To me Sicily feels related to southern Italy but contrasted with Naples where we were before everyone seems quite relaxed and the pace of life less frenetic. At least on the eastern side of the island.

Yesterday in Syracuse we had rented a car and were just pulling out of the parking lot. The streets are tight so to get out of the parking space I needed to nose out into traffic and then back in again to get angled ok, but once I pulled into traffic I couldn’t get the Renault into reverse gear. So there I was, blocking traffic. I figured great, now I’m really going to get it! But no one seemed preturbed. Five or six cars backed up waiting patiently for me to get my act together. Beth went back into the rental agency to find someone to help. Meanwhile, an older man jumped into the passenger seat next to me and showed me the ring on the stick shift that needed to be pulled up to get the car in reverse. By then it had probably been 2-3 minutes (it felt like an eternity!) and finally someone got impatient and honked. My friendly helper looked startled, crossing his eyes in mock disgust, and interrupted our learning session to jump outside the car and yell at the guy honking.

OK, I thought, it’s not that different from Naples!