❤️ APPRECIATE
From the moment arrived in Ortigia I fell in love. The streets are tiny and winding and you get lost just going for a passeggiata. Because of this it never felt crowded, even though it was peak summer season. There was plenty of vegan food available, including a few completely vegan restaurants, like M.O.O.N which I’m still dreaming about visiting again. There are so many cats meandering the streets, but they’re well cared for - restaurants would leave out food and water for them, and local churches would put out beds and shelter. It really shows the sense of community that Ortigia has. And speaking of the community, everyone we met was so friendly! On our first night our waiter asked if I was from northern Italy because of my accent - I always appreciate places where my Italian is complimented! And I will always remember the conversation I had, in Italian, with the server in a friggitoria by the sea who was chatting to me about Jannik Sinner winning Wimbledon!
💡 IMPROVE
The rocky municipal beaches are absolutely lovely, filled with locals chatting and cooling off - but they can get busy. Going as early as you can in the morning is a good bet, to get a nice spot. It looked like they were creating access to new beaches so hopefully improvements are already being made!
🔄 DO DIFFERENTLY
I wish we’d known that there was a Pride Parade on our penultimate night in town. We heard the festivities travelling trough the streets as we were eating dinner but by the time we finished eating it had already passed us! If we’d have found out about beforehand we would’ve definitely joined in!
Shared by Leila- Founding Contributor #7