Laowai

The next day of our trip we spent at a nature reserve called Vendicari and then to a beautiful city called Noto.

We saw flamingos!

And lots of little lizards.

I loved our walk. We went along some wetlands and along a rocky shore of the Mediterranean Sea and then up a hill with colorful scrubby plants.

I like to do this magic trick where I crop out all the other people and it seems like we are on vacation without any other tourists. Well on this vacation I also felt like I was always cropping out the sad crumbling parts of Italy too. It’s a bit of a shock (especially coming from Zurich) to see the state of the buildings and towns and roads. In the middle of our hike there was this house (?) perched next to the trail – abandoned and crumbling. And we would see big piles of garbage along country roads. I know there is a lot of poverty and there are a lot of immigrants trying their best to just make it. But it just makes me sad to see beautiful buildings falling apart and surrounded by garbage. It feels like the economic situation for Italy is quite bleak.

And then we drove to Noto – the driving was crazy in the little towns. Brian was forever getting honked at for driving the speed limit or being a polite driver. The main highway through the country was fine but the roads in the towns are incredibly narrow and chaotic. They’re just not made for cars. 

Noto was another place affected by earthquakes in the past. More baroque buildings made out of the prettiest honey colored stone.

The girls are saying enough “enough looking at churches, time to get a gelato!”

Next up – Taormina.