19 September Siracusa

I was 16 when I read Thucydides' epic account of the attempt by imperial Athens to conquer Syracuse. I pored over the maps of Ortygia, the quarries, the heights of Epipolae and the Great Harbour. In the following year I learned about Archimedes and Syracuse's doomed defence against the Romans. Today I walked the heights and the quarries and the walls. I drank a spritz looking over the Great Harbour. It took 52 years but I'm here.

The day began in the limestone quarries. The scale of the centuries of work here is staggering. Huge modern sculptures add to the atmosphere. 

From there we walked past the Hellenistic theatre, the great altar of Zeus and the Roman amphitheatre.

It was all wonderful. On the way back we stopped at a Church to see a Caravaggio painting of Saint Lucia.

Lunch was in an outdoor restaurant following a fascinating wander through the markets. If you can't cook here then you have no excuses. We decided a nap was in order before our afternoon walk around Ortygia.

The late afternoon walk took us past the remains of a very early temple, several cats, the cathedral which still incorporates the columns of the earlier Greek temple, random, inconveniently situated elements of an agricultural exposition, occasional street-corner shrines, the site of the ancient spring and finally to the Great Harbour.

One intriguing site was beneath Ortygia. There are hundreds of metres of tunnels in the rock. Needless to say that Lyn remained above but the rest of us saw a ritual Jewish bath, cisterns, bomb shelters and a crypt complete with cheery reminders of mortality.

After aperitivo we all met the company founder at an expensive seafood restaurant. What an exhausting, fascinating day. Thankfully, Lyn's eye is getting better slowly but it still worries her.