Day 4 - Wednesday, June 14th, 2023 - Syracuse, Sicily, Italy - Part 2

Day 4 - Wednesday, June 14th, 2023 - Syracuse, Sicily, Italy - Part 2 

It was SUPER hot & humid so we wanted to do something else that would cool us off a bit.  We found a little kiosk by the bridge back to the ship that offered a boat cave tour for only 90 Euro total for all of us so we did it.  It was a tiny little motor boat which scares me to death (remember I have a fear of water), but the kids were SO excited to get out on the water so I was brave.  Our tour guide was this super old, hilarious, Italian guy who we ended up absolutely loving.  Our tour lasted a little over an hour & it was great. 

We went inside 3-4 caves & went around the Ortigia Island.  He showed us all the main sites from the water & just let us have a great time.  It was just what the kids needed to feel refreshed & ready to play some more. 

He told us a hilarious story about the most famous person from Ortigia - Archimedes.  Archimedes is known for so many amazing things like the invention of pi & several mathematical & scientific theories.  There is a statue built for him on the island of Ortigia.  Because of his mathematical & engineering skills, Archimedes designed weapons to defend Syracuse from the Roman armies.  In 212 BC, he used over 100 bronze mirrors to focus sunlight on the Roman ships & set them all on fire.  He literally saved Syracuse with mirrors.  We made sure to get a picture with the bronze statue so we’d never forget the story.

After that, the kids wanted to get back on the ship.  We had seen all of Ortigia so we were fine to call it a day.  We were all hungry from walking so much so we stopped at the buffet for lunch.  They had your typical hamburgers/hot dogs/chicken sandwiches plus salads, fruit, & breads.  It filled our bellies & then we grabbed another ice cream on deck 9 before all going to take short naps to rest off our weariness.  Then we spent the rest of the afternoon swimming & sitting at the pool. 

Trek took his drone off the boat for some fun pictures & videos of Ortegia while the rest of us enjoyed swim time. (He loves his drone.)

We ate dinner at 5:30 in the dining room.  Dinner was Mediterranean Food & I absolutely LOVED my Greek salad, Chicken Picatta, & Panna Cotta dessert.  Right after dinner we went to the theater to watch the Rock & Roll musical.  We absolutely loved the singers & dancers that put on the shows each night.  They were SO good.  Each of the songs showed how Rock & Roll evolved through the years & it was SO well done.  We loved it.  After the musical we were off to bed.  We were crossing time lines that night so we had to move our clocks forward an hour, but we could sleep in because the next day was our day at sea.  The kids couldn’t wait to JUST PLAY ON THE BOAT all day long.

Day 4 - Wednesday, June 14th, 2023 - Syracuse, Sicily, Italy - Part 1

 Day 4 - Wednesday, June 14th, 2023 - Syracuse, Sicily, Italy - Part 1

Our ship pulled into port at 7:30 am so we woke up & went to breakfast right at 7.  We were loving the dining room breakfasts that were made to order.  We all got some sort of an egg breakfast (scrambled, fried, omelets, & burritos).  At breakfast, Bladen broke the news to us that he lost his shoes on the pool deck the night before.  He had NO SHOES.  He was wearing Trek’s sandals.  We made him go up to the pool deck to look for them.  They were nowhere to be found so he checked with the towel guy on deck 9 to ask where the lost & found was.  Bladen made his way to deck 6 (guest services) to ask about his poor shoes.  These employees were the very best.  They had them stored & ready for him.  We were SO grateful.  He promised to keep track of his shoes from here on out.

We got off the ship & made our way over the bridge onto the island of Ortigia.  It had a beautiful old town with lots of fun shops & an open marketplace.  The kids LOVED the marketplace full of jewelry, clothing, spices, dried fruits, & fish.  They even yelled “Fresh Fish” which reminded us of Aladdin. 

After the marketplace we found the Diana Fountain in the middle of the city which was beautiful. 

Old Town was just a hustle & bustle of people.  The shops were SO fun.  Taya found an amazing dress shop where she bought the most adorable teal/yellow Sicily Lemon dress. 

We all got some yummy gelato (I got Americana & it was the BEST gelato I’ve ever had. . . It had caramel & peanut butter gelato with chocolate pieces, peanuts, & gooey caramel) & I even found a cute little ceramic nativity for my nativity collection. 

The cathedral in the middle of old town was gorgeous & there was a wedding going on while we were there.  The girls LOVED all the pretty dresses everyone was wearing. 

After exploring old town, we walked to the “famous” Arethusa Spring (which really wasn’t much), but there were ducks & the kids love ducks. 

Finally we explored the huge Castello Maniace at the edge of the island which was beautiful.