A Notable Town And Archimedes’ Principle [sic] Place Of Residence

Which principle is the principle one?

 

On another warm blue-sky day, we set off west to spend a couple of hours checking out the town we missed on our way east.  The locals had told us that Noto was a ‘delightful little Baroque town’ and it proved to be just that, with gorgeous honey-coloured stone buildings.  We popped our noses into a few churches, wandered up some steep steps to find the post office, strolled the full length of the historic centre and settled down on soft comfy chairs on Corso Vittorio Emanuele for another deliciously thick hot chocolate accompanied by a cannoli filled with vanilla ricotta and dusted with crushed pistachio nuts.  I could get hooked on these, or am I already?

 

 

Next stop on today’s itinerary was at Syracuse, which is not a particularly attractive town, though it does have some extensive Greek and Roman remains.  We managed to find our way to a huge piece of wasteland where every tourist bus seemed to pass through, and numerous police cars were sitting in a row to one side.  There was also a row of campervans in storage and then there were a couple of areas for campervans to park up overnight.  The whole area was thoroughly dotted with plenty of rubbish, cigarette butts and dog poo.  There was a toilet that definitely didn’t require a second visit and we paid more than we normally would for an overnight in a good campsite, but it was only a twenty-minute walk through Syracuse to the three bridges that cross over to the Island of Ortigia.  This is the jewel of Syracuse and a lovely place to dawdle around.  Most of the restaurants were closing at 2pm, so we opted to share a pizza in the Piazza Minerva and then dawdle some more.  We gazed upon one very dark Caravaggio painting in the Chiesa di Santa Lucia alla Badia, popped our heads into more churches and a shop or two.  It was a nice afternoon doing what we do.

 

 

 

When we set off from Syracuse on Wednesday morning, I had a weird feeling of doom.  It could have been the lack of a nice morning shower, but it felt like we had chosen to head towards Mordor.  Everything we have read about Mount Etna describes the disasters, damage, death tolls and current dangers.  Why were we aiming to camp beside an angry mound of boiling destructive power?  Rodney was excited.  I was anxious.  But yes, we were both keen to see this famous active volcano; at last a change from churches, cathedrals, Greek ruins and beaches.

 

From the moment we arrived, as soon as we stepped out of Eileen, we could hear the grumble.  It sounded like a distant thunder, or a plane about to fly overhead. Every so often the rumbling would get louder and more smoke would rise from the top of Etna.  Then the sound would fade back to a calmer grumble.  I kept thinking I could feel a heat beneath my feet.  I’ll admit I’m a little nervous about being so close to something so potentially volatile.  Will I sleep tonight, or will I have strange nightmares?  Rodney looks like he’s amused and excited and can’t wait to get up closer tomorrow. I’ll have to push aside my apprehension.