Villa Romana at Piazza Armerina

This trip was a few weekends ago, but I am just now getting around to posting the pictures. We visited a town called Piazza Armerina in Enna (a province south and west of Catania in the center of the island) where there is a Roman Villa with the most extensive and intact collection of Roman mosaics in the world. It's pretty unreal and especially amazing considering the location of this villa (pretty much in the middle of nowhere although at one time there was a canal that ran past the estate). It's also huge and rivals any of the larger homes found at Pompeii. Excavations are ongoing, so there were several sections of the home we were unable to view. The Italians have erected this glass and metal structure over the villa to protect it from the elements and also allow visitors to tour the home without actually walking on the mosaics (hello Pompeii, are you listening?).

Afterwards we visited an agriturismo outside of town for a long Italian lunch.

Siracusa

Located on the southeastern shore of Sicily not far from Catania, we visited the town of Siracusa. We toured the Parco Archaelogico della Neapolis today and took some great photos of ancient ruins including the Roman Amphitheater (Teatro Romano), the Greek Amphitheater (Teatro Greco), and the Ear of Dionysus (Orrechi di Dioigni).

Thomas and I in front of the aqueduct intake at the Greek Theater.

The Roman Amphitheater which postdates the Greek Theater but is considerably more degraded. The Romans also utilized the Greek Theater and added their own special flourishes.

The Greek Theater is still in use today! The new season of shows begins in May so the workers were out in full force, erecting a stage and seating platforms over the existing ruins. The pictures are tainted by the modern architecture, but the ruins are nevertheless impressive. An ancient aqueduct intake at the very top of the theater is still currently flowing! The aqueduct is perhaps a Roman addition. I wondered how patrons could hear if they were sitting at that level. That flow was quite loud. I suspect they stopped the flow during the entertainment. [And, yes, it is possible to stop flow to an aqueduct!]

The Ear of Dionysus. You can actually walk inside! The cave amplifies event the smallest sound and at one time was an ancient prison.

Ciao, ciao piccolo gatto!

The first day we moved in, a scrawny little cat was following me around everywhere. He was very skinny, and I felt badly for him. I started buying him cat food and putting it out for him. Stupid me! All 8 wild cats that live in our hood came out and were eating it, so the little cat wasn't getting any. So then I started bringing him in the house so he could actually eat the food. He got to know our schedule, and when we'd be home, and he always came to the door to wait for us. Bret made him a bed, and when it was really cold, we'd let him hang out in the house for a few hours. Thomas really liked him. We named him Gepetto, and I thought we might actually claim him for our own even though Thomas and I are allergic to him, and we don't even really like cats! He grew on us. He got fat and happy and his hair puffed up like a chow chow! He is quite possibly the funniest looking cat I have ever seen.

Long story short, the landlord's grandkids asked to come in our yard one day (sometimes their toys end up over the fence), so I let them in. They grabbed Gepetto right in front of my face and left! Gepetto came back the next day, though, so I just thought they had wanted to play with him. The next day, the landlord, his son, and the two grandkids came back. The landlord kept saying something about the gatto and the bambini, so I let them in the yard and they took the cat again! This time, however, he hasn't come back, and we are pretty sure he is now living with the grandkids. We hope they are taking care of the little bugger. Mind you, there is no shortage of cats to feed! Gepetto's brother Giuseppe is now the chosen cat except he howls when Bret brings him in the house! He is definitely not a people kind of cat like Gepetto was (is). In homage to the piccolo gatto, I dug up a cute picture of him and thought I'd post.

Thomas' 2nd Birthday - Elmo Cake

A couple of people wanted to see the Elmo cake I had made for Thomas' birthday. I was rather unsuccessful emailing the photo with AOL. Here Elmo is in all his red glory! We had a party with his friends here before we left for the states, and the entire cake was devoured!