Day 30

Buongiorno,

We liked B&B Nostos so much, we decided to stay and extra night, and explore some of the smaller towns on a day trip. Originally we had planned to overnight in Ragusa. However, B&B Nostos is so nice, and Ragusa so close, we thought we’d do a day trip instead.

First stop, Noto.

Like many towns and cities in Sicily, Noto was destroyed by the earthquake of 1693. No tsunamis here though, because it is well inland and very high. You have to drive up a steep narrow road to get there.

The Main Street is beautiful, lots of large buildings from the Baroque

era. The cathedral had an imposing set of steps leading up to it; from the top of the view over the town was fantastic.

The next town was Medica, again built on top of a rocky hilltop. A very steep hilltop.

Again, Medica was largely rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake. Some of the roads were quite spacious boulevards, but most were narrow lanes, and often involved many steps.

The entrance to the cathedral was at the top of a 250 step staircase. Once inside, there were more steps to climb to the top of the belfry. And a magnificent view. Buzzy Bee was glad to enjoy the view as well. There’s nothing he likes more than being at the top of a belfry.

The next town was Ragusa. Yet another town built on top of a steep rocky hill. The Sicilians seem to have an obsession with building their villages on remote hilltops.

The Piazza Duomo was a lovely space, wide and open, no cars, and mainly clean. The usual wild cats hanging around and you have to

watch out for doggy poop.

Another village, another cathedral.

Our trip over, we headed back to B&B Nostos in Siracusa.

It sounds like a bit of a ho-hum day, but it was enjoyable to visit some of these tiny Sicilian villages and get away from the crowds.

Love to you all from Grandma and Koro and Buzzy Bee.