sicily

Back from Sicily, a land of well-preserved Greek, Roman, and Punic remains, wonderful food, and beautiful scenery. I picked up some olive oil that tastes like what Sicily must taste like if you could grab the whole island in your hands and squeeze. We spent a whirlwind of a week there, staying at a different place each night. Being more of a Hellenist myself, the Greek remains were more to my liking than the stuff we see at Rome. Not that I'm all that into material remains...but this stuff was really fantastic. The Greeks really took location into consideration when they built their temples, theaters, or anything else for that matter. Theaters were built into the sides of hills, so they always overlook a sprawling vista. Quite a backdrop. Last night we took a boat from Sicily to Naples, then we bused back to Rome. It feels good to be back.