We always look forward to passing through Syracuse for many reasons but one of the main attractions for us is the fabulous food and wine on offer.

The daily market is the place to head for for fresh produce. The displays of fruit and vegetables are so colourful but don't buy too much in one go as they don't keep for long. What a good excuse to return every few days, as if you need one. It is not common practise to handle the produce and some stall holders will not be happy if you start touching their tomato display! Just say 'posso?' which means 'may I' before handling to avoid any misunderstanding. The stalls range in both size and quality so you might buy several things from one stall but then just basil from another because that is all that he is selling.

There must be at least half a dozen fish mongers, all singing away to sell their wares. The locals must eat a lot of fish to keep them all in business. We are always astounded by the size of some of the tuna and swordfish on display. Whilst our fishing exploits from the boat have been pathetic, we truly hope never to catch one of the gigantic tuna or swordfish that we see on the market. Delicious they may be but frightening too!

One of the places that we make sure we visit at the market is Antonio's cheese shop. It is a small shop with a stall outside and is run by Antonio, his wife, daughter and son. They have the best buffalo mozzarella that you can buy, as well as ricotta that they make fresh each morning. There is an array of different cheeses to choose from as well as olives, capers and home-made caponata (only made on Friday and Saturday) that is good on bruschetta (pronounced brus-ketta not brush-etta as we all do!). It is always fun to go there because you are always offered tasters of their latest favourite, sometimes with a glass of wine to wash it all down.

For wine, we head for Aquilea, a local co-operative from where you can buy wine in boxes of 5l, 10l or 20l (if you can carry it). Here you will find the local fruity red, Nero d'Avola at 1.40 euro/litre, go for the Chardonnay at 1.60 euro/l rather than the house white and the house Rose is excellent at just 1.10 euro/l. They are located first right on Corso Umberto, the main street that connects Syracuse new town with the old town.

A great find for us this visit has been the fish shop, Onda Blu. They have a stall on the market but their shop has lots of things you won't get on the market like home-made lobster sauce. We tried some with spaghetti and had enough over to make a lasagne with. The lasagne was much better and Chris said it was the best he had ever tasted. They have a kitchen at the back of the shop where they make everything and also do a take-away service. Inside the shop is a big fridge where you will find different home-made sauces and seafood antipasti. It is located on the left-hand side of the roundabout next to the bus station, on the main road out to Lidl and Famillia supermarkets.

CRUISERS NOTES
Enjoy it all!