From Siracusa, we drove West to Ragusa Ibla. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1693 and rebuilt. Most of the architecture seems to be from around that period. It is quite beautiful and definitely worth a visit.
Walking Towards the Cathedral in Ragusa Ibla
Cathedral from the Main Square
Ragusa has an upper city and a larger lower city, called Ragusa Ibla. The latter is gotten to by a long staircase or a switchback road down the side of the cliff. You can see the buildings of the upper city from the lower city. It is built up all up and down the hill.
Upper City from the Lower City of Ragusa
No Wonder this is a UNESCO Heretige City
We went to dinner at a typical Sicilian trattoria and had some pasta that was terrific. The plaza in front of the cathedral is a real happening place. Lots of tourists from all over Italy (it seemed) promenading up and down the streets. A world renowned gelato place was on the plaza. It had gelato made from various wines (along with the usual fare). Gelato is really a work of art over here.
The next day we drove South and stopped in Siracusa, also known as Syracuse. It was a major Greek city-state and the home of the famous mathematician and engineer Archimedes (of Eureka in the bathtub fame). It has a huge Greek amphitheater and great architecture. Here are a couple of pictures. Unfortunately, we were there in midafternoon on a Sunday and the stores were not open yet. Irith says here looked to be some good fashion shopping there.
Fountain of Diana, Archimedes Plaza, Siracusa
Some Church in Siracusa (Syracuse)
Gil – can you believe it? An entire museum and theater dedicated only to pupi? We would have gone it, but we were not sure if we could take the smell.
They Have a Museum Dedicated Only to Pupi (Can You Believe It?)
We spent the first two nights at a B&B in Nicolosi called Il Sotto de Volcano. It got a great rating in TripAdvisor. Our rating will downgrade it a little. A very enthusiastic and energetic owner, who came to fetch us when we couldn’t find the place and couldn’t have been more helpful. It was clean and well-situated. And the breakfasts were phenomenal. But the bed was just two singles pushed together with mattresses that had seen better days. The toilet seat was falling apart and you had to squeeze up against the sink to get into the show, which didn’t have a door and soaked the tile floor. Aside from that it was fine.
Nicolosi, The Gateway to Mount Etna
We stopped at Taormina on our way to dinner with our friend (and client) Giampiero DeLuca in Messina. I say we stopped, but we couldn’t find a place to park, so we just kept on driving. Taormina is way up high on a hill. The picture below is on the road up. Fantastic views. Beautiful old town.
View from Taormina
Messina is a beach town where the ferry from the mainland comes in. It is only three kilometers from the mainland, across the Strait of Messina. They have been talking about building a bridge across for about 50 years. It would have to be a single span as the straits are very deep.
Messina
Giampiero has a fabulous home on a hill overlooking Messina and the Strait of Messina and the toe of the boot of Italy on the other side. Look at the little lake just near the shore down below in this picture from Giampiero’s balcony. Following is a blow-up of it.
The View of Messina and the Mainland of Italy from Giampiero's Patio
Lake near the Shore in Messina
Here is a picture of our host, Giampiero DeLuca. He and his wife Ebe are native Sicilians and justifiably proud of their island.
We flew in to Sicily and were greeted by a fantastic view of Mount Etna from the plane, still spouting copious amounts of smoke from its most recent eruption within the previous week.
Mt. Etna from the Plane
The following morning, we drove from our B&B in Nicolosi up the side of Mount Etna and took a cable car up even further. We were struck by the delicate foothold of flowers in the volcanic soil.
Just so you will know, Irith and I made it to our respective destinations without mishap. Irith to Israel via Istanbul and me to DC via Rome and Philadelphia. From the departure time of the first flight for me to DC was a total elapsed time of 31 hours. The flight to Rome was 11 hours and to Philadelphia was 9. Tip: If you are going to take a trip around the world, go Eastward to take advantage of tail winds. It’s a lot longer when travelling to the West (as we did).
The Metro was not serving above-ground stations, like the airport, so I took a cab home. It was slow going as the District has not done a very good job of clearing the roads. When I finally made it to the house, I had to scramble over a huge hump of snow plowed up in front of my driveway (about waist high), dragging suitcases. At the high part my foot sunk in to about the level of my groin. Oy. But I managed to drag the bags up the driveway and to the house. I started shoveling this morning, but it was a huge job. When someone came by and offered to do it (albeit for a substantial remuneration), I gratefully accepted. Now it is snowing again and we expect another 10-20 inches. Tomorrow, I’ll do the reshoveling.
The trip is not over yet for Irith. After six weeks in Israel, I rejoin her there and then we fly to Amsterdam for a few days before coming home finally. We’ll continue the blog from Amsterdam at the end of March. Thanks for taking part vicariously in our adventure.
I had to give this blog a happy title as it is our last day of our 40th Anniversary Tour (did we ever thank Sally and Jerry for the extremely clever sweatshirts that says “Dancing with the Stars, 40th Anniversary Tour” on the front and lists all of our destinations on the back? If not – thanks Sally and Jerry. They got a lot of comments when we wore them on the glacier). However, we did get left with a little bit of a bitter taste in our mouths.
When we arrived yesterday morning at the Bangkok airport from Chaing Mai, we were inquiring about transportation to our hotel when we were waylayed by a booth selling tours. We were informed that because our hotel was a client hotel, we could have a tour without the $40 American fee per person, but only 500 baht service charge for the both of us (about $17 total). One of the tours offered was a canal trip which included the floating market. Irith is interested in anything with “market” in its name, so we agreed. We were to be picked up at our hotel the next morning at 7:30 am.
We were picked up by a guide and a driver in a nice, but well used, Volvo. We were the only couple in the back of the car and they took us to the dock for the canal boat. It was a long way from the hotel. There, we were herded onto a boat the size of a bus that held about 60 people. We went down the big river for a ways, passing some interesting sights, then turned in to a canal. There were some temples on either side and a view of the people’s houses on the water. The fish in the canals are sacred and are fed by the monks at the temples. They grow into pretty good size and are a kind of catfish. Very ugly. They came through the boat selling loaves of bread to use to feed the fish (they also tried to sell drinks, post cards, hats, and you name it). We then arrived at a destination, which turned out to be a touristy snake show for an additional fee. We had no interest and felt betrayed as nobody told us that we were merely being offered a taxi ride to a tourist attraction that we would not cross the street to see). We had to sit in the sun until the suckers finished.
Then we went back the way we came to the port (not before the staff on the boat begged for tips like vagrants and giving their captive audience a long spiel about all of the other tours offered by their company). Our driver and our guide in the Volvo then started to drive us. The guy on the boat said something about our drivers being willing to take us to other tourist sites if we wanted. We told them we just wanted to go back to our hotel as we were already upset that we were not given what we had been promised. He said that they had to make a stop and they stopped at a house where they sell extremely high end gems set in gold. We were glad of the stop only because we wanted to use the rest rooms. Otherwise, we were not in the market for jewelry and had no interest.
When we conveyed these feelings to our guide in no uncertain terms, he said that they had to make two more stops. We refused and demanded to be returned to our hotel. He said that if we went in the Volvo there would be two more stops. We had no idea where we were, but we had had enough and said we would take a taxi back to the hotel and simply walked away. The taxi cost the same as what I had been contemplating giving the guy as a tip anyway (before we learned of their scheme).
The moral of the story is, if you are approached in the airport for a free (or reduced price tour), run away.
Nevertheless, the rest of our stay in Bangkok was fun. Yesterday, upon arrival, wee got massages (foot for Irith, neck and back for me) and we both got manicures. Massages in Thailand are the best deal in the world. In Chaing Mai they cost about $4 for an hour massage. Here, they were closer to $7.50. The manicure was also cheap. We went to the same place that we used to go with Sally and Jerry when last we were last here. After an afternoon nap, we looked on the internet for a good but cheap place for dinner. We found a place that seemed to fit the bill on TripAdvisor.com. It was a seafood restaurant about 6 Skyway stops from the hotel. Our hotel is very conveniently located an easy walk from both the Skyway (which is a subway that is elevated) and the subway. The restaurant was right under the Skyway station. It was nothing to look at, but the food was really good and the price was right. I had a whole seabass with spicy sauce. It was quick-fried, but not breaded. Very good. Irith also enjoyed her meal. Our new favorite dessert is sweet sticky rice. Irith learned to cook it in her class and it is yummy. This restaurant had it with fresh mango. To die for.
Today, after our morning fiasco, we went to the food court of the department store nearby. They had about a dozed different booths with different kinds of Thai food. You could order from as many of them as you want (they only take coupons which the central cashier gives you in exchange for cash) and, again, the price is right. We then took the Skyway to the Sunday market. We had forgotten from last time just how large this market is. You can walk forever down each aisle and there are a dozen aisles of that length, which a different booth every several steps. They are arranged somehow into different themes – clothes, handicrafts, housewares, etc. Besides this huge indoor market are additional markets on either side of the main one. And food vendors everywhere. There is some amount of bargaining, but nothing like in China and Vietnam. We helped the Thai economy and headed back to the hotel. We had arranged that morning to keep our room until 9 pm for an additional $70. Well worth it.
Now we are rested and clean and ready for our long travel ordeal ahead. We both leave from the Bangkok airport withing about 20 minutes of each other. Irith takes Turkish Air to Istanbul and then connects onto a Turkish Air flight to Tel Aviv. She arrives at about 9:40 am Tel Aviv time on Monday. I fly Thai Air to Rome. Then fly USAir to Philadelphia and then another USAir flight into Washington National, arriving about 31 hours later at around 7 pm.
Thanks for enjoying our blog. We started the hit tracker only after our first week and we still have had close to 300 hits since it started, so somebody is looking at it once in awhile, although very few are commenting on the blog. Irith gets lots of comments on Facebook. If everyone would comment on the blog itself, it will be a good keepsake for us.
It has taken a while to make this posting as we had to sort through literally close to a thousand pictures to pick the best. I suggest you skip this blog and go right to the pictures. What else is there to do in Washington in the middle of a blizzard?
We were picked up at our hotel at 7:30 am and returned about 6 pm. A long and exhausting day. When we arrived at Patara Elephant Farm, we first were given a lecture on the history of elephants in Thailand and the difference between this farm and other elephant tourist attractions. They not only rescue or adopt elephants, but they keep them healthy and have a breeding program. It is not only important to prevent the elephant population from diminishing, but also to help it increase. It was very interesting.
Next, we walked a little path through rice paddies and other farmland for a long while until we got to where our elephants were. There were nine in our group (there were two groups). There we were taught how to recognize that your elephant is in a good mood. You don’t want to approach an elephant who is in a bad mood. Once we determined our elephants were in a good mood, we approached them with food and called their name. Each recognized its name and responded with a trumpet. We fed them a basketful of bananas and bamboo. Irith had the only male elephant, Bounpak. I had a female who was 14 months pregnant, named Memai. We have to remember our elephant’s name and many commands in Thai. Also our trainer’s names.
We were then taught how to inspect your elephant to determine its state of health. Flapping the ears and wagging the tail is a good sign. Dirt on both flanks mean the elephant has been sleeping on both sides during the night, which is proper and a sign of good health. Next we check that they are sweating properly. Does anyone know where an elephant sweats? No, it is between their toes. Finally, we inspect their dung to make sure it doesn’t stink, has the proper amount of moisture and has only small fibers, not whole leaves. Fun so far, right?
After our health inspection, we had to clean our elephants. That involved sweeping all the dirt off of their backs with a sprig of leaves (with vigor) and then taking the elephant to the stream and throwing water all over them and scubbing with a scrub-brush. It was a lot of work as they are big animals (if you didn’t notice). And the trainers made sure you did it right.
Next, we had to learn to mount the elephants. Irith used the step up on their leg, which they held up for you, and scramble aboard method. I used the jump up onto the elephant’s head when they kneeled down for you method. When finally well mounted, we started a long walk through the forest. We went up and down hills over rough terrain. It is amazing how sure-footed were the animals. Riding uses muscles little used by us heretofore. At the end of the elephant hike (over an hour), we arrived at a little waterfall, where we had lunch and rested. Then we had to ride back, which was a shorter route, thankfully. We then had another short rest and, believe me, Irith and I were ready to call it a day. But they insisted that we had another half hour walk through a creek, where the elephants could clean their toes by walking on rocks in the water. For the rest of the way, they suggested that we use another method of riding, involving sitting on the head with your feet dangling in front. The couples could ride together. We managed to both get aboard the elephant (with some difficulty) and rode this way for the final half hour. Irith had a good grip on the elephant’s ears and I held onto Irith and the rope that was behind me. We found this very stressful as you needed to keep balance as the elephants were walking up and down over the sides of the creek.
Then we said goodbye to our elephants. It was very sad, as we really came to know and love our mounts. They are extremely intelligent animals. All day, the staff had been taking pictures and videos. Afterwards, they prepared all of the pictures on a CD and delivered it to each of our hotels. This is why, between all of the pictures on the CD and our own, the total was close to a thousand.
This was, all in all, a fantastic (if exhausting) experience and we recommend it for all. Dan and Jenny were supposed to join us on this adventure last year when we were traveling together in the region, but it had to be canceled at the last minute because the Bangkok airport was closed due to civil unrest. Too bad as they would have absolutely loved it.
Tomorrow night Irith leaves for Israel and I leave for home. Maybe one more short post tomorrow. Try to survive the blizzard, Washington.
Roger
Irith Feeding Bounpak
Roger with Memai
A Necessary Part of Checking Your Elephant's Health
Irith went to a Thai cooking class today at A Lot of Thai. It was taught at the home of the teacher, who was a terrific cook, and was very much enjoyed by all. Besides having fun cooking about five different dishes and having a shopping trip at the market, we met great new friends, whom we hope to stay in touch with in the future. I hung around as the official photographer and used everyone’s cameras to record the feats of culinary delight created by each of the students. Here are some of Irith’s.
We just arrived at our hotel in Chiang Mai. It is called Fern Paradise, and for good reason. This place has ferns growing all over. The rooms are in the style of ancient rice barns, in the middle of a rain forest. The rooms are in the trees and entirely of wood, including the tables and chairs. There is no telephone in the room, but they give you a cell phone you can use while you are here. It is really cool. We are in the Adiantum Barn.
Tomorrow is Irith’s cooking class and Friday we do the Elephant Owner for a Day. So lots more pictures are coming.
We left Melbourne at 20 minutes past midnight and after a nine hour flight and 4 time zones (crossing the equator in the process), we arrived uneventfully in Bangkok. We left two of our bags in luggage storage in the airport and took only carry-on for our three days in Chiang Mai. They are now calling our flight. More with pictures from Chiang Mai.
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