon we arrived.  In this small area are the Greek and Roman Theaters. 

Erin at the top of the Greek Amphitheater - Overlooking the Archaeological Park

Syracuse was founded 733 BC by Corinthian settlers; Syracuse became one of the first Greek colonies on the island.  It quickly attained wealth and power and eventually became the strongest city in the Mediterranean.

This is just the base of a huge altar...they guess at least 50 bulls were sacrificed here at a time!

The Greek theater was huge and very impressive.  The theater would have seated 15,000 spectators.   Along the top edge of the theater in caves carved out of the rock.  These were used for tombs.  One of these was fed with water from the aqueduct and is known as the Nymphaeum.

Erin in front of the Nymphaeum

The Greek Theater

Looking down on Erin and the Greek Theater

Looking up at Erin and the Greek Theater - From where the "stage" was

The Roman Amphitheater is much older and is from the 3rd century.  It is one of the largest of its kind.  Again the area had many catacombs surrounding it that are tombs. It was really quite elaborate with many openings some for spectators and some for the contestants.  There were tunnels and passages leading up to the actual amphitheaters.  It was very interesting.

The Roman Amphitheater

In back of this area is actually a huge quarry, Latomia del Paradiso. The rock was used for the construction of Syracuse. Inside the quarry is a tall cave called Orecchio of Dioniso (Ear of Dionysius).  It was just a small cave that is really tall (and I mean really tall!) but it was fun to see and enter. 

The opening of the Orecchio of Dioniso

We enjoyed our day and had a little gelato and headed back to Trecastagni.  Tonight we will be headed toward Taormina to listen to a presentation that Boris was giving to a group of American tourist.  It was very interesting with lots of information on Etna, lots of pictures and all incorporated with music.  He is a very charismatic and dramatic speaker.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Erin is very fortunate, and lucky, to have Boris as a mentor.

Driving in Sicily has become easier but I am still convinced that it still takes both Erin and I to get to any given location!

Getting Ruined Out

On Sunday, Erin and I begin our two day journey of the island: The Great Adventure!  We head west towards Palermo.  My speedometer reads 125.... Wow! Until you remember that it is kilometers per hour... I'm only averaging 70-75 mph.  Some on my fellow drivers are going much (much, much) faster!    As we go along the motorway, we see in the distance this town on top of a tall mountain: looks cool.  So we go for the adventure and turn off the motorway.  The views are spectacular and it is amazing all the buildings they can fit into such a tiny space.  Let me tell you that there is little room left for roads!  At the far end of the mountain top, there is an old fort.  We park and we go exploring.  It turns out that this fort was key to holding Sicily from the impending invaders.  It was certainly worth the detour!

The Enna Fortress

The town of Enna, from the fortress

So now to Palermo... We entered the city and the traffic was terrifying!  After much circling, we finally find a spot to park the car.  We actually take pictures to help us find the car later... just in case.  We arrive later than expected plus it is Sunday so we don’t know what is open or really how to get to the various sites.  Then Erin spots A City Sights Sightseeing bus and 20 minutes later, we are on the bus.  What a fantastic tour that was considering we had really no idea what we were going to do and how we were going to do it! It was an unplanned surprise but those are usually the best kinds.  We loved the tour as we saw so much and learned a lot about Palermo too.  We jumped off at the Cathedral and took some pictures and walked further down to see a Piazza for a better view and pictures.  But we were hearing thunder and it was getting darker so we decided we better boogie out of there and back to the car.  We didn't make it! We quickly purchased an umbrella from a small tourist store as we left ours in the car as it was sunny and bright when we had left the car. But fortunately, we don't melt when we get wet so all was good.  We found the car, the people doubled-parked in the back of our car came back relatively quickly and it was off to the next destination!

The Cathedral from the bus

Erin and I on the bus tour

Tomorrow morning’s destination is Selinunte, Greek ruins. So we find a place about 10 miles from there and spend the night.  This hotel looks nice and is nice but like no one is there.  It is virtually empty.  I felt like I was in a Hitchcock movie.  It was weird but ended up being very nice.

The next day, we were up in time to get to Selinunte shortly after opening.  Was it ever impressive!  It had three different locations so we opted for the tram service to save time and to save our feet.  The first location was inland and was an example of temples.  Just beautiful!  Loved it!  But there is our tram driver waving at us when we emerge from the ruins.  We hop on board and we are off to the sea!  Again very awesome but now it has started raining.  But again this is just part of the adventure!  But we weren't to stay there.  We had the full package so were off to the third location, just Erin, me and the driver. He was an excellent driver and treated us very well, showing us many things. But then it was back to the sea to see that location until we saw all we wanted.  Both Erin and I were very impressed and happy that we made time to see this area of Sicily. 

The First Temple at Selinunte

Erin and another part of Selinunte

Next stop:  Agrigento: more ruins.  It was so funny… Erin and I were discussing that according to the GPS, we should be getting there soon and I look up and up on the hill are temples. You don’t see that every day in America!  And “Yeah! We were nearly there!”  But between there and me is a 5 exit round-about... Not fun and after two attempts, and much horn honking on my part (Erin is very proud of me as that is how Italians drive), I finally navigate to the parking lot.  Quite impressive ruins but I think we are tired and “ruined” out, we go through these quite fast, enjoying them but not lingering.  Then it was off to Trecastagni and her place.  What an adventure it had been and we and the car survived! 

The Round-About from Hell

The Ruins of a Temple at Agrigento

The Most Complete Temple at Agrigento

Train, Vini, and Getting Lost...Mom's First Day in Sicily!

Hello All!

I've decided to take over this blog and give Erin a break.  A big shout out to all my family, friends and coworkers following Erin's adventures!  I'm in Italy, actually found Erin and having a wonderful time!

My last text from Erin before leaving for Europe!

My Italian adventure began at 2:00 PM (US) when I arrived at the airport.  26 hours later, I drove up Erin's street and found her waiting for me on the street, literally.  She was sitting Indian style on the street on her computer waiting.  My trip was quite the adventure especially being alone and not speaking any Italian.  My flight left from Minneapolis and landed in Paris and then made the connection to Naples.  So far everything went great...long but on-time and good.  But now I have to take the train to Sicily and I know there is this bus you can take from the airport to the train station.  The challenge is to find it and after a dozen people or so later and much walking in circles looking around where people were pointing, I finally make the bus, standing room only but I am on the bus.  And thanks to a English speaking German who told me that this stop is the train station and pointed a block down the street and said that is it.  So I am in the ticket office and get told to pull a number and wait for the number to be called.  I'm basically #17 and they were on 4.  I'm looking at the time and I know there is a train at 1:55 and it is basically 1:45 now (the bus taking much longer than I anticipated). After standing and watching for a few minutes, I realized that it would take much longer than I had. So when I see this helper guy and I asked him if I was even in the right place as I was trying to take the high speed train to Sicily and he finished by saying "which is due to leave at 1:55 which is 5 minutes".  He says "Come" and rushed me to a machine and starts punching buttons, I pull out my credit card and do my part of it by swiping it when he points and now I have a ticket but now I have less than five minutes.  He says "wait here" and he rushes off.  He reappears in a minute saying in broken English. " You lucky, train not at platform".   What???  It finally hits... The train is late and has not yet arrived.  He points and say to stand and watch this large monitor for my platform.  Within a few minutes, the train is there and I am on it and seated.  Later, I was to learn I was not in the correct seat but everyone was very kind about that!  After a taxi ride from the Catania train station to the car rental place at the Catonia airport, I now have a Smart car with instructions to lock the door as soon as I get in (ummm... Now if that doesn't frighten a person!) and armed with a GPS, I am ready to go.   It is now dark and after 10:00 PM but actually glad as the streets are relatively empty.  I find my way up the mountain to the place Erin is staying and much relieved to park the car and find a bed waiting after all I have now been up for 32 hous with just short naps on the plane.  But of course, Erin and I talk for a couple of hours before going to bed!

My Smart car

Mimi, the tiny kitten at the resort that Erin is in love with

Our first picture together in Sicily!

The next day Erin shows me around the place, we do a little internet, then we decide to head south, Syracuse to see the sights.  Half way to Catania, Erin realizes that her phone is out of money so we stop to fill it but now she has to reboot.  The password is back at her place.  So back to her place.  Get back in the car, start to drive, and Boris, the professor that is working with Erin, calls.  Erin had told him that we want to do wine tasting and he was arranging it for that day.  So we re-programmed the GPS and off we went!  We stopped at a little town for lunch and to look around: beautiful church and good food and off we went.  We saw the old lava flows, awesome countryside and then we arrived at the Vini Gambino and the place was absolutely gorgeous!   And they treated us with such hospitality and the wine was awesome.  In fact, Erin and I popped the cork on one of the bottles tonight.  My many thanks to Boris for that wonderful treat!  Then with just a couple of hours of daylight left, we headed for Taormina.  What a beautiful drive but also a great adventure!  Driving with the Italians on their tiny little roads in their cities is very adventurous.  Whenever we make it out alive and without a dent, we feel victorious!  But their cities are full of history and culture!    At one point in our journey, we suddenly take a turn and there is the ocean and a beach.  The beach had huge bolders so we pull over (not as easy to do in Italian cities as it sounds!).  The bolder is a conglomerate and Erin is silly happy over it!  We make it to Taormina and make three attempts to find our destination and on the 3rd attempt we realize the street has been blocked off.  But that is fine as it is now getting dark and I am tiring.  But what a glorious day it had been. 

Erin and I at Vini Gambini

Erin and her giant conglomerate!

On the way home, we passed a McDonalds and we pulled in. It was busy and they are really expensive.  They were very busy. And last night in another city in eastern Sicily, I had never seen a McDonalds so busy!  It had a large parking lot and it was full every time we passed it.  And it was a Sunday night after 7:00 PM.   The Italians must love their McDonalds! 

That ends my first full day of vacation!  Next, Erin and I spend two full days exploring western Sicily.  I will blog about that next.  Good night all...

Walking in a Rocky Wonderland

Sorry it’s been a while again, I’ve been having long days this past week, and whenever I’ve gotten back to my Sicilian home, I’ve been pretty much playing dead in front of my computer, pretending I’m going to do something productive, while really just staring at the screen. Except for Friday, when I meant to type up a post, but I was so excited to see mom, that nothing else was in my mind, and concentrating on typing, just wasn’t working.

So, I last posted on Tuesday, when I went to INGV for the first time, and experienced my first day of an eternal, or at least month-long, Christmas. Then, Wednesday, I got to go play in the “snow” of Etna. I got to go to the mountain for the first time! I didn’t go all the way to the summit, but I didn’t care, because I got to go to the mountain! Boris was giving an interview for a German news company, in honor of the 10-year anniversary of a large eruption. While he did that, I played in the “snow” or the sharp little scoriaceous rocks that build the cones. I had so much fun! Investigating red and white patches within the overall black mounds was interesting, and exciting, for me. I also enjoyed just wandering around and looking and seeing the clouds intruding on the mountain, before they wisped away. It was a great day, and I made a snowman while playing in the “snow”, which was great!

Me and my snowman!

Boris giving his interview in front of Etna!

That afternoon, Boris stopped at my hotel, and talked to the owners for me about my kitchen issues…now that I had unpacked, it’s time for me to be given a new apartment, with a working oven. The issue seems to be with the oven, not the overall electricity. So on Tuesday, I move rooms. Then, we went back to his office to get our stuff, and then went to meet his wife and daughter, Cathleen (I believe) and Ida. Ida was just getting out of her first ever fencing lesson. And now, that little girl is CRAZY smart! She’s already fluent in French and Italian, and is now working on learning German and English. When I said “hey”, she looked up at her parents and asked, “che lingua?” or what language? They responded English, and asked her about learning English in school, so she looked back at me and said “Hello” perfectly. I was so impressed with her. And she already knows the Beatles, and she loves the song “Hey Bulldog” and knows all the words, though she doesn't know what exactly what they mean. After picking Ida up, Boris dropped me off. And I went and collapsed in front of my computer.

Thursday, the German students and I met again, this time in the field, where we joined some of Boris’ colleagues at some mud volcanoes. We were told all about them, and some of the impact they had on the area, while one of Boris’ colleagues took some thermal images of the area. One of my favorite facts about the area, is that the water in the mud is more salty than the ocean, and is around the saltiness of the Dead Sea.

Mud volcano's cone...with the scientist taking pictures on top!

Mud vulcano

Salt crystals near the mud

While in the field, I finally talked to some of the German students. I mostly talked to the college student in the group. She’s working on her thesis, but not on this trip. She was offered a job as a geology teacher at a school in Hamburg, Germany, the school all the students are from, which is the only school in the country that has a geology class. So, she was helping chaperone the trip. It was really fun, and interesting, talking to a geology major from a different country. She was really impressed by the fact that I was abroad doing this project, while only having petrology and mineralogy under my belt.

That afternoon was spent at INGV in the office, and I worked on uploading pictures, which goes better at some times than at others. Boris talked to the German news people a little bit in the control room again. Then he had a meeting to attend, during which I waited in his office. Then it was time for home!

With all the stress at the office, and Ida’s school being on strike, so her being with him on Friday, I stayed home, slept in (thank goodness!) and cleaned my room, did dishes and did laundry, in preparation for mom’s arrival that night. After finishing my chores, around 8:30, I went to internet to wait…tried to have patience, and failed. I ended up going out into the street to wait, after running back and forth for a little while and running my leg into one of the gates, scraping it and bruising it. I sat in the street waiting for mom probably from 10:45 or so, until 11:30, when the car turning onto the street, actually began slowing to a stop in front of me, and I heard mom yell, “Hey kiddo!” from the open window. We stayed up til 1:30 talking. It was really nice to have her there, and still is!

But, I’m going to leave it at that for now. There’ll be other posts up soon, possibly at the same time. And mom’s typing some posts up too, so the adventures she had and our adventures from her point of view will be up soon too!

Ciao!