Saturday, April 28, 2007
Siracusa Day Trip
Last Wednesday, Carlee and I joined some friends on an impromptu trip to Siracusa. I found out about the details of the trip the night before around 9 pm. So, for me, this was a big thing. I'm never this spontaneous, I always have to have things planned out. Well, my friend B really wanted to go, and so did I, so I said yes, not even giving myself a chance to let it sink in that I'd be the one DRIVING! I guess this was a good reason it was last minute, otherwise I would have talked myself out of going due to the whole driving thing.
The drive was an hour and a half, and wasn't too bad, until we got into Siracusa. Then came the narrow cobble streets, with cars parked on either side, people crossing the road whenever they pleased through traffic, cars speeding out of an intersection trying to get in front of me... ahhh! Trying not to make eye contact with anyone (because that's when they know you see them, and they floor the gas to get in front of you) and keeping my eye on the car I was following, I made it to the parking lot. I was completely proud of myself, white knuckled, but proud. hehe.
As soon as we got out of the car it felt like we were in a whole different country, even though we were a mere hour from home. We parked by the ocean with beautiful water, almost a turquoise color when the sun hit it. The sailboats were out, the sun was shining, it was so pretty. We made our way to the aquarium. As soon as we entered the building, Carlee saw the first tank, and yelled over and over, "MemoMemoMemoMemo!!!" It was set up just like Finding Nemo. It was the cutest thing, and that reaction made the whole trip already worthwhile. She loved the fish! I didn't realize how interested she was going to be, and I'm so glad we went. After walking down the hallway, seeing a turtle, starfish, eel, and a variety of colorful fish, we went outside to look at the ducks.
Out back, they also have papyrus plant growing; Siracusa is the only place other than Egypt where the plant can flourish, and I got to see it. :D Afterwards, we went and ate lunch. I ordered a small pizza, and after eating that, Carlee and I shared a gelato. My Italian language class came in handy, as we actually understood eachother each time I ordered. (YAY!)
Next stop was a fountain, a well known one I'm sure, but not by me. Carlee splashed in the water for quite some time... yelling, "Bubbles! Bubbles!" We cooled off in the mist before heading to the Piazza del Duomo. Carlee had a blast climbing up and down the stairs in front of the Church and even made friends with a group of young adult Italians. The girls fell in love with her. We looked through the Church for a few minutes, before finally heading out. We decided it was time to go, against Carlee's wishes.
The trip back was fairly uneventful, except for the doubled amount of time due to a wreck and backed up traffic. The kids were passed out, so it was fine. The trip was so much fun, and I am so glad that I was spontaneous for once and went, driving no less! Hopefully I'll be brave enough to do it more often, and I already can't wait to go back to Siracusa. I really fell in love with the city. :D
Here are a few pics: I wish I had more of Carlee, but I had to hold her up the whole time since all of the tanks were at adult viewing height. Here is a link to my Siracusa Snapfish Album.
And a couple of links if you're interested: Siracusa Aquarium (a few pages are under construction, but there's a few pics and some info if you want to use a translator page). Siracusa on Wikipedia. Enjoy!
The drive was an hour and a half, and wasn't too bad, until we got into Siracusa. Then came the narrow cobble streets, with cars parked on either side, people crossing the road whenever they pleased through traffic, cars speeding out of an intersection trying to get in front of me... ahhh! Trying not to make eye contact with anyone (because that's when they know you see them, and they floor the gas to get in front of you) and keeping my eye on the car I was following, I made it to the parking lot. I was completely proud of myself, white knuckled, but proud. hehe.
As soon as we got out of the car it felt like we were in a whole different country, even though we were a mere hour from home. We parked by the ocean with beautiful water, almost a turquoise color when the sun hit it. The sailboats were out, the sun was shining, it was so pretty. We made our way to the aquarium. As soon as we entered the building, Carlee saw the first tank, and yelled over and over, "MemoMemoMemoMemo!!!" It was set up just like Finding Nemo. It was the cutest thing, and that reaction made the whole trip already worthwhile. She loved the fish! I didn't realize how interested she was going to be, and I'm so glad we went. After walking down the hallway, seeing a turtle, starfish, eel, and a variety of colorful fish, we went outside to look at the ducks.
Out back, they also have papyrus plant growing; Siracusa is the only place other than Egypt where the plant can flourish, and I got to see it. :D Afterwards, we went and ate lunch. I ordered a small pizza, and after eating that, Carlee and I shared a gelato. My Italian language class came in handy, as we actually understood eachother each time I ordered. (YAY!)
Next stop was a fountain, a well known one I'm sure, but not by me. Carlee splashed in the water for quite some time... yelling, "Bubbles! Bubbles!" We cooled off in the mist before heading to the Piazza del Duomo. Carlee had a blast climbing up and down the stairs in front of the Church and even made friends with a group of young adult Italians. The girls fell in love with her. We looked through the Church for a few minutes, before finally heading out. We decided it was time to go, against Carlee's wishes.
The trip back was fairly uneventful, except for the doubled amount of time due to a wreck and backed up traffic. The kids were passed out, so it was fine. The trip was so much fun, and I am so glad that I was spontaneous for once and went, driving no less! Hopefully I'll be brave enough to do it more often, and I already can't wait to go back to Siracusa. I really fell in love with the city. :D
Here are a few pics: I wish I had more of Carlee, but I had to hold her up the whole time since all of the tanks were at adult viewing height. Here is a link to my Siracusa Snapfish Album.
And a couple of links if you're interested: Siracusa Aquarium (a few pages are under construction, but there's a few pics and some info if you want to use a translator page). Siracusa on Wikipedia. Enjoy!
Labels: MnC Trip, Sicily, Siracusa, travel
¶ 10:33 AM
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You'll have to go to Fontaine Bianco next! It's breathtakingly beautiful. We went to look for the papyrus and that statue once, but we never found it. :(
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