I was woken on my birthday by Esmé handing me a hand made card and AJ one of his books that he had wrapped up for me. We'd agreed no presents but AJ obviously thought I needed something to unwrap.... he knows his mother well! The best present was that the kids had done a little school the night before so that we could have the day off and go to Modica. Modica is the wealthiest town on Sicily and is famous for its chocolate so a perfect place for a mooch around.
We parked up and spent the next 10 minutes figuring out where to buy a scratch card for the parking, then climbed (according to my guide book) 250 stairs to the San Giorgio Cathedral.
We're not a religious family but both kids like lighting candles and remembering Great Granny and Neo (Grandad's dog).
And we can all appreciate the beautiful building and peaceful atmosphere.
We also saw a line going through the cathedral which had signs of the Zodiac written on it as well as dates etc. There was a small hole in the cathedral wall which may have let a beam of sunlight in. We took photo's of the words to try and work out what it was all about
Next we consulted TripAdvisor to find a nice café for a drink and a snack. The kids and I had very strong, bitter, hot chocolate which came served with 2 sachets of sugar each. Seeing the kids struggling the owner then brought over a jug of milk! Patrick had a cappuccino and we shared some goodies: a jam croissant, something that tasted like a doughnut filled with ricotta cheese which was surprisingly nice, 2 pasty shaped local delicacies which had a chocolate cake truffle like filling, and a couple of rum truffles... well it was my birthday!
All were delicious but we were all rather surprised at how nice the ricotta was in the doughnut!
Next it was back to the car via a lovely toy shop filled with amazing toys including some the lady made herself! The an amazing chocolate shop where we could taste all kinds of flavours. The Modica chocolate is quite crumbly and grainy, very different to Cadbury's Dairy Milk! There are many flavours including Chilli, salt, and orange.
Back to Marina Di Ragusa just in time to collect driftwood for our shell mobiles which would be created in the afternoon. Time for a little snack and a sneaky prosecco (thanks Helen!) before craft time in meeting room.
Esmé and I enjoyed making a mobile with shells as well as catching up with friends. I also picked up a lovely present that my brother had sent me. Whisky!!! It's crazy expensive here so this is a lovely treat!
Tuesday 30th January
Sad to say we were awoken in the early hours by AJ being sick, closely followed by Esmé so other than a brief trip to the laundry (Patrick), and the supermarket (me) we have been confined to the boat all day cuddling kids who have been pretty lethargic but thankfully not sick again since this morning. On the plus side Patrick has finished servicing the winches and we have caught up on a little paperwork. Hoping they feel better tomorrow!
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