Maita's friend Elena met us in Ortigia where we had found a parking space on the street and we walked back to the apartment together with our cases. It was not far- about 10 minutes easy stroll and it was nice weather. We would never have found it without Elena! Only 100metres from the beautiful Piazza Duoma, it was in a courtyard behind one of the large old wooden doors that line the old town's pedestrian streets between the shops and palazzos. It was very quiet and convenient as Ortigio is for walking and even though you cannot park your car outside the accommodation this did not cause us a problem. Elena had limited English and we, no Italian, but between us we managed to communicate. She was very helpful in briefing us about our apartment and the island. We had a problem with the airline leaving one suitcase behind in London and Elena was very helpful in offering to be there when they delivered it- in the event this was not necessary. The apartment has been converted/restored and there are some ancient stone details that have been left exposed which are very beautiful. The beds are very comfortable. There is a small 2 seater sofa so we could not all have a comfy seat in the evenings but we did not spend much time in anyway. The only downside was that the apartment was suffering from damp when we were there- this may have been because we were early in the season but there was a very damp smell. However, this did not spoil our stay.