View from Serafina's Balcony

Serafina lives in a very working class neighborhood in Siracusa, this is the view as you look out her glass doors that go to an outdoor balcony.  She has two of these great tall glass doors and they provide the light in her apartment.  We walked this a.m. (I did do a small post on fb) to Ortegia, stopped briefly at the daily market, where I tasted the most lovely fresh capers and had tastes of various treats from the stand that Fina goes to often.  We did not stop long as we were meeting a friend, who happens to be an expert on ancient architecture.  So on the first day walking in Sicily I got to be on a personal walking tour.  Entrances that come onto buildings or monuments or squares which come at an angle were meant to expand the feeling of grandness as it is a visually different experience than coming onto something straight on, and he showed on these ancient streets where that happened.  He pointed out stairways, they built stairways outside as to not take up any internal space, the purposes of courtyards.  Bits of old colors,  architecture from Roman, Greek, Spanish periods.  We walked through the old Jewish neighborhood, they were pushed out in the 1300's and buildings are still there!  I learned about street size, and from that how they know what century they may have been built.  So different than our experience in the USA of just tearing things down,  people live with a certain amount of disintegration, rubble, build upon it, revere it, remember it's history. 

There is more to the day in Ortegia, we stopped at a Salvattore Accolla's studio, Fina bought two paintings, Jim bought several drawings, and I looked!

 Then we went off to the sea.  The Mediterraean Sea, it was breathtaking.  Not in that it took my breath away, but rather that it gave breath.  It was expansive, and beautiful and heart filling. 

We then came back to Siracusa.  A 10 minute walk to the Trattoria Spigola (spigola is the name of a wonderful local fish).  Michael and Fina lived for three years in an apartment above this Trattoria, so we were welcomed as family.  One of the owners, Nucchio, is a Harley lover, and so when he learned that Fina and Michael lived in Wisconsin, home of the Harley, well let's just say a deeper friendship ensured.  When we walked into the trattoria there in a prominent place on the wall is a wonderful watercolor done by Fina of Nucchio on his Harley in front of the business.  Oh, the food!  It was my first experience eating out, and everything that I have ever heard about how you will love Italian food.  Ink Squid Pasta, mixed fried seafood that just had come out of the sea, cheese and olives, a bread that was like foccacio, but was very thin and crispy just out of the oven - oh it was so tasty!  Then for a dessert they brought us a surprise - lemon sorbetto.  It is made in a machine that freezes and stirs it all the time - egg whites, lemon and sugar - heavenly.

Then we walked back to Fina's, back to the working class neighborhood, and the lovely Sante Lucia Square.  As I finish typing the bells are ringing on the square.  Fina is starting a new water color, and I am feeling all of this city just embracing me.

The seduction of Sicily has begun!  Bellissimio!