We went into some of the shops and met an interesting older lady with her boxer dog, was a Swiss lawyer who spent six months of the year living on Lipari and running a beautiful and unique dress shop and the rest of the year in Basel.
After some difficult to negotiate streets, a visit to the beach (Bondi has nothing to worry about) we head down to the wharf and catch the ferry back to Sicily. Yeah, while on the subject of the ferry – the ride is about 1.5 hours and they do not allow passengers outside the saloon. The ship, with around 2,000 seats and only about 20 passengers is so overstaffed one wonders why they operate the service. Perhaps in Summer (July/August) things change – who knows.
We arrive back around dinner time and venture a restaurant with a lovely view – something normally to be avoided but the meal is quite acceptable. Back to the hotel to pack for tomorrow’s departure for Agrigento.
Robert and Kathy have insisted that I come to their hotel for breakfast as they claim it is the best breakfast they have ever had at a hotel – I agree there was so much variety of so many different types of food it was amazing.
We leave around 09:00 with our first stop at Piazza Armerina which is a beautiful Medieval/Baroque/Norman town which one could easily miss were it not for the guidebook. Like most places in Sicily it is perched atop a mountain with narrow and barely navigable streets. We park the car and wonder through the streets, numerous churches and spectacular views around the lush surrounding valleys.
This city is a gateway to the nearby Mosaics which is quite spectacular. Covered by mud they have survived, in many cases totally intact, for 1700 years. Have a look here as a description would be difficult http://tinyurl.com/6f7acj9.
We then move to Enna which is a regional capital where we stumble across a lovely modern and funky restaurant where we enjoy an excellent late lunch after which we wander the streets, see the church and sights around this village which…..is perched atop a hill.
Another 90 minutes and we arrive in Agrigento where we see the Valley of the Temples tomorrow. Having been a long day we agree to do our own thing for dinner (I am in a different hotel 200 metres from Robkat) and a nearby Trattoria does the trick.
Next morning I check out breakfast at my hotel and decide it must be better at Robert's - score one for me. Afterwards we drive the 500 metres to the Valley if the Temples which I would regard as one of the best historical tours I have ever done. These photos will give you a good idea of what is there http://tinyurl.com/68x8exa. We decided on audio guides over a person which I suspect was a good choice as it was exceptionally informative about how different cultures dealt with the site. Interestingly one of the temples was converted to a church and then back to a temple. I come up with the genius idea of getting a cab back to the starting point and we give a lift to a guide who we engage to show us through historic Agrigento the next morning. Anyway the temples are certainly a not to be missed experience.
We head down to the port where we discover it is a Festivi (festival) today and Katja notes it is either Fiesta or Siesta in Sicily as shops and other things seem permanently closed. We then drive past Luigi Pirandelli's (Nobel winning writer) home and down to the beach where we actually see pure sand where we grab a table and have a caffeteria snack - the word cafeteria should have been a big enough clue - not for us!!!
Around 15:00 we agree to afternoon at leaisure and then meet for dinner. The restaurant we had chosen was closed, surprise surprise and we eat at the same restaurant I had gone to the night before - very nice meal indeed.
Anyway one week has passed and I am really enjoying Sicily. I imagine it is one of those places that I will visit just once in my life but which is well worth the trip and of which I will have fond memories.
Anyway hope the weather has improved for you guys
More Soon XD
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