drron29

Behind the Greek Theatre are caves which are thought to have been used as tombs. The theatre is one of the largest Greek theatres and is used still as a theatre. Good views of modern syracusa and on the day the MSC Splendida which was preparing to leave. We now drove down to the modern Syracuse. The bus dropped us off near the MSC ship.

This cave has good acoustics. It is said prisoners were shut in here and guards up top could hear everything that was said. Often led to an unhappy ending for prisoners. We then started walking towards the Greek Theatre. At the entry point for the Greek theatre a contented cat an an Ad for a police light show at night.

At the bottom is a garden with many fruit trees and berries.

As you walk in on your right is an ancient quarry -Latomie Del Paradiso. On the left all that remains of the biggest sacrificial altar ever -the Altar of Hiero where it is said 450 bulls could be sacrificed at the same time. We now walked down into the quarry. Magnificent.

But a lot of industry along the coast. And a lovely hilltop village. Now we are in Syracuse and our guide buys tickets for Neapolis Park. An incredible archeological site. But once again a lot of cheap junk at the entrance.

So off we go on the adventure. First our ship then views from the bus. Street food. It is an industrial city. But soon out in the country. Citrus grapes and olives were common.

Rojaan wanted a quiet day so she stayed on board. I signed up for a tour of Ancient Siracusa in the afternoon. So what better way to spend a morning than watching the comings and goings of trucks from the cargo ferry. And to add to the bliss a Japanese lunch before going on tour. My favourite lunch place on board.

Some rather disheveled buildings here. But time to chill out.

Next morning we are in Catania,Sicily. views of a warship,parked trucks,silo art and Mt.Etna. What more could you want. What more could I want? Well let's start with a Ryanair plane taking off!

The Captains welcome night. Notice 50% of the senior officers are female. Then to dinner. The days extra menu. I forget what Rojaan had for an entree but I had the tuna ceviche and the tomato soup that I really enjoy. We both then had the lobster for mains and declined dessert.

And now waiting for the tender. On the tender. Wharves and tenders leave their marks. The Dawn is just 4 months out from her inaugural cruise.

Some lovely scenery.

The last before we leave the site. The view as we descended then looking back. And now back on the bus.

The source of the destruction in the background. The forum. must have been magnificent prior to the destruction.

A direction sign.

The stroll continues. Was taking a toll on some as this was our hottest day. Not as severe as earlier in summer but 32C. Lupanare. In other words the brothel.

The last of the villa.

Again had to be careful with the uneven surfaces. And Roman fast food joint. The urns were to display the food and faced the street. And now we enter a 2 storey villa. Amazing the detail that has been preserved.

The great theatre. At times it was crowded. The small theatre. The middle section of this wall was the new method of construction to lessen the effect of earthquakes.

So our exploration of Pompei begins. Amazing to think most of the construction here took place over 2000 years ago. Also the walls were on the seafront. Now 700 metres away. Also pre Roman ruins. Now inside the walls.

We collect a bottle of water from the Hotel Victoria and are allowed to use their toilets. I presume what they charge for the water is the cost of the toilet stop. Preparing for lunch and people off to the lav. And the first view of the ruins. Who buys this stuff? But soon off to what we have come for.

Well we are back although for a while we wondered if we were on the right plane. On approach to the Sunshine Coast airport in Queensland the Purser began welcoming us to Adelaide South Australia and telling us we would need to change terminals if we needed to connect to another flight. We only have 1 terminal. A sheepish apology followed. So back to this report. The next morning it was off to Pompei. So more views from the bus. First impressions aren't great.

ak1004 try cruising with some one with claustrophobia. Small cabins are just not on. SS Verandah suites on the Muse class ships are the smallest acceptable so Crystal will never be on our radar.

A belated welcome to the 70’s mysty and to the real beginnings of life. Good enough to still do what you like and old enough to have an excuse for everything else. I have really enjoyed my 70s so far and I just hope the second half will be as enjoyable.

Well I actually enjoyed the Polar plunge so did 2 more. As I said a great endorphin to.