Ortygia by night

When it comes to archaeological digs, it's a known fact that the most important discovery you'll make all season will be uncovered at very end of the dig. This happened to me in Ukraine, when, on the last day, we discovered our (only) human burial of a royal guard. (He was buried along the perimeter of the Kurhan and was intended to protect the royal Scythian for eternity.) It also happened at Cetamura, when, on the last day, we discovered a pit full of votive offerings, literally right below us, where we'd been eating our lunch for the prior 2 months.

It seems I haven't shaken my archaeological background. In the last few hours of my last night in Siracusa, I stumbled through the Piazza Duomo, where it seems that the whole city had gathered. Of course! Only after the sun has set and the city has cooled down do all of the people magically appear out of the woodwork! The piazza was bustling with people. Restaurants were overflowing with both tourists and natives, young families were walking with babies in strollers. Vendors were selling toys to the kids who were playing in the middle of the piazza. The teenagers had filled the stairs leading up to the church, eating all assorted flavors of gelato. I stopped for a few minutes to snap some nice evening shots (and the video here) but honestly, after having walked around another 5 hours, I was tired! I couldn't wait to fall asleep in an AIR-CONDITIONED room! Even if it wasn't hot out! As I walked back to the hotel it seemed my traveling companion, Alice, and I were the only two walking away from Ortygia. Cars were streaming across the two tiny bridges that connect the island to the mainland and all I could think was, "Where are all these cars possibly going to park!?" Oh well, all the more reason to return another time!

Travel to Sicily: Siracuse

When I arrived in Sicily, the transportation strike was indeed on. One lone, poor, barely-past-his-teens Italian was in the bus ticket booth, trying his hardest to fight off the belligerent masses, who were bombarding him with both questions and insults. By the time I made my way to the front of the mob and asked about the status of the buses in my best Italian, his only reply was that he didn't know if any buses were coming at all. Sure, it might show up 3 hours from now, but there was no guarantee. (The oddest thing to me was that these people acted as if they had no idea there was a strike, and yet it had been in every publication for the last several days.) Leave it to the Italians. So after a 100 Euro taxi ride (What other choice was there?), I made it to the first destination: Syracuse. This was once the most powerful city in the known world (long before Rome). I found the city to be free from the general hustle and bustle of Rome, much more laid back and relaxing. It was smaller than I had expected, very quaint. The most touristy part of the city is the island of Ortygia, which still has a Venetian-influenced main piazza. Although much further south, the ocean breezes made Siracusa much cooler, so it felt wonderful to stroll around the city in the evening. After exploring for about 6 hours on foot, I stumbled upon a Sicilian gelateria where I tried both Cannella (Cinnamon) and Ricotta flavored gelato! Mmm! (New flavors to add to my rotation!)

Day 2: Started off the day by touring the catacombs of San Giovanni, the largest catacombs in the Roman Empire (and possibly anywhere?) with room for more than 20,000 burials. (It was used as a hiding place during the bombings of WWII.) Because of the difference in climate, I saw all kinds of different plants I'd never seen before: figs, date palms, and even papyrus, growing in the fresh spring, Fonte Aretusa, praised in poetry by both Pindar and Virgil. The best part of the day was running into Mafia man #2. (Okay, I don't REALLY know that he's tied to the Mafia, but you tell ME how a guy who runs a sandwich shop can take off two months to travel (this year for example) to Texas, Mexico, Panama, Uraguay, Argentina and 5 other countries I can't recall. I'm pretty sure it's not being covered by Fulbright!) After chatting him up a bit he offered me my first "arancia," not really an orange, but a rice ball, resembling an orange with various kinds of stuffing.

The Dreaded "S" Word

My first response: "Ma scherzi! You have GOT to be KIDDING me!" It's the single word that strikes fear in all Italians: Sciopero, or what we Americans call 'Strike.' Yes, my dear readers, the public transportation system is going on strike the very DAY that I am supposed to go on vacay to Sicily (and on your birthday, dear Jenna!) So far, it seems that only local public transportation will be affected, i.e. all buses, trams, and the metro. Horrible, actually, but at least the airport should be open and all flights (including mine, from Rome to Catania) should be operating. Take a taxi? Yes, that's what I'll probably be reduced to doing, and it doesn't come cheap: about 60 euors to the airport from my digs in Trastevere. This is quickly becoming a very expensive 4-day break! The problem with a strike in Italy, especially this one, which affects public transit, is that it means it's going to affect EVERYBODY. With the sciopero comes mass confusion and chaos. The major arteries around the city are going to be gridlocked. (I once read about a guy trying to fly out of Rome around the time of a scheduled airport strike. Actually, his flight was scheduled to leave 10 minutes before the sciopero was to begin. The Lufthansa staff was so frantic to get the flight off the ground, that the plane took off with people still standing in the aisle. Can you even imagine???) All I care about at this point is making it to my destination of Syracuse. Then, I can finally relax and get some much needed time off from this crazy summer!

This is what Archaeology should be like all the time!

Today just might have been the coolest day yet. This afternoon we were given a tour of some of the odder aspects of the American Academy in Rome. The coolest part, however, was climbing down a manhole in the cryptoporticus of the Academy to an ancient Roman aqueduct. Given that the professor wasn't actually with us, I made this fabulous, high-quality video, which I am sharing with you. Now THIS is pretty cool! Not the sort of thing you get to do on your typical trip to Italy! But you can't just stop there! No! After we climbed out of the ancient abyss we joined the AAR fellows for proper afternoon tea in one of the salons off the inner courtyard. So surreal -- it looked like something straight out of the New Yorker. My Grandmother Edith would be so proud.