Segesta

11/11 YEAR END MATHS EXAMS!!

The wind kept us in bed and we all woke together a little sombre but excited, aware of the big exams this morning.  The kitty cats trailed along behind us to the loo, to the wash up and were always waiting patiently outside the door.

Kel flogged it, pulling in an A+ for her 1 hour exam and Wil struggled through 2 hours to tally a strong A-. Job done, simulation over!  In celebration, we got the inside info on where to find good aranchine finding only one which we quartered & supplemented with a ham & cheese brioche.  Delicious cibo - no wonder Sicilians battle with their girth.

With only 10 days to go ‘til we take the ferry, we hit the road north for the jewel in Sicily’s crown, the NW tip stopping along the way for a peek at Segesta’s ancient Elymian (Trojans) 5^th century BC never completed Doric Temple.  

We pulled into the neighbouring hilltop town, and picked up some more celebration snacks (2 more cous-cous aranchine & an eggplant focaccia thingy that we balanced with a fresh, nutty salad) before driving to the temple car park with its astounding view where we ate with loud appreciative ‘mmm’s.  The finest & oldest temple we’ve seen so far in Europe is simply massive and stands erect, heavy and spectacular on the edge of a plateau in deep limestone canyon country.  It is made up of 36 monster columns and around its feet are undulating maroon coloured vineyards and dreamy looking spacious farmhouses. It is by far the prettiest part of Sicily we’ve seen.

Our night park looked ~ 1 km across a field toward the lit up ruin.  Alone and so satisfied, we settled in to read, learn about Troy, Homer and Greek column construction (Doric = heavy, simple, oldest, masculine; Ionic = from Ionic island stone, more ornate ‘female’ capitals ‘ with volutes used on smaller temples and Corinthian = the most decorative of all)…..and drink whisky.

An almighty storm roared through the night rocking Ed madly.  Despite knowing we were safe & sound, the seniors slept fitfully listening for threatening noises and between sleep cycles, planning & preparing for the complex journey home.