We arrived a little earlier than expected at the apartment. I text Mario's mother to let her know as she was our key contact. She was there to meet us upon arrival and welcomed us to the apartment. The apartment was spacious and in a good location for exploring by foot in Syracusa. You will need to be agile to access the apartment which is on the top floor and not serviced by a lift - that was fine for us and helped build or leg muscles over the delightful 2 week stay! Plenty to explore in Syracusa including the Roman and Greek theatres, the Cathedral, daily Market, art galleries and a host of restaurants. The local beach was good for snorkelling in relatively shallow waters. A must is a visit to Notto- beautiful. The bus service to Aranella was helpful but you do have to be prepared to flex on timing of arrival and departure which seems variable to the timetables! We also hired a car which liberated our ability to explore further - would definitely recommend dong this if you are staying for longer than a week. we were able to visit Vendicari which was beautiful... goof for bird watching and some lizards too, likely to be even better for bird spotting in the autumn and winter months. a Beautiful natural beach there too. Very remote and unspoilt. A visit to Andrea's in the Market is a must..once you have been you will certainly want to return, delicious gelato to be had in places and the Granita with Brioche for morning coffee if not breakfast is really good especially in Café Modollo very near to the apartment. Finally, MOOn s a wonderful place in Ortigia - 15 mins walk max to chill out and enjoy superb Vegan food and music ..... the exercise from the steps to the apartment serve a great purpose to balance the tempting gastronomic delights!