Saturday October 15th
I appreciate the fact that buildings in Italy are very old, and from time to time they need to be fixed up a bit. I also appreciate the fact that the Italian government and it’s people want to preserve them for generations to come. But I wish that there was a better way to do it than to erect scaffolding that always seems to hide the most beautiful buildings in town. The Cathedral is splendid, and I say that based on pictures I’ve seen, because you can’t see a darn thing in person. But there are a number of churches here, as well as a very nice public park. There are a couple of nice piazzas full of the requisite old men. Seth was saying that he liked the prospect of growing old in Italy better than in America. Here everything is so close that you can walk to your favorite bench and sit with your lifelong friends all day. Which I have to admit sounds better than spending your days in a retirement home. Ragusa Ibla is the old part, we never ventured in to see the more modern side. Everything to see in Ibla is within walking distance, and traffic didn’t appear to be a problem. It’s a nice place to stroll around, and Giardino di Pietra is a great place to call homebase.
We headed south to visit some more ruins, but were a bit disappointed with what we saw. We did like the fact that we were a few hundred feet from the ocean. The sun was shining, the water was blue, and we hadn’t really taken a break since we started. So we had lunch on the beach and then went for a swim. Swimming in the ocean in mid-October, not bad. We messed about until the sun started it’s descent, then we headed for Noto.
We arrived at B&B Bouganvillea www.bebbouganvillea.com and were greeted by Claudia and Piero. We sat and talked with them for a while about our project and different thngs to see in the area. Claudia suggested that we see Noto at night. The type of stone that they used to build the Baroque buildings is pale yellow in color and it glows when lit from below. But after our swim I just wanted to shower. The room was nice, with a very comfortable bed, and satellite TV. The bathroom had the biggest shower that we’ve seen, and it had a separate room with the sink in it, which was very convenient. There is a pool, an outdoor kitchen, a nice garden, and various seating areas.
We rode into Noto to find it full of high school kids. The steps in front of the Duomo looked just like the Spanish steps in Rome. So we made the pass, and then headed back to the start. There was a panineria (sandwich stand) that looked to be pretty popular. Their best sandwich... Carne di Cavallo, also known as horse meat. Apparently it’s quite popular in this area. PETA fans should go ahead and skip to the next paragraph. We figured “when in Rome” and all, so we tried it. The best word to use is going to have to be “interesting.” A bit sweeter than beef, but also a certain saltiness at the same time. I’m glad I tried it, but would I order it again? Uhhh.....no!