Free Day in Syracuse/Noto/Marzamemi

Bit of a hodge podge on our free today. Many of chose headed to the Archaelogical Park this morning to check out the ruins in Syracuse. As with most sites, the Greek Theatre is always a draw, but there are also caves here as well, including one shaped like an ear. The necropolis section was closed to the recent weather, but thanks to our of our tourmates, we were able to walk along the road outside the park to see some of it, including a shapely 300 year old tree and what's rumoured to be Archimedes Tomb (it's not).

After that, it was off to the baroque town of Noto. We focused on a main pedestrian street in the old center, and checked out the cathedral, as well as climbed the tower of another church for 360 views. One thing you may have heard about Noto is its Caffe Siciliana, which was featured on Chef's Table. We managed to get a seat inside and get granitas. Mine was a cappuccino flavored one, which was essentially coffee on top of almond. The texture is like snow and delicious. I wish there were more flavors though.

Next stop, the fishing village of Marzamemi. There isn't much to see here, but I hear it's quite busy in the summer. We walked around, had some gelato and caught a bit of the sunset before heading back to Syracuse.

Dinner wise, we ended up sharing a tapas styled dinner at one of the local restaurants in town. They brought us several of the antipasti to share, as well as lemoncello and maybe Amaro, I can't remember aside the fact that it had a bitter orange peel after taste. It was nice to have a change from pizza and pasta, and a long time since we had a meal that we didn't order individually.Read more