Facade of the Castello Donnafugata
Initially we had planned to tour the inside of the castle but a thunder storm earlier that morning had knocked out the power or the water or something and the inside was closed to tourists. We did however get a tour of the beautiful gardens.
A lion guarding the steps up to the first balcony of the castle
Les and I disagree as to the look on his face. I say its a snarl or a sneer, definitely not friendly. He says it is a smile. What do you think?
A view of the back of the castle
The Stone Labyrinth
We tried to find our way through the labyrith but didn't get far. The storm that had hit earlier that morning had flooded several of the passages so we were forced to turn around. Before we left many of us jumped on top of the walls for a better view. The tour guide told us to. She wouldn't go in with us, but said we could if we wanted to. If we got lost just to climb the wall to find our way out.
See any resemblance?
Right as our group was gathering to leave for lunch at a nearby agriturismo the interior of the castle opened for visitors. Many of our group opted to go see it but Les and I were ravenously hungry at this point and feeling cranky. I had also had my fill for the moment of group touring. We rested and had a snack and a glass of wine at a nearby bar and waited for the rest of the group to join us.
Finally, we left for lunch. The agriturismo wasn't far, thankfully. We all piled into the small homey dining room and prepared to feast.
One of the many antipasti options...YUM!
After I took that picture of the antipasti we dug in. I didn't think much of pictures again for awhile...or rather I did but I was too busy eating. Like all good Italian meals the food just kept coming and coming. About halfway through I was already feeling full but there was a nice pause between courses for getting up streching legs, and letting the food settle before continuing to the next course. I love lunches that go until dinner time!
As the lunch was winding down a resident German Shepherd poked his head in the door. His beautiful sad eyes were just pleading for us to give him some of the leftover sausage that was on the table.
How could you not indulge that face?
He was such a good dog, never ventured farther in than you can see in the picture and just moved as people walked in and out of the door around him.
Our next stop was Ragusa Ibla. Les and I have been there a couple of times but somehow managed to miss the coolest places on both trips. Luckily this time we had a tour guide with us to show us all of the cool places.
Chiesa di San Giacomo
I am fascinated by the weeds growing out of the tiled roof.
The Cattedrale di San Giorgio in the distance through evening's haze
Detail on the facade of Chiesa di San Giuseppe
Cattedrale di San Giorgio
St. George on Horseback, sculpture inside the Cattedrale di San Giorgio
We finished our tour of Ragusa Ibla with refreshments at a local bar. I was still full from lunch so I was content with some sparkling water. As we were leaving Ragusa Ibla I tried taking a few nightime photos. I'm still trying to figure out the best settings for low light. This scene caught my eye. It didn't come out quite as well as I'd hoped but you can still get the idea with the dark blue of the twilight sky and the lights shining on the leaves which were changing colors.
At the entrance to the Giardino Ibleo
1/6th sec at f/8, ISO 800
When we departed we separated from the rest of the group and headed to the mall in Ragusa. Didn't need anything in particular but always fun to look. We didn't buy anything but decided to grab a snack on the way out. Our massive lunch was starting to wear off around 8:30P and we still had an hour to drive to get home.
We decided to try a tex-mex place in the mall. Tex-mex in Italy, an adventure for sure. We grabbed a table, decided what we wanted (there were two menus on each table - a pizza menu and a tex-mex menu), and finally ordered. Our beverages were brough out promptly and then we waited. The restaurant got busier and busier. To make a long story short we waited for over 2 hours. About halfway through our server brought us a plate of french fries on the house because it was taking so long, at least that was my best guess. We could tell there was some problem, maybe a bunch of miscommunications with the kitchen. Finally, they came out and told me (nearly 2 hours after we ordered) that they didn't have what I wanted. I picked something else. Soon, Les order arrived. It wasn't what we expected for a quesadilla but it was actually quite delicious. We waited some more.
Finally we decided to leave. I flagged down the server and explained in my best Italian that we had to leave and we had a long drive home. I asked how much we owed for our drinks and the bit of food we did receive. He wouldn't take payment and was so apologetic. My husband gave him 5 euro anyway. In a situation like this you couldn't help but walk out with a positive feeling. Even though they obviously had serious problems the food we did get was good and the staff was so gracious. We will try it again. Its not often you can walk out of a restuarant after waiting 2 hour for your food, not getting said food, and still leave with a positive feeling.
We arrived home a lot later than we expected, around 11:30P. I was hungry (since I never got my dinner) but Les crashed out and went to bed. I followed shortly after reheating and eating some leftovers in the fridge. It was a long, long day, but a very good one.
1 comment:
loved the trip with you, your pictures still amaze me. It is though I travel with you. BTW, did you see Pinch My Salt blog?
ttfn, figlia
mama
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