Our last full day in Sicily, we spent it wandering round the back streets of the old town of Syracuse (which is called Ortygia). One interesting visit was to the Church of Phillip the Apostle, not because of the church itself but underneath is a huge complex of tunnels dating from the Greek period, one of the passageways goes 1km under the city and during WWII they were used as an air raid shelter for 10,000 residents. There are drawings on the walls of spitfires and parachutes. It was also previously a Jewish bath house for women, it was in the Jewish quarter of the city, another area was Arab. It seems when Roger the Norman was in charge of Sicily he understood the need to allow individual freedoms and other faiths so long as they obeyed the rules and presumably paid their tax. Later rulers were not so enlightened.
Talking of enlightenment for the first time ever I have managed to stop Gill cooking whilst on holiday. For years as soon as she has seen a kitchen on our travels she has gone all broody and started cooking dinners.
We have had very nice kitchens in the places we have stayed for the past seven days but I have managed to steer her away from butchers and supermarkets. The only food we have had at home have been two lunches of cold meats, cheese and wine on the roof of our apartment and they don't count as cooking.
This eating out has been in training for "The full Italian Monty". Every restaurant has Appetisers, First Course (pasta) then a Second Course (meat or fish). Up until now we have had two courses skipping either the pasta or the appetiser but tonight I went the whole hog and had all three. This causes confusion as the waiter has no idea what to do about Gills missing course, does he bring her fish with my pasta or does he leave her to sit out the pasta course. Simple really, he brings her fish at the same time as my pasta and then her vegetables with my main!
We have been avoiding deserts most days as we have indulged in ice creams instead, we have not found anywhere selling zabaglioni which is a shame as it is my favourite Italian dish.
Tomorrow we will drive round the north eastern part of the island before catching the flight home tomorrow evening.