The first thing you do when you wake up in a seafront hotel is to look out over the water.   This is what we saw

Parking Problem, Ortygia, Sicily

when we looked out over the Ortygia waterfront to see what all the truck noise was about.  Two police cars and a tow truck with lifting device showed up at the same time, very skilled workers jumped out, harnessed up this little red Fiat and turned on the hydraulic lift…….

Parking Problem Solved, Ortygia, Sicily

…..and without any exaggeration at all, sped off within five minutes.  Good luck traveller, in finding your car again and paying for your civil disobedience.
Once again being grateful that we are using public transportation on this trip, we set off to have

Cathedral, Ortygia, Sicily

a look at Ortygia’s charms.  Its enormous cathedral jumps out at you not only because of its statuary and whiteness, but because it’s in such contrast with the size of everything else around it.  We had to visit, of course,

Quiet Alley, Ortygia, Sicily

but we were soon drawn into the surrounding maze of alleys which beg to be investigated.  I love to see the plants that mark entrances to shops or homes, to see the beautiful street lamps, even to see the colorful laundry that adds its own charm.

Via Crocifissa, Ortygia, Sicily

Upon turning into via Crocifissa, however, I had to get out the camera because there was so much going on.  For one thing, we were drawn to the tidiness and sweetness of the few tables set up outside a small trattoria.  Then there was the cat headed our way.  But the real grabber for me was the basket of goods being hauled by rope up to the top floor apartment a few doors away.  You can see the  basket just above the roof of the little white Cinquecento parked on the right.

Delivery in Progress, Ortygia, Sicily

As we neared the restaurant and Umberto, the clever, well-dressed, polite maitre’d noticed our approach, the basket was well on its way to the top

Mission Accomplished

where its shirtless recipient welcomed his prize without having to face yet another endless round of stone steps.
Our attention by now was fixed on the menu at Il Nuovo Fermento, and under the watchful eye of Umberto we scanned and made choices very quickly because everything we wanted to eat was right here…..

Caponata at Il Nuovo Fermento, Ortygia, Sicily

Caponata, one of my absolute favorite things to eat, came out of that kitchen with its aromas preceding it.  I didn’t even share.

Ortygia Antipasto, Sicily

The other side of the table (and he didn’t share either) was a selection of antipasti, old-style, with local cheese, salami, olives, and a bit of caponata sprinkled with pistachios.  Wow.

Cannolo, Ortygia Style, Sicily

We were urged to try this dessert……instead of a traditional cannolo rolled into a little cylinder, this was a pistachio laden ricotta filling topped with crumbled cannoli shells, cinnamon and powdered sugar.  We heeded Umberto’s advice…..and we weren’t sorry even though we knew we had a measured amount of time to get back to that hotel room before we would both be comatose.

After Lunch, Ortygia, Sicily

On our way, we passed another restaurant’s doorway and came upon a little creature who expressed our feelings perfectly.

Birthday Wishes, Ortygia, Sicily

It was a good birthday party……started off right and kept going for the two days we were here.  By the time the food coma wore off, we were boarding that sweet little one-car train again and heading back to Scicli.   Older, wiser, happier……and feeling like we won’t need to eat again for another few days.