Day 4 --Siracusa, Sicily (and "Firsts")

Siracusa (Syracuse) Sicily

We were supposed to arrive at 7:30, and there was a cathedral (Duomo) about 15ish minutes away.  So, we got up early, and waited to get off the ship.  And waited.  And annoyed the Cruise Director until we were finally told “Go!”  As we headed down the stairs, we heard the announcement the ship was clear, and we were already in front of the security guy to scan off of the boat.  I asked “Are we first off?” and he said “Yes”.  (Our first time being first off a cruise ship!)

European alleyways can be cool!

The square by the Cathedral (Duomo)

Il Duomo!

The Duomo inside.

We hustled toward the square, capturing pictures along the way, and made it to the Duomo doors about 7:59 for 8:00 Mass.  Once inside, we immediately recognized there was no A/C, but there were fans, so we moved near the front to catch a little of the circulation.  Mass was (of course) beautiful, but honestly, the homily was a tad long and really hard to follow (since we don’t speak Italian!).  After Mass, we headed back to the ship to get a quick breakfast and grab our stuff for the day.  As we went through security, we asked, and yes, we were the first to be BACK on board!

The inside of the Duomo.

The Square

Another alley!

The electrical "standards" are a bit sketchy.

Another Roman Forum

Sicilian countryside

Mid-Morning Wine time!!

After a quick regroup, we were back out by the bus for our tour.  Our original tour was about a 3.5 hour walking tour, which as it was supposed to get to almost 100F, that sounded awful!  So, we got on a waiting list for the wine tasting and (literally) stood by (the bus) waiting to see if there was “space available”.  There was.  So, we rode the bus about 20 minutes or so to a vineyard. 

Not really a slight food!

We sat at tables, and they brought a plate of food, at which point we realized it was more of a “wine pairing” not a wine tasting.  The Pairing is more about what foods go well with a few wines, not just “taste lots of wines”.  The food and the wines were good!  And we really appreciated being out of the sun!  After 3 or so full glasses of wine, it was nearing Noon and time to head back to the ship!

We had lunch with a new couple friend we met, and enjoyed them very much.  Then we went to the lecture (Democracy vs. Populism), which was interesting and educational.  For trivia, we met up with another new couple friend we met on the first night, and enjoyed hanging with them (though we got 1/3 of the questions wrong).  After a little down time in the room, at 6PM there was a “block party” where they encourage people to stand outside of their rooms and they come around with wine and canapés.  A couple of the ship’s Entertainment crew chatted with us as we drank our wine. 

Future wine

Siracusa from the ship.

Our view while we lost at Trivia.

For dinner, we had reservations for the steak restaurant.  The food was copious, and some of it was fantastic.  Though…some of it missed the mark.  But we’ll get over it!  We were seated with a nice couple from the DFW area, and visited with them.

Finally, there was a show to see, and that mostly wrapped up the night!

Goodbye Sicily!