Saturday, September 18, 2010

Ragusa, Sicily

I went through a 'baroque' phase in my life, everything was baroque, I couldn't get enough. I made 2 trips to Sicily in the same year, searching and hunting down 'baroque' buildings. I search the Internet for used books on Sicilian Baroque. I paid a fortune when I found them. My friend, Bob, called me 'queen of baroque'. It was a lot of fun while the phase lasted. The 2 trips to Sicily were two of the most rewarding trips of all the trips, Sophie and I took. She's my sister in law and my partner in crime. To think, she would go along with my shenanigans and whims. I tell her, ' we're going to ...... next trip, she'll say, OK!' I remember our trip to Ragusa, Patrizia of 'Sicilyscene', if you are reading this, I wanted to go to Modica but didn't have time. I know that Ragusa which is just down the road from you is very similar, with the old and the new city. It is old Ragusa that is so picturesque and beautiful. Looking at these old pictures again, I think the church at the top is actually a church in Acireale, I'm not sure, they all look the same to me now. The train stops at the new city and it was lunch time and we asked this nice lady where a good restaurant was, she couldn't speak English, so she beckoned us to follow her while she led the way to the restaurant. Old Ragusa is the next hill over and one hikes a short trail, past some lovely and crumbling old baroque buildings. I remember on the way back, we didn't have any bus tickets, the bus driver waited while I ran inside a Tabacchi to buy some and the people let me ahead of the queue so I can procure the tickets and get back on the bus. I've never seen nicer people in my life. I will always love Sicily.

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