Villa Mediterranea Noto

... nous avons visites les catacombes de san giovani. un ancien aqueduc romain transformer en cimetiere pour 20 000 corps. Puis ensuite, on a visiter la vieille ville ou le duomo a ete construit sur un ancien temple Grec dans lequel on voit encore les colones au travers des murs.

partie avec 35 minutes de retard, on est arriver plus de deux heures en retard a notre destination. 11 heures de train pour se rendre a syracuse. heureusement, la ville et l'auberge sont tous les deux tres belles.

point interessant , pourqoi partir un pont quand on peut prendre une heure pour mettre le train dans un bateau et lui faire faire la dstance en longueuil et montreal? les italiens le savent surement !

... most recently allied forces of WW II, who fought across Sicily to liberate it from Nazi occupation. Earthquakes have toppled some of the ruins. Archaeologists from Universities all ove r the world have come to find and restore the temples and necropolis of Agrigenta. We did not stay here long, but memories of the temples will forever come to mind when I think of Sicily.

... met, but we had been in contact recently by e-mail. They were happy to meet us, they took us to visit several elderly cousins, who spoke only Italian, but whose happiness to meet us was shown by kisses, hugs, tears, and abundant sweets and espresso coffee. We will hold memories of these dear people in our hearts.

... 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!

We began our trip in Rome, where it was rainy and crowded. Our day at Vatican city, the museum, the Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica was just wonderful. Our hotel was near the Pantheon, and Piazza Navona, a great location for seeing the top sights of Rome. On Friday we were scheduled to fly to Sicily. A labor strike stalled every type of transport to the airport: trains, buses ...

... br>I realize I didn't blog much from Venice, just posted photos from the cruise. Venice was loverly. I happened to be there during the marathon. There were several folks staying in the hostel that were running it -- can you imagine a worse combination? But they all ran well and were pleased so I suppose the combo wasn't so bad. It was a delight being able to dine in Italy with the runners pre-race and then post-race. Granted, I didn't run a marathon ...

... zwei bissen und fertig). Dazu gab es den ‚vino casa': mehr als warm, übel nach essig riechend und auf dem glas rote spuren hinterlassend.mmmmh. nachdem ich schon einmal zuvor nach dem genuss eines solchen prachtweines später im hostal übelst kotzen musste, trank ich lieber nicht zu viel davon). Ich sagte dem kellner, dass ich den wein nicht gut fände, und ob er ihn bitte probieren würde. Er winkte ab (wohlwissentlich??) und nahm ihn wortlos weg von der rechnung ...

Twee dagen bekijken we de stad en het park met zijn archeologische opgravingen, terwijl het steeds harder gaat waaien, we hebben het allemaal goed gepland. Syracuse is door de eeuwen heen een belangrijke stad geweest. De oude stad ligt eigenlijk op een eiland Ortigia genoemd. Met een verfrissende avondtemperatuur die je enorm verkwikt na zo'n heet bad van de middag, trekken duizenden Italianen de oude stad binnen en slenteren in lange slierten van de ene ...

... 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!