Gangs of Siracuse

At this point we have been on the road for well over 2 weeks and we could sense out vacation coming to a close.  Siracuse has been great but at this point somewhat tired of suitcases and eating in restaurants.  One of the routines that we have thoroughly enjoyed is after a long day of walking taking a quick nap in the room in the late afternoon and heading to Piazza Del Duomo for a drink or two and to watch the people zoo.  Piazza Del Duomo is a large open, new (at least by Italy standards), built in the late 1800’s after the earthquake of 1697 which destroyed most of Siracuse.  It’s a big open space with Cathedrals on one side and restaurants on the other.  Usually I tend to avoid these places because the food is usually pretty mediocre and the service is marginal.  This is the case with this place however the people watching is so good I’m overlooking all of that.  The first night we found this place the sky was just getting dark and all the buildings around this football shaped piazza looked like something out of a Las Vegas casino.  Like it could have been one of the models for the Venetian or Paris or something.  The sky was a perfect dark blue and just dark enough that you didn’t really have much of a sense of depth perception with the way the building where front lit.  It was as though the sky could have been painted on the ceiling 100 ft. over your head.   We have continued to gravitate to this place, partly because it’s easy and near the hotel and partly because we are running out of gas for walking.  Did I mention that if you buy a drink they give you great snacks and are in no hurry to run you off.  Snacks include potato chips, which have been off my diet for quite a while, peanuts, pretzels and crackers.  One of the places also give you these little salami sliders with olive oil and arugala, little rolled piadine (ham and cheese), olives, cherry tomatoes and a mozzarella ball.  Why wouldn’t I stay here forever.

Yesterday we sat down in the late afternoon.  It was Sunday so there was a big crowd in the piazza, a couple of weddings, musicians, and people just generally enjoying the cool of the late afternoon in a beautiful piazza.  For probably an hour we watched this gang of little boys who were not threatening, just having fun.  They were probably all of 7 years old.  Don’t know where there parents were.  They were roaming around the piazza until they realized the one of the table near where we were had emptied of guests.  They could see that there was a dish of uneaten peanuts on the table.  They hovered for a while, staring at the dish of peanuts like hungry dogs or cats begging at your feet.  They somehow had caught the attention of one of the waiters and somehow, silently requested permission to jump on this dish of peanuts.  You would have thought it was a bag of money.  These kids were beside themselves that somehow they had managed to get these uneaten peanuts.  Well the game was on.  Next they spot this young woman sitting just in front of us and notice that she had uneaten peanuts too.  These kids probably spent 20 or 30 minutes in conference with each other about how to get these peanuts from this woman’s table.  You could see the wheels turning.  You ask her, no you ask her, no you….  Finally the bravest of the bunch parked himself about 5 feet from the table trying to look as charming as possible.  It took him about 5 minutes for him to work up the courage to ask her.  When he did she capitulated and in their jubilant they all ran off plotting a new adventure.