We lucked out today … the mist and wind of yesterday — gone. It had been fun on the Lime electric scooters the evening before… whizzing down the bike lane … hats and hair flying. Till we got to the…

Awoke to rain. The patio and furniture were dripping, the sea obscured by mist. But wait … things suddenly looked brighter. A check of the forecast for Siracusa …. SUN — all afternoon. Yes! Threw stuff in a backpack and…

Squeezed into Helena’s car and deposited at the bus station … ticket said to be there 30 minutes beforehand, but that would have been a waste. People stood around in a desultory manner … on phones … eating … chatting.…

Elevators in apartment buildings here are generally really compact — 4 people maximum and maybe a bag of groceries. Definitely not designed for moving furniture. We got a front row seat of the apartment building across the way … one…

Another cool, cloudy day. Helena mentioned there was a big market in upper Ragusa every Wednesday and Thursday morning. We timed the number 31 community bus beautifully and the driver waved away payment. It wound its way through ridiculously narrow…

It was cloudy and cool today … dark skies threatened but after a sprinkle or two, didn’t do anything. There are countless ways of walking down to the lower section of town (Ibla) — all involve stone steps of varying…

Breakfast in a sun-filled room with blue and while table cloths and a wide selection of comestibles — such a civilized way to start the day. Ernesto swept in with a large pot of freshly brewed coffee and another of…