Tag Archives: Travel

“It’s close ed” Modica & Ragusa, Sicily – The Diary of a Slow Traveller

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Modica from Belevedere

Modica from Belevedere

Traveling in off-season has both pluses and minuses. On the one hand, no crowds at any of the sites meaning almost never having to wait to get in and discounts on accommodation, while on the other, you are often faced with a sign saying “Chiusa” (closed in English).

Our visit to Modica and Ragusa gave us a great opportunity to experience both!

Train Station - Siracusa

Train Station – Siracusa

Modica our base for a couple of days is about an hour and half by train from Siracusa. Its a direct line and definitely the best way to get there if you can coincide your travel plans with the off season timetable.

Modica is one of the towns rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693 and consists of two towns – Modica Bassa (lower) and Modica Alta (upper) and a lot of steps between the two!

Taking the advice of our guidebook on Sicily and numerous informative blogs, we stayed in Modica Alta at the delightful Palazzo Failla Hotel which was offering a very good off- season deal. Its a delightful old hotel with a grand entrance staircase and large rooms with recently renovated bathrooms (almost unheard of in Sicily). Attached to the hotel is one of the region’s finest restaurants.

Modica is well known for its great food, not just its chocolate and baroque architecture. However, as we quickly found out most of the restaurants, including the hotel’s, that were on our hit list were, as the Sicilians say so delightfully in English “Is close ed”. The hotel also gave us a list of places to eat, however as we wandered the delightful streets, alleyways and stairs of Modica we were able to see that most were in fact “close ed”. Continue reading →

Diary of a Slow Traveller – 13 December, Santa Lucia Celebration

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We arrived in Siracusa just a few days before the major religious celebration of the city – the Santa Lucia procession. I’d read so much about Santa Lucia a Christian martyr who was killed in the Fourth Century and was genuinely excited that we would be in Siracusa to witness it. As I tweeted, sitting watching the people outside the Cathederal, I did feel the excitement building.

Street vendors

Street vendors

All morning the street vendors had been setting up to sell their wares – sweets, balloons, souvenirs of the festival, toys and mobile phone covers. There were also craft markets and special food stores where we bought some locally produced mandarin marmalade and thyme flavored honey.

Late morning outside the Cathederal

Late morning outside the Cathederal

Our wonderful Airbnb hosts invited us as their guests to join them for lunch Continue reading →

Florence – A touch of nostalgia

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Florence from Pzzale Michaelangelo

Florence from Pzzale Michaelangelo

As with Venice, we had previously visited Florence with our children in early 1999. My memories of our previous visit are good ones and have kept coming back as we walked around Florence going past many of the places we visited with our children.

That said, one of the first things we noticed was how much shorter the distance between the Duomo and Piazza Della Republica seemed. So to the distance to the Pitti Palace. Perhaps not having a five year old in tow had something to do with it!

Duomo - Florence

Duomo – Florence

We had stayed in Via Strozzi, adjacent to the Piazza Della Republica previously, this time we are near the Duomo. How the Piazza Della Republica has changed, where the post office was on our last visit, there was the Apple Store. Via Strozzi is now the fashion hub and definitely not the cheap seats as it seemed in 1999! We walked into the foyer where the pensione we had stayed in was located only to see that it was no longer necessary to take the luggage up,for flights of stairs as there was a lift in a completely modernized hotel.

Piazza Della Republicca

Piazza Della Republica

Our visit coincided with the first weekend of the month. In Florence this means that on the Sunday museum entrance is free. Maybe so but I’m not sure that it’s worth quuing for hours to get in if you can afford to pay the entrance fee. I’m glad we opted to visit the Pitti Palace on the Saturday albeit at 10€ each rather than queing for what looked to be a couple of hours to get in for free.

Entrance Pitti Palace -Saturday

Entrance Pitti Palace -Saturday

Pitti Palace - Sunday!

Pitti Palace – Sunday!

On our last visit we spent a day in the gardens of the Pitti Palace watching our youngest chasing the numerous cats who seemed to inhabit the quite spectacular gardens. This time we went inside.

Ornate Ceiling -Pitti Palace

Ornate Ceiling -Pitti Palace

We wondered whether it might be possible to go back to the Uffizi but one look at the crowds made the obvious!

Outside the Uffizi - there are cars in there somewhere!

Outside the
Uffizi!

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As a result and consistent with our decision to stay out of museums Continue reading →

Venice – it’s like being in a postcard

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This is a our second visit to Venice. When we visited in 1999 it was with our children and vey much our first serious overseas trip. It was an adventure particularly as we were traveling with our kids.

We visited Venice in the middle of winter and it was cold. Venice felt dark and closed in, almost sinister. It was magical but not really as I’d imagined it.

This time its quite different. The colours of Venice in late Autumn are quite extraordinary.

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Venice is an attack on your senses. There is a new perspective with every turn. Sometimes closed in as I recalled from our previous visit and then around the corner a light filled piazza, the grand canal or a view across the water.

Basilica S Maria Gloriosa Dei Frari

Basilica S Maria Gloriosa Dei Frari

There is a church on every corner. The Basilica Saint Maria Gloriosa Sei Frari was truly spectacular. Donatello’s John the Baptist was amazing, as was the Alter to the Relics and the Monks Choir Stalls. There are no pictures, as they are not allowed.

Peggy Guggenheim Collectiom

Peggy Guggenheim Collection – The Angel of the City

Another truly special place in Venice is The Peggy Guggenheim Collection. It provides a contrast from the Venetian art, Continue reading →

Verona – A student for a day

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I arranged to have a day with a contact that I’d established at the University of Verona. It was an opportunity for me to discuss my research interests and increase my academic contacts.

Verona is just over an hour by train from Venice. I was met at the station by hosts from the University of Verona, so parted company with my favourite person so she could visit Cos (I think her mission is to visit every Cos store in Italy on this trip!) and site seeing while I went to the University.

My very generous hosts arranged a short discussion with a couple of other research fellows before we departed for a visit to a local business actively involved in the wine making process. In this region grapes are dried before processing.

Drying racks

Drying racks

From there it was an opportunity to discuss the life of a researcher in Italy and then onto a family wine company where I was able to learn about a local family business. It was interesting to hear the story given this is my particular areas of research.

It was a very worthwhile day made the better for the opportunity to meet both senior staff and fellow students. I’m quite envious of the study program that they are undertaking but on reflection perhaps not suited to a fifty something as he contemplates “what’s next”.

This is what I missed in Verona, but I’m not complaining as I had a very interesting day.

Garibaldi

Garibaldi

Roman Arena - Verona

Roman Arena – Verona

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