Europe Trip #1 - April 21, 2022 - Tawny Skies

We set out into an overcast twilight for a tour of Ortigia with Marco. He was a passionate history fan who had caught the wave of Ortigia’s booming tourism industry to share what he knew about the 2700 year history of this island.

As a special surprise, the Sahara was acting up. A sirocco had brought Saharan sand to decorate our heads and jackets. Each drizzle of rain seemed made of equal parts sand and water.

We learned of the founding of Siracusa, of Siracusa’s first place position in Christianity (Paul touched here for three days before going to Rome), the story of Saint Lucia and her inspiration for the central square, the myth of Arethusa and Alpheus (a pre-modern stalker love story), Siracusa’s plentiful water, the chances of finding a church on any given street, the usage of certain streets in Greek times, how “nothing is accidental” in the nature of the streets here (narrow for protection from wind, defense, and summer cooling).

And, of course, the food. Limoncello sipped, Moscato sampled, and cannoli revered (did you know the cannoli is a metaphor for men and women, the men you see are represented by… nevermind.)

These lemon trees in the main square belongs to the archibishop’s garden. What I can’t convey is the thick, heavy scent of ambrosia scent they cast over the square.

Finally, a quick tour to see the southern walls (the winter waves can rise up to crash over the cars on the outer road) and we were finished and satisfied. Thanks Marco!

All that remained was a quick trip to the store to pick up some more toilet paper and we were in for the night. A realistic The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Europe doesn’t ask “do you know where your towel is”, it asks “do you know where your spare role of TP is”. We know.