Blogs from Italy, Europe - page 1604

Chapter 28 Goodbye Sicily - Sleepless in Bari They arose at midday and caught the 14.00pm (stopping service) to Messina. The journey had been described as a scenic route. The reality was a little different, upon leaving Toarmina and pretty much all the way to Messina, run down suburbs presented the only views. Once in Messina, they wanted to leave as soon as they arrived, like many transit towns, there were several undesirables staring at our two around the station area, this town needed to be transited quickly. In town, there were some nicer area, especially the main square with a fabulous (Swiss like) bell tower. They soon realised they would not be able to get on the train and had to catch the ferry instead, eventually leaving Sicily at 17.30pm. Martin at this point had ... read more

Chapter 26 An amphitheatre, a cable cart and a kind of magic They arose at a reasonable time and headed for the Greek amphitheatre in Toarmina. A huge theatre appeared around the corner, half the size of the one in Syracuse with Mount Etna and the Naxos sea providing the backdrop to the stage; truly stunning. The only negative was that there were no stairs, they had placed wooden seats enforced by metal to complete the semicircle, taking away the genuineness of the place, unlike Syracuse which maintained its original charm. Toarmina’s amphitheatre easily outweighed the other on beauty grounds, Athens shall have to wait for judgement time. The Theatre in Taormina is the second-largest in Sicily after the one in Siracusa. All the Romans did later, in accordance with their well-known ostentatious nature, was enlarge ... read more

Chapter 24 A Greek tragedy and the mines of Moria They arose at a reasonable time and headed for the archaeology park about twenty minutes walk from the town (having bought another map and consumed breakfast). A section of the park, right next to the athletics track, was a Greek amphitheatre. Set in well-kept grounds, the theatre lay in front of them. A cosy well-preserved theatre dug from the rock arose from the stage, with steps rising up onto a hill. At the top of the hill, small caves and a natural spring provided the backdrop. An excellent place to visit, though not quite on the scale of the Coliseum, more a second division kind of ground. Around the theatre, the Greeks must have had an incredible view of the Naxos sea. Unfortunately nowadays, the view ... read more

Chapter 22 Cefalu - On top of the world (and some very dead people) The receptionist had recommended Cefalu as a good place for a day trip, but Maya first wanted to see the Capuchin monks’ catacombs just off the Piazza Indipendenzia. Three buses later, they reached the house of the dead. Martin had been a little reserved about seeing dead people on display, not so much because they were dead but the fact that they were on display. A monk in traditional attire let them into the crypt. The tombs were originally for the Capuchin monks, the first of whom was entombed in 1599. Over the years they were joined by professionals, women, nobility and children until the last person to be placed there was in 1920; a young girl called Rosalia. The doctor who ... read more

Chapter 20 Sicily - Part 1 They awoke at 6.45 am, ready at 7.15 for breakfast with Anna-Maria and her family. The train was at 7.55am so when Anna-Maria was trying to download a floppy disc for our two showing various pictures of Villa Pane, Martin was beginning to regularly check his watch. After saying their goodbyes, her husband gave our two a lift to the station. With 5 minutes to spare before the train left, Maya got stuck with her rucksack in the barriers, finally unravelling herself with just a minute to spare. Once they sat down, two Canadians they had seen on Capri the day before said hello and an Italian teacher struck up a conversation. The Italian guy called Dominic could have been a political comedian, his anti-American stance was rightfully vicious, and ... read more