Wobbling Winos: Day 10. Noto to Ortigia (Syracuse).

Day 10. Noto to Ortigia (Syracuse). 44 km.

A hearty but later than usual breakfast at Ambra B&B, including apricots and white mulberries, and a good start from Garmi finding us a route out of this confusing but attractive town. It was a short route to Avola, which is a bit of an unattractive sprawl. Here we found a food market - always worth a stop to sample the olives, peaches and other fruit in season.

We had a flat ride on to Syracuse through lemon and olive orchards. There weren't many vineyards to be seen even though this is supposedly the area where Nero d'Avola red wines come from. One would think that Sicilians survive on olives and lemons alone. We have hardly seen a cow so not sure where all their great ricotta cheese comes from. The orchards seem to receive a whole lot more care than their towns, as they are immaculate.

The approach to Syracuse was attractive as we stuck to the coast and then went over the old bridge to the island suburb of Otigia which is actually the old town area with magnificent buildings. Syracuse was once the most important city in Europe with three times its present population. It was central to major trade routes and has Greek, early Christian, Renaissance and Baroque influence. Archimedes, one of the last Hellenic philosophers was hacked to death by the Romans after they had besieged the city for two years.

The Piazza del Duomo is is the central attraction. The huge cathedral was once the site of a temple to Athena which was converted to a Christian church and then cathedral. Much of it was rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake which devastated so much of this area of Sicily. The bayside of the island is lined with pavement cafes and restaurants.

We quickly found the market which was bustling and noisy, with a strong smell of fish. We found a parking spot for the Mme Dawes behind a table at a small restaurant between the pistachio nuts, capers and sun-dried tomatoes. We then braved some of the local cuisine; Jen had a double layer of grilled sardines filled with tomato and cheese, while I was presented with octopus tentacles with a Jerusalem artichoke sauce (called ginger on the menu). A glass of rosé kept it all safe.

We booked into our pokey small apartment with its small courtyard just off the Via Roma. At least there was a good place for the bikes and to hang our washing. Most rooms in which we have stayed have had a small fridge which is great for cooling water. We have had to buy bottled water for the whole of this trip - the first time we have had to do so on our cycle tours. The price varies considerably, from 40€cents for 2 liters to €1,50 for 1,5 liters depending where we buy it. We have yet to work out the opening hours of the cheaper supermarkets and they are often difficult to find or far out of our way.

We had an arrangement to meet up with friends from Israel, Terry and Ami, who were coincidentally in Sicily to see the il Volo concert. We joined up with them in Piazza Archemede and then spent a few hours exploring the old town and having a pizza with them. Terry grew up in Graaf-Reinet and worked with Jen at the State Health Laboratories about 40 years ago. It was great to spend time catching up with them, and hearing about their lives on a kibbutz in Israel. They had kindly driven down from Mount Etna for the evening before catching their flight home from Catania.

The town was gearing up to watch the Champions League final, Real Madrid against Juventus. We probably wouldn't have had much sleep if Juventus had won. We watched the game in our apartment with a glass of crappy Nero d'Avola, while working out a route to Catania for the next day.