Hotel Montreal Ragusa

... Giardini-Naxos in northern Sicily -- though still southern Italy. And yes Stacey, I did repeat that from our IM chat. I liked the sound of it. :)

Anna and I had a few more adventures before she dropped me off at the bus stop. We were running late so she kept taking 'short cuts'. But the Italian drivers already are gutsy and insane, so running late and weaving in and out of half-roads, half-who know whats was pretty amazing. But we made it.

What a way to mark a birthday!

... s an example:

Josie: The shower is open.
Talker: I can't wait to get back to my own shower.
Josie: Yes, that will be nice.
Talker: Because I won''t need to wear flip flops in the shower.
Josie: (polite) Haha, yes.
Talker: Or carry a bag with me back and forth to the shower.
Josie: (polite) Yep.
Talker: I mean the bag has everything I need in the bathroom.
Josie: (polite) Exactly.
Talker: It has my shampoo, my ...

... de balie, waar het inderdaad menens is, zij hebben in haar koffer objecten gespot die bellen doen rinkelen. Het blijkt echter om mijn tas te gaan, en ik vertel dat het mogelijk om een CO2 patroon voor mijn zwemvest gaat. Maar nee, het zijn de potten verf die ik heb meegenomen, die betiteld zijn als etsend en brandgevaarlijk. O, wat stom van mij!!!! Vorige week heb ik een pakket met boeken via de post opgestuurd, had ik daar maar ...

... s dismay! eventually at my persistence we located it and had our first swim. Temp was good water clear and blue as blue. There was plastic & other waste floating in the sea which spoiled it a little. Nothing like our beaches in Australia. The sand was course and stuck to you. I think that may be why the Italians prefer the rock beaches.

Tom Tom let us down for the first time by sending us up a dead end but we managed to fund our way back to Syracuse in time for dinner.

Ciao

... about half an acre. Aparently the castle flooded at one point, and the mosaics were covered up for a number of centuries. When they found the mosaics again, the colors were still vivid, and the floors were still beautiful. The castle was incredibly roomy, the accomodations must have been quite luxurious -- much more comfortable than castles we saw in England, for example. These had indoor baths and latrines (with effective plumbing) --- 1700 years ago! We wandered the ...

... grilled potatoes and zucchini, and strawberries and bananas in lemon juice. Suzanne and Jenna both got lasagna. It was all amazingly delicious. After lunch, we played around the mountain, walked along a crater, and did a little souvenir shopping. Then it was time to get back on the bus and head back toward the south to Modica, the chocolate capital of Sicily. :) We did a lot of napping on the way to Modica, but we were awake when we went over ...

... for the day and went off to a bar. That night we made for Castel di Tusa a bit further along the coast. Last year I had been there and seen the Atelier sul Mare Art Hotel, but the timing was wrong and I didn't stay there, so this time I have arranged things so I will. The owner of the hotel invited local and international artists to each create rooms and also sponsored public works of art in the surrounding countryside called Fiumara del'Arte (River of Art), which we tour the next ...

... It's one thing to know that you have family in another place, but to meet them was for me like something completely unreal. Very strange but something that I am very grateful for. Some days Dad and I headed off to see some of the sites like the archaeological park which was back breakingly dug out by thousands of slaves, and we saw the Sicilian coastline, and ate almond granitas with brioche which is a local specialty of ...

... the Virgin Mary and Jesus. I went to that alter which is still intact. The lava literally wrapped around the alter and even melted thru the wall and then completely stopped. I am hoping to go back today during the day so I can take some pics. Its a cool site. Well, I am going to start packing. I am leaving on a jet plane tomorrow morning! Thank you all for your prayers and for reading my blogs. Cant wait to hug your necks!

... and find that I have only moved about 200 metres down the main street.
On Saturday I decide on a scooter excursion along the coastline and set off through Modica, then the small town of Scicli, built at the bottom of a ravine and partly into the cliff face, then I head for Pachino (which confusingly is what Beijing is called in Italian), a town just inland from the coast which is surrounded by tomato farms - the cherry tomatoes from here are famed througout Italy (one of ...