{"id":153,"date":"2018-08-03T23:55:21","date_gmt":"2018-08-03T23:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/?p=153"},"modified":"2018-12-08T22:44:14","modified_gmt":"2018-12-08T22:44:14","slug":"2018-sicily","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/2018\/08\/03\/2018-sicily\/","title":{"rendered":"2018 Sicily"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2>A Sicilian Encounter<br><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" data-header=\"true\" data-footer=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/161278951@N05\/albums\/72157700850138171\" title=\"2018 Sicily Highlights\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1938\/44397305525_6631fe412b_z.jpg\" alt=\"2018 Sicily Highlights\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/a><script async=\"\" src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>3rd&nbsp; &#8211; 27th August 2018 <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In August 2018 Annabel decided to celebrate her marriage to Justin with\na weekend celebration in Sicily. This seemed like a good excuse to look round\nthe island (Adrian had never travelled in Italy before). We hired a car at\nCatania Airport and over two weeks made our way round in a figure of 8,\navoiding the popular resorts along the coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"851\" height=\"517\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/SicilyMap.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-154\" srcset=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/SicilyMap.png 851w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/SicilyMap-300x182.png 300w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/SicilyMap-768x467.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 851px) 100vw, 851px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">But before visiting Sicily we squeezed in a quick trip to the UK, and\nalso a tantalising glimpse of Naples. We were away from Sydney 27 days, of\nwhich 18 were spent in Italy. We started by flying from Sydney to Bangkok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Bangkok<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p> 3<sup>rd<\/sup> \u2013 4<sup>th<\/sup> August <br><br>Our route to Europe follows a tried and tested pattern. It starts with day time economy class flights (with Singapore Airlines) to Thailand with an overnight stop in Bangkok. The next day we catch an overnight (Business class) flight with Turkish Airlines, and then fly on to London Gatwick. <br>Our overnight stop this time was in the Silom Serene Hotel&nbsp; off Silom Road, a favourite Bangkok hotel of ours.&nbsp; <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">With the opening of a new expressway the taxi trip into the\ncity from Bangkok airport was easy, and only cost 500 Baht ($A20). At the\nairport there were two queues, one for normal taxis and the other for large\ntaxis. We opted for a normal taxi which turned out to only have room in the\nboot for one of our suitcases. The other case travelled in the front passenger\nseat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We had a full day free for sightseeing in Bangkok, so we\ntook the MTR to the river side and then hopped on one of the Orange&nbsp; commuter ferries that ply up and down the\nriver. We jumped off at Phra Summen, looked round the park, had a nice cold\ndrink, and caught another ferry back. After that exercise we relaxed by the\nhotel pool then took showers to freshen up ready for the long flight ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The Turkish Airlines schedule from Bangkok had been changed\nsince our previous trip, presumably to avoid the increasing congestion at the\nold Istanbul Airport. The new schedule resulted in us arriving in Turkey at\n3:30am. At least there were no queues for showers in the Business Class lounge\nso early! We caught the first plane out to Gatwick in the morning, and with the\nhour gained in flight we arrived in the UK before 10am. On the flight we were\nserved breakfast \u2013 for the 3<sup>rd<\/sup> time that day!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1429\" height=\"1011\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-158\" srcset=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily1.png 1429w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily1-300x212.png 300w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily1-768x543.png 768w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily1-1024x724.png 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1429px) 100vw, 1429px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2>Abingdon<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p> 5<sup>th<\/sup> \u2013 8<sup>th<\/sup> August <br><br>We chose to stay in Abingdon in the grandly named Abingdon Oxford Hotel. It was an old style motel currently being extensively refurbished and our room was in one of the last \u2018old\u2019 wings remaining. Because of the building works a free breakfast was included in the attractive rate. The other guests all seemed to be retired English tourists in search of a good bargain.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">After clearing UK immigration we planned to pick up a car (see\ninset) and then zip round the M25 to Staines for a pub lunch with Dirk. We\nthought we had plenty of time, but we had forgotten about the traffic jams on\nthe M25. When it became clear that we weren\u2019t going to make it round to Staines\nin time for lunch we gave Dirk a call. It turned out that he too was stuck in an\nM25 traffic jam, just a few miles ahead of us. Together we crawled round London\nand both arrived at the Swann Inn in Staines at about the same time. This was\nthe venue where Adrian held a 60<sup>th<\/sup> party but Megan had not been\nthere before. We had a reserved table looking out onto the Thames and caught up\nwith Dirk\u2019s news. Not wishing to get stuck again on the M25 we cut\ncross-country to Winsor and used the M4 to get to Abingdon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"wp-block-table\"><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>The Hazards of Car Hire<\/em><\/strong> <br><em>Picking up an unfamiliar hire car can be quite a challenge with a dose of jet lag, and a poorly indexed instruction manual. <\/em><br><br><em>The Ford we were \u2018upgraded\u2019 to at Gatwick posed a couple of big challenges before we could even leave the parking lot. There wasn\u2019t room in the crowded car park to put our suitcases in the boot, so Adrian jumped in to move the car forward slightly; but where was the handbrake? Letting the clutch out gingerly just stalled the engine.&nbsp; After a lot of searching in the manual it turned out there was an electric hand brake and the switch to release it was on the passenger side! <\/em><br><br><em>Our troubles with the car weren\u2019t over because we couldn\u2019t turn out of the parking space in one go. When it came to reverse Adrian couldn\u2019t figure out how to engage the gear \u2013 we just kept inching towards an unmovable brick wall in front of us. Out came the manual again and it turned out there was a locking ring one had to lift to engage reverse. It appears we have been driving an automatic car for too long!<\/em><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">\n  \n \nEngland was in the middle of a summer heat wave, and of course when\nbooking a hotel in the UK one doesn\u2019t naturally look for air conditioning.&nbsp; Luckily our room did have an oscillating fan,\nand after the long trip not much would have kept us awake. After 11 hours sleep\nwe were feeling a lot more refreshed the next day. \n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">After a lunch with Adrian\u2019s parents (which included a\ndelicious French cherry pudding) we visited Oxford.&nbsp; We couldn\u2019t help noticing that the voices on\nthe streets were all foreign tourists. We admired the new Westgate shopping\ncentre architecture, but didn\u2019t buy anything there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The pub where we had arranged to meet up with David (an\nex-work colleague of Megan) and Sherelyn was on the Thames flood plain with no\nroad access. So make it easier to walk there, we parked the car in the narrow\nstreets of old Iffley village. As we were crossing the lock Sherelyn came up\nbehind us on her bike. It was a lovely summer\u2019s evening and we sat outside in\nthe beer garden chatting. The evening finished with a look at the recently\nrestored exterior of Iffley Church (it had a somewhat Byzantine look) and\ncoffee chez David.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The next morning it was time to make our way back to\nGatwick, via the large Marks &amp; Spencer store at London Colney (St\nAlbans).&nbsp; After making a few non-essential\npurchases and enjoying a light lunch we carried on clock-wise round London,\npassing over the Dart Crossing (a first for both of us). Megan offloaded the\nsuitcases at the Premier Inn North terminal and Adrian returned the hire car to\nthe South Terminal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Our last social engagement in the UK was to have dinner with\nPhil and Elizabeth. We caught a train to Reigate where we met up at an Indian\nrestaurant. Phil dropped us back at our hotel afterwards so we could repack our\nbags ready for the morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Leaving the UK<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At Gatwick South Terminal we tried to check our luggage\nthrough to Naples, hoping that by doing so we could make ourselves eligible for\na complimentary Turkish Airlines overnight hotel in Istanbul. But the clerk\nwasn\u2019t able to merge the tickets as our Naples flight was still over a day\naway. That meant we didn\u2019t have any where booked to stay overnight in Istanbul\n(though we had taken the precaution of buying Turkish visas in advance). So the\nfirst thing Adrian did when we got to the Premium Lounge Wi-Fi was to book a\nroom on LastMinute.com.&nbsp; It was good that\nwe hadn\u2019t had to pay for access to the lounge, as it was packed and hard to\nfind anywhere to sit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p> The early flight from Gatwick which we took was scheduled to arrive in Istanbul&nbsp; after the last flight to Naples for the day had left. In order to make the connection&nbsp; to Italy through Turkey we needed to stay overnight. Our choice of hotel was dictated by convenience \u2013 we stayed in the land-side airport hotel. Because the Turkish Lira had just conveniently crashed in value the price for a premium hotel was quite reasonable (though Turkish Delight was still outrageously expensive in the airport). We had dinner in the hotel restaurant whilst we watched all the ground air-side activity at the terminal gates through the large windows. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Our flight to Naples left the next morning at 8:30, so we\nskipped breakfast. But we got our money\u2019s worth by taking the hotel shuttle the\nshort distance round to the departure floor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Naples<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p> 9<sup>th<\/sup> \u2013 11<sup>th<\/sup> August <br><br>Our boutique hotel in Naples was centrally located close to the port on Via Medina. Although the Palazzo Turchini was on a busy street our room on the 4<sup>th<\/sup> floor was surprisingly quiet.&nbsp; Breakfast was served in a bright dining room on the top floor. The hotel recommended a trattoria across the road for dinner and we took their advice. It was fun sitting out on the pavement in the warm evening people watching and&nbsp; enjoying typically Italian food (and wine).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Getting &nbsp;to Italy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">It was a long wait for our priority baggage to turn up at\nNaples and by the time we set foot in Italy it was lunch time. To avoid having\nto find something to eat on our way to the hotel, we opted to have our first\nItalian eating experience at the airport. The restaurant was very popular,\nwhich was a good sign, but our ordering technique needed refinement;&nbsp; Megan ended up with a plate of deep fried\nvegetables!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The Alibus shuttle to the port area was well signposted, but\ninvolved quite a walk from the terminal to the bus stop. We skipped the first\nbus which was there when we arrived as it was full, and we waited for an empty\nbus so we could sit down. The walk from the port to our hotel had been planned\non Google Street View to avoid uneven surfaces. &nbsp;But Google didn\u2019t preview how hot it would be\nwheeling two suitcases up the ramp beside the Castel Nuovo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">There wasn\u2019t much time to freshen up or unpack before we had\nto head out again, as we had to catch the last tour of the San Carlo opera theatre.\nAlthough the tour was in Italian we bought tickets, and we understood very\nlittle of the commentary. The pedestrian streets nearby were very attractive \u2013\nparticularly the covered over Galleria Umberto I built in 1737.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1429\" height=\"1011\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-160\" srcset=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily2.png 1429w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily2-300x212.png 300w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily2-768x543.png 768w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily2-1024x724.png 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1429px) 100vw, 1429px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sightseeing Naples<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We had a full day sightseeing in Naples. We could have spent\nlonger and rushed less. The old city is to the north of the port, easily\nreached from our hotel on the metro. Getting to the correct metro platform was however\nnot so easy, we used up our tickets incorrectly getting access to the\nsouth-bound platforms and had to gate hop through the correct entry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"wp-block-table\"><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Italian Style<\/em><\/strong> <br><em>We were impressed by the understated style of Italian dressing.&nbsp; There was quality from the bottom up, starting with the shoes which were stylish and well made. Only tourists seemed to wear trainers.&nbsp; We were less impressed by the young Italians on holiday with their tops bearing slogans in English. It seemed to be more important to wear something with English words, than that the words made any sense!<\/em><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">\n  \n \nAt Piazza Dante we were scheduled to pick up the <em>Napoli That&#8217;s Amore<\/em> free walking tour. As we arrived early Adrian\nwas able to enjoy a real Italian coffee whilst we waited. There were about 20\nvisitors on the tour, including quite a few Italians who struggled with the\nEnglish commentary. It was a hot day, but our guide cleverly managed to stop\nwhere we could stand in the shade. As we wandered through the <em>Centro Storico<\/em> he introduced us to the\noldest (and best) Pizza vendors, the history of the city built on Greek and\nRoman foundations, and some of the interesting architecture.&nbsp; We willingly gave a generous tip to the guide\nat the end, as the tour was hard to fault at any price.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">When it came to our turn to find a pizza restaurant for\nlunch, we ignored the tour guide\u2019s advice and opted instead for a place that\nhad air conditioning! It might not have been the best pizza in Naples but at\nleast we ate it in comfort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">A tour of <em>Napoli\nUnderground<\/em> was another opportunity to avoid the heat of the day, although\nit involved quite a time queuing outside as they formed different language groups.\nOnce underground, the tour explored a network of tunnels built by the Greeks for\nwater distribution and subsequently used for a variety of functions. In one\nsection the group was issued with torches and had to squeeze through a long passage\nso narrow one had to walk sideways.&nbsp; After\nexiting out of the aquafers we were taken to a house on a side lane which had\nbeen built on top of the ruins of the Roman theatre. When one descended to the\ncellars the old walls were clearly visible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Although we were exhausted there was one more stop left on\nour itinerary. We had pre-booked tickets for the <em>Museo Cappella Sansevero<\/em> (unnecessarily as it turned out as it was\nvery quiet late in the afternoon).&nbsp; The\ncaf\u00e9 nearby where we grabbed a drink was one of the few times we were ripped\noff in our entire time in Italy. The marble statues in the chapel draped in\nveils and netting were superb examples of 18C craftsmanship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"wp-block-table\"><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>The New Naples<\/strong> <\/em><br><em>When we suggested visiting Naples the almost universal advice could be summarised as \u201cWhy Bother\u201d? Certainly, Naples has picked up some bad press in the past with violence, crime and garbage strikes. But the city we visited didn\u2019t have any hint of being dangerous or unpleasant. The streets were clean, the people friendly, and there was so much of interest to see. We were expecting our visit to the central railway station to be risky, but it just appeared to be like any other main city station.<\/em><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Off to Sicily<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The next morning we set off for Sicily, by train. Getting to\nthe Central Railway Station on the Metro had its challenges; the ticket machine\ncouldn\u2019t be persuaded to issue tickets so Adrian had to return to street level\nand buy them in a kiosk. But at least we knew which platform entry to use this\ntime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The main station has had a reputation for crime so we were\non high alert, padlocking the suitcases together and keeping our valuables well\nhidden. Adrian wandered off and bought some rolls and drink for lunch then we\nwent in search of our train. Whilst we waited for the train to arrive, Megan\nspotted that it was already waiting \u2013 on the platform behind us!&nbsp; It was holiday time and the train was packed\nwith Italians but no one was sitting in our reserved seats!&nbsp; In fact it appeared that many people didn\u2019t\nhave tickets at all and were just surfing up and down the train keeping out of\nthe way of the ticket inspector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The route south alternated between tunnelling under mountain\nspurs, and hugging the coast. &nbsp;At one\npoint we were surprised to look out the windows as see we were passing through\nruins of the Greek city Paestum. The end of the line was Villa San Giovani station\nwhere there were long delays as the train was made ready to be shunted onto a\nferry. The train was split into two, pushed onto the ferry, and then the\npassengers were unloaded so they could watch the short crossing from the decks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">In just under 30 minutes we were docking in Messina and had\narrived in Sicily. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1429\" height=\"1011\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-161\" srcset=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily3.png 1429w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily3-300x212.png 300w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily3-768x543.png 768w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily3-1024x724.png 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1429px) 100vw, 1429px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2>Catania<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p> 11<sup>th<\/sup> \u2013 12<sup>th<\/sup> August <br><br>In Catania we stayed near the main railway station in the <em>Palazzo Turchini<\/em> hotel. It was on a side street, and the rooms mostly looked out onto a central first floor courtyard, so there was little street noise. Our room had the convenience of an opening door onto main courtyard (and breakfast room). The hotel didn\u2019t have a restaurant but there was a nice traditional trattoria nearby<em>,&nbsp; I Moschettieri<\/em>, in the same block as the hotel, was well fraternised by locals and helped us navigate round our first Sicilian menu. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sightseeing Catania<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"wp-block-table\"><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Sicily with Suitcases<\/strong> <\/em><br><em>Sicily with its hill top towns and narrow streets is not friendly to those with restricted mobility. On arrival in Catania we found that we were in that category (for the first of many times) wheeling our two suitcases along. Catania central station didn\u2019t have any lifts so we had to struggle down to the subway, and back up again to street level.<\/em><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">\n  \n \nAlthough we selected a hotel that was close to the station and\nairport shuttle bus, it turned out to also be within easy walking distance of\nthe city centre. Before we checked out on Sudnay morning we set out to have a\nlook at the city. Walking to the Piazza Duomo the streets had the feel of Cuba,\ncrumbling elegance.&nbsp; Unfortunately, because\nit was the weekend, the fish market was closed; but we wandered round the tree\nlined pedestrian-friendly streets. \n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Catania is the birth place of Bellini so we diverted on the\nway back to pass the <em>Teatro Massimo\nBellini.<\/em> It has obviously seen better times and won\u2019t be making its way into\nthe list of the World\u2019s Greatest Opera Houses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We returned to the hotel, checked out, and then with our\nsuitcases in tow set off in a search for the AliBus airport shuttle. Luckily we\nweren\u2019t in any particular hurry to get to the airport because after buying tickets\nat the kiosk outside the station Adrian went off looking for a bus stop. But\nthe directions the locals gave were delivered rapidly in Italian (or perhaps\nSicilian?) and seemed&nbsp; to be\ncontradictory. Eventually a helpful man pointed out the bus stop sign, half way\nup a lamp post pointing in the wrong direction. We waited in the appointed spot\nand sure enough, eventually, a shuttle bus appeared. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">At Catania Airport we joined a long queue of holiday makers waiting\nin the hire car offices.&nbsp; Once one got to\nthe head of the queue the service was surprisingly efficient. Our car was\nsitting outside in the sun and the dash thermometer registered 45 degrees. We\ndumped the cases inside to melt and set off to the nearby Wood caf\u00e9 to have\nlunch and wait for Annabel and Justin to arrive from New York. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The lunch rendezvous very nearly didn\u2019t happen. Justin\npicked up his car from a depot in another part of the airport, and then couldn\u2019t\nwork out how to drive to the caf\u00e9. Eventually Annabel appeared, hot and\nflustered, replete with hiking boots, on the other side of a wire fence.&nbsp; The Wood caf\u00e9 had a very limited choice on a\nSunday but we took what was food available and got ready to set off on our\nrespective adventures in Sicily. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Our adventure took us first to Piazza Armerina in the centre of the island, a 90 minute journey which was made easy by taking the main East\/West freeway to Enna. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1429\" height=\"1011\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-163\" srcset=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily.png 1429w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-300x212.png 300w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-768x543.png 768w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-1024x724.png 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1429px) 100vw, 1429px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2>Piazza Armerina<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p> 12<sup>th<\/sup> \u2013 15<sup>th<\/sup> August <br><br>Piazza Armerina is a less visited hill top town in the middle of Sicily. Our reason for including it in our itinerary was that it hosts a three day re-enactment of the Normal conquest \u2013 the <em>Palio Normani<\/em>.&nbsp;&nbsp; Our base for the three days was a highly recommended bed and breakfast on the outskirts of the old town. The <em>Giardino della Zagare<\/em> was on a narrow lane built for mules and not cars. It was decorated and run by a couple with impeccable taste. Our attic suite was bright and comfortable, but the headroom was a bit low upstairs. There was a kitchen (with no utensils), a separate lounge area, and a small bathroom.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Getting there<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"wp-block-table\"><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Navigating with Google (1)<\/strong> <\/em><br><em>Google Maps had trouble with the Sicily roads \u2013 all those one way streets, lanes too narrow for cars, and steps ,&nbsp; clearly challenged the algorithms. Google was optimistic about the prospects of driving to our B&amp;B in Piazza Armarina. But on closer inspection part of the route it used was clearly shown on Street View to be up a flight of steps. <\/em><br><br><em>When Google was gently persuaded not to take that short cut it came up with an alternative route \u2013 which went straight through a church. You could almost hear Google sulking when instead we opted to just park in the nearby public parking.<\/em><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">\n  \n \nArriving at an accommodation with no road access was always going to\nbe tricky. When we emailed the owner and asked how the preparations for the <em>Palio<\/em> would affect things we received a\n\u201cdon\u2019t worry\u201d response \u2013 so we didn\u2019t.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">On arrival we pulled into a street below the accommodation\nand rang the B&amp;B \u2013 but there was no response! Plan B was to park in the\npublic parking area and walk from there. But unfortunately we were now in a one-way\nstreet that went to the old town centre \u2013 so there was no turning back.\nFollowing Google\u2019s instructions we drove to the central Piazza and then turned onto\nthe main street out of town. But the road was closed for the Palio parade, no\ndiversions, just closed. Google was now no help at all, so we resorted to\ndriving round in concentric circles looking for an alternative exit from the\ntown. It was a sudden baptism into Sicilian hill-town driving \u2013 lanes barely\nbig enough for a car, steep rough cobbles, and of course, no signs. Eventually\nwe found a way to exit the town on the far side, skirt round road closures, and\nwith some relief find space in the public parking area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">But our adventure wasn\u2019t over with the car parked. We\nwheeled the two cases past the church Google would have had us drive through,\nand down a lane that got steadily narrower. Right at the end was our B&amp;B \u2013\nbehind a locked gate. We tried phoning again, and although we could hear the\nmobile ringing inside there was still no answer. So Megan resorted to shouting;\nand then shouting a bit louder. Eventually one of the other guests came down\nand let us in, but no owner was around. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We set ourselves up to wait in the comfortable communal\narea, and helped ourselves to the cake and biscuits on offer. A thunderstorm\nstarted to brew over the hills and eventually Adrian decided to take executive\naction. After researching all the rooms there was one that seemed to match the\ndescription we had from Booking.com , and a room key was hanging on the wall;\nso we moved in. It was quite a while later that the owner turned up rather\nsheepishly, and explained that he thought his partner was going to stay at\nhome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Of course there were no lifts, so somewhere between lugging\nthe suitcases from the car park to the attic bedroom Adrian\u2019s back got\nsprained, and it remained &nbsp;sore as a\nreminder for the rest of the holiday.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>The Palio Normanni<\/strong> <br><br>The Norman Palio is held each year in the historic centre of Piazza Armarina. With ladies in costume, knights on horseback, and troops in uniform it is a unique spectacle.&nbsp; Four historic quarters of the town compete against each other, dressed in distinctive colours. <br><br>On the first afternoon the delivery of arms to the teams took place close to our B&amp;B. Unfortunately the heavens opened when the celebration was due to start. When the rain stopped it was already time for us to have dinner, so we headed to the <em>Trattoria Da Gianna<\/em>. This restaurant was close to all the action and we watched the teams marching away to the Cathedral to be blessed before sitting down to a meal. <br><br>The weather was much more favourable on the second afternoon, when the militias make a triumphal entry into the Cathedral Square.&nbsp; We sat on the steps of the local church watching \u201cour team\u201d assemble. The marching band was smartly dressed in red, and the young ladies in green. Instead of the traditional medieval tune, our band was playing an excerpt from \u201cthe Game of Thrones\u201d. When they set off, we repositioned ourselves above the main piazza and watched the procession, including jousting knights and their horses, climb the hill to the Duomo. Each team then processed the Cathedral Square with great ceremony. <br><br>The jousting contest or <em>Quintana<\/em> on the third evening was held in a stadium across the valley from our B&amp;B. When we got there the stadium was already at capacity. We did some sightseeing round the town and found that a live stream of the jousting could be viewed on a large screen in the main square. We ate early at <em>Trattoria Al Goloso<\/em> before the crowds arrived (we got the last table). The <em>Quintana<\/em> was still going when we went to bed! Sadly our \u201chome team\u201d didn\u2019t win \u2013 the prize went to Yellow (Monte). <br><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Villa Romana del Casale<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The roman villa, <em>Villa\nRomana del Casale<\/em>, is only a short distance away from Piazza Armerina so we\nwere able to get there before the coach trips arrived. There was plenty of\nparking, but it had an hourly fee (paid on departure) and was some distance\nfrom the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The Roman villa was easy to visualise, as the protective\nstructures that have been erected mimic the shape and scale of the original\nbuildings.&nbsp; The villa was much larger\nthan we were expecting, and there were far more mosaics. The floors were in\nexcellent condition (thanks to being buried for centuries under a landslide).\nThe only gripe was that a few of the mosaics were upside down when viewed from\nthe walkways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">By the time we left the arcade of tourist stalls in the car\npark had opened and we were able to buy postcards (although we were supplied\nthe stamps for Austria not Australia).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Enna<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The hill top town of Enna lies about 40 minutes\u2019 drive north\nof Piazza Armerina and rises above&nbsp; the\narid central valley leading down to the coast at Catania. Access to the old\ntown is through a set of hairpin bends which lead up to the castle. Once at the\ntop, there was plenty of free parking. After all those bends we needed a coffee\nand eventually found a caf\u00e9 on the Plaza Duomo. The 14<sup>th<\/sup> century cathedral\nwas plastered with artworks, even high above the nave. The coffered wooden\nceiling was particularly attractive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The walls of the Castello di Lombardia which date from the\n12<sup>th<\/sup> century are well preserved.&nbsp;\nWe were surprised to find there was a free guide (human) provided by the\nlocal council, but the many notice boards round the site were very informative.\nWe climbed to the top of the Torre Pisana for its excellent views over the\nvalley, including across to the hill top town of Calascibetta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Back in town the search for lunch revealed a number of\noverpriced restaurants in Piazza Crispi cashing in on the stunning view.\nInstead we headed down a side street to the more modest Ristorante Centrale\nwhich served some good local specialities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1429\" height=\"1011\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-164\" srcset=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-1.png 1429w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-1-300x212.png 300w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-1-768x543.png 768w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-1-1024x724.png 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1429px) 100vw, 1429px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ragusa<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We left Piazza Armerina heading for Syracuse by an indirect route\nthat took us past Ragusa and Modica. In 1693 Ragusa was devastated by a huge\nearthquake, which killed some 5,000 inhabitants. Following this catastrophe the\nold town was largely rebuilt in a Baroque style, and meanwhile a new town was\ncreated on an adjacent hill. Ragusa had an easy-to-reach public car park\nbetween the old and new towns. It was nearing lunch time when most of the\nchurches would be closed, so we looked into the Chiesa Anime Sante del\nPurgatorio which sits by the Valle dei Ponti which separates the old and new\ntowns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">There is no plan to the streets in Ragusa Ibla (the old\ntown), and we soon got lost without any landmarks to be seen in the narrow\nlanes. When eventually we saw the dome of the cathedral we knew we were close\nto getting close to our morning cup of coffee.&nbsp;\nThe main square is very touristy, but we found a caf\u00e9 where we could sit\nin the shade to drink. It was a public holiday so many of the shops were\nclosed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">At the end of the spur on which the old town is built there is\na nice shady park \u2013 the Giardino Ibleo. &nbsp;Inside the park there is an interesting\nchurch, and promenades with good vistas into the valley below.&nbsp; Walking back to the car we kept off the main\nstreet and it was much quieter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The next Baroque hill-top town is Modica, but we bypassed it\nas there appeared to be no easy place to park for a quick visit. The bypass\ncrossed over a deep valley below the town but we were unable to find a\nviewpoint to take a picture of the slender bridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The final place we planned was to visit was the Cava\nd\u2019Inspica. Located in a long valley cut into the plateau, the caves contain\nprehistoric burial sites, Christian catacombs, monastic hermitages and medieval\nsettlements. Unfortunately the ticket office closed at midday on public\nholidays and so we were locked out. As Plan B, we drove back along the the\nvalley and then took some farm lanes to get closer to the edge. From there we\nwere able to see the caves at a distance that we were unable to visit close-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1429\" height=\"1011\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-165\" srcset=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-2.png 1429w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-2-300x212.png 300w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-2-768x543.png 768w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-2-1024x724.png 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1429px) 100vw, 1429px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2>\nSiracuse\n\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>15<sup>th<\/sup> &#8211; 17<sup>th<\/sup> August&nbsp; <br><br>We chose to stay in an Agritourismo in order to visit Syracuse. We were perhaps expecting a cottage on a relaxed citrus farm, but the Agritourismo La Perciata felt more like a resort, with a focus on hosting wedding celebrations. Our small but comfortable room was in a freestanding block close to the pool. We arrived late on the first night. It was a public holiday and we didn\u2019t want to go out again searching for a&nbsp; restaurant that was open, so we ordered dinner at the Agritourismo.&nbsp; The hotel had set up tables in a courtyard near the pool. We enjoyed a rather expensive but well cooked buffet meal with \u2018entertainment<sup>**<\/sup>\u2019.&nbsp; Breakfast had a good range of local produce, but the breakfast room was too small. When all the guests sat down you couldn\u2019t easily get to the buffet. <br><br><sup>**A man singing Italian karaoke with a daughter who (supervised by mum) did a few traditional dances with him.<\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Syracuse &amp; Ortega<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">A whole day was ours to go sightseeing in Syracuse, and the\nisland of Ortegia.&nbsp; Skipping the heavily\nvisited Greek theatre (once you\u2019ve seen 50 you\u2019ve seen them all!) we went\ninstead to the <em>Catacomba di San Giovanni<\/em>.\nThe church was in a very non-descript area between industrial wasteland and\nresidential blocks. We were early so there was still space in the small car\npark outside.&nbsp; A tour of the catacombs\n(in Italian and English) was just about to depart so we purchased our entrance\ntickets and also a scratchy 1 hr parking ticket. Adrian raced back to the car\ncarefully scratching the date (in Italian) and placing it inside the car.\nWhilst doing this two Italians came up and asked how to get a ticket and got an\nanswer in Italian! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The Catacombs are roomy and well ventilated, having been\nbuilt within the old Greek city aquifers. There are lots of rock tombs, but all\nwere empty thanks to the caves being used as an air-raid shelter in the war. Our\ntour was very good with many interesting facts. Included in the ticket price\nwas a visit to the Basilica of San Giovanni Evangelista next door (a ruined,\nroofless, church) and the Crypt of San Marciano (the alleged burial place of St\nPeter).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"wp-block-table\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Parking in Sicily<\/strong> <br><em>Driving a car in Sicily is easy compared to finding somewhere to <strong>stop<\/strong> driving. To make parking easier there are colour-coded markings on the road, white for free parking, and blue for paid spots. But of course there were very few vacant free parking places anywhere. The Italians approach this problem creatively by utilising any flat space to park \u2013 including footpaths or if that fails, the middle of the road. Parking in Syracuse highlighted the problem. When we parked on the mainland we had to take a paid (blue) parking spot but there were no signs explaining how one should pay. Moving to the island of Ortigia we assumed there would be no parking issues as Goggle showed a large expanse of \u201cParcheggio\u201d&nbsp; by the waterfront. But it turned out to be an area of blue spaces with no parking meters. In the end we joined a long queue to enter an undercover carpark that clearly offered the option of staying for a long time.<\/em><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">\n  \n \nDriving into the island of Ortega was easy, but finding somewhere to\npark was a different matter (<em>see inset<\/em>).\nHeading off on foot down the narrow streets we stumbled across the Puppet\nTheatre where we bought tickets to the early evening performance. \n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">After a stop for cold drinks we wandered further into the\nold town, leaving cars behind us, and diving down narrow alleyways. Our destination\nwas the Jewish Baths (Ebraico \u2013 Mikveh ) on Via G.B. Alagona Bagno. The baths\nlie beneath a boutique hotel and were discovered by accident during\nrenovations. We had just missed an hourly tour \u2013 but as no one was on previous\ntour the guide offered us a private tour so we didn\u2019t have to wait. Stone steps\nlead down 18 metres beneath the hotel courtyard to reveal a rock chamber with a\nnumber of small baths cut into the floor. The water is very clean, and\nsurprisingly we were told it came from the mainland. They have to pump the\nwater out to stop the baths flooding. Unfortunately no photos were allowed at\nthis unique site (a hotel picture is included in our album). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The search for light lunch options took us to a Vegan caf\u00e9! \u201cJust\nVeggie\u201d had a nice menu but the service was a bit lethargic \u2013 perhaps the staff\nwere running low on protein! Over on the west side of the island we sought out\na patch of green shown on Google Maps looking for somewhere shady to have a\npost-pranzo rest. It turned out to be the Fountain of Arethusa \u2013 an small area\nof tidal wetland well below street level! &nbsp;In fact there was a lower level walkway all\nalong the shoreline, but we couldn\u2019t see any easy way to get down to it.\nEventually, after walking past the marina we found some highly polished marble\nsteps and the much sought after park bench in the shade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Navigating on foot through the maze of narrow streets on\nOrtega Island was difficult, and even Google maps had difficulty at times\nworking out exactly where we were. But we found our way back to the Plazza\nDuomo by a circuitous route (which incidentally meant we saw the 19<sup>th<\/sup>\ncentury Fountain of Diana). The Duomo was dazzlingly white under a blue sky. &nbsp;There was a nominal fee to enter the church\nwhere the main attraction was to see the pillars of the original Greek temple\nthat had been incorporated into the walls of the nave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">After rediscovering an ice cream shop we had passed on our earlier wanderings we looked at <em>the Museo dei pupi siciliani<\/em> in an old palace with a collection of marionettes, props and tools. Then we were ready to see an actual puppet performance.&nbsp; In a small theatrette we settled in to watch a play in Italian with a plot so complex it could easily have been an opera. The forte of the Sicilian puppeteers seems to be sword fights. Firstly the combatants would flick their visors down, then they would engage in a simulated fight, all to the backing of a rhythmical sound track. Finally one puppet would fall to the ground (often to be miraculously resurrected in a subsequent scene).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">After the puppets had gone to heaven we returned to the car\nand paid for our day\u2019s stay. Our plan was then to move back to the mainland and\neat in a seafood restaurant away from all the tourists. But after driving round\nstreets near to, and not so near to, the restaurant we reached the conclusion\nthat there were no legal places left to park on the street, and even the\nparcheggio had a queue to get in. So we abandoned Syracuse and headed west to the\nrural town of Cassibile where we swapped the seafood meal for a local pizza.\nAlthough the restaurant we chose was virtually empty when we arrived at 7:45 it\nwas full about half an hour later with locals and Italian holidaymakers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To Castelbuono and the wedding celebrations<\/p>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"wp-block-table\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Creative Road Junctions<\/strong> <br><em>It was hard to say if it was the difficult terrain, obstinate land owners, or pure creativity, but the new Italian roads built in Sicily rarely had logical road junctions. Getting onto an upgraded Provincial road often involved turning in the opposite direction than one\u2019s intended travel. At times like this Google\u2019s directions were a great source of comfort. <br><\/em><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">\n  \n \nHaving reached the South Eastern corner of Sicily at Syracuse we now\nfaced a long drive to reach the Northern coast and the town of Castelbuono\nnestling in the Madonie Mountains. We broke up the journey with a few stops,\nmost of them planned. &nbsp;After racing up\nthe freeway past Catania we turned off onto minor roads to climb up to the hill\ntop town of Centuripe.&nbsp; Apart from its\nposition, the attraction of the town was a potential view of Mount Etna.\nUnfortunately by the time we reached the Castello di Corradino lookout the\nvolcano was shrouded in cloud. However, just as we were about to jump in the\ncar and head down all the hairpin bends, Megan noticed a bit of Etna poking out\nabove the clouds so we re-took our photographs.&nbsp;\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Back on the fast road we pulled into the service station at\nEnna for fuel and coffee. From that point onwards the freeway north involved a\nlot of engineering with high viaducts and long tunnels.&nbsp; Unfortunately the engineering had apparently\nreached its use-by-date and most of the way we were shunted onto one\ncarriageway or the other whilst extensive repairs were being made. We needed to\nmake a turn off to head East skirting the bottom of the Madonie Mountains, but the\nGoogle map on our phone still showed us in the service area at Enna. So we made\nan unscheduled diversion off the freeway to see what was wrong. The phone had a\nmessage saying it had overheated and had shut itself down! The culprit appeared\nto be a USB cable that had allowed the smart phone to talk with the dumb car\ntriggering some Android Auto functionality that crashed. We had to wait a while\nwith the phone over the a\/c vent before it would once again deign to show us\nwhere we were. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The towns of Petralia Soprano and Petralia Sottana had an attractive setting but we opted not to stop there. Instead we turned&nbsp; off the road to Castelbuono and visited Gangi. &nbsp;Like most hill top towns, Gangi gave a choice between parking in the new town and walking up, or navigating a car up streets designed for mules. Showing little fear for what lay ahead, Adrian turned off onto the cobbled road that climbed up the ridge into the old town. By following a route that had been mapped out in advance on Google Street View we navigated to a parking space and so avoided a time consuming climb. The town was preparing for a music festival, and every open space (of which there were very few) was filled with staging. It wasn\u2019t exactly clear where the audience would sit! The town\u2019s narrow streets made photography difficult, but the views from the terrace by the main church were superb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">From Enna the route to Castelbuono passed over a spur of the\nModonie Mountains, and the weather deteriorated to cloud and rain. As we\nstarted our descent down from Geraci Siculo we could see Castelbuono ahead in a\npool of sunlight. Taking the back (rough) road from the town to the Relais\nSanta Anastasia we arrived in good time and after settling into our room, we\nwere able to have a swim and meet some of the other guests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">That evening we ran the gauntlet of parking in Castelbuono,\nand having struck lucky, walked to a recommended restaurant where we had made a\nreservation. Nangalarruni specialised in serving the local mushrooms, and pork.\nWe sampled all the anti-pasta dishes but the <em>Sformatino di funghi<\/em> with local mushrooms and truffles was a\nstand-out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1429\" height=\"1011\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-166\" srcset=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-3.png 1429w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-3-300x212.png 300w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-3-768x543.png 768w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-3-1024x724.png 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1429px) 100vw, 1429px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2>\nCastelbuono\n\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>17<sup>th<\/sup> \u2013 20<sup>th<\/sup> August&nbsp; <br><br>Annabel and Justin had selected the mountain town of Castelbuono as the location for their Wedding Celebrations. We met up with the other friends and family at a converted monastery, the Relais Santa Anastasia.&nbsp; The keynote events were held on Saturday and Sunday nights leaving us free to enjoy the hotel or visit Castelbuono during the day.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Visit to Castelbuono<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We gave Ros and Harold a lift into town on Saturday\nmorning.&nbsp; Parking near the castle at the\ntop end of town was relatively easy early in the day. The castle is more of a\nfortified house with a history of being a residence rather than a military\nstronghold. Inside there are a series of museums. One room had an interesting\nsequence of posters illustrating the development of the town.&nbsp; From the windows of the castle there are good\nviews over the town framed by the mountains beyond. We wandered round the rest\nof the town but there was little of particular interest to see. The mountain\nweather was a bit unpredictable, but we found somewhere sheltered to have\nlunch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Celebrations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We stayed in the hotel on Sunday dodging the heavy mountain\nshowers. As the afternoon passed thunderstorms started forming in the mountains,\nand there were flashes of lightning through the night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Palermo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">After saying goodbye to other guests who were up early for\nbreakfast we paid our bill with the hotel and headed off down the road towards\nCefalu. The tolled expressway along the coast was very fast, bypassing Cefalu\nin a series of tunnels the longest of which was nearly 3km.&nbsp; As we neared Palermo the freeway turned into\na multi-lane urban road with few indications what each lane was for. As a\nresult we missed the intended turn-off into the city and had to navigate back\nfrom the next exit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"wp-block-table\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>A change of plan<\/strong> <br><em>We reserved our accommodation for the holiday well in advance, as August is the peak holiday season in Sicily. Our final stop in Sicily was to have been the favourably reviewed B&amp;B Dimora dell\u2019Etna. But whilst we were touring we received an email from the owner saying he had been admitted to hospital and could we cancel our reservation. There followed a search for any accommodation in the same area that still had vacancies and had a half-decent reviews.&nbsp; Using lastminute.com we narrowed our choice down to an agritourismo slightly further north, so we booked that for two nights.<\/em><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">\n  \n \nPalermo was edgy. There was lots of rubbish on the streets, police\ncars everywhere, and for the first time other cars hooted at us. Luckily we\ndidn\u2019t plan to go very far into the city. We parked in Piazza Cappuccini outside\nthe entrance to the <em>Catacombe dei\nCappuccini<\/em>. Although the Piazza was free parking we were approached by a\nvery rough looking man who \u2018helped us\u2019 into a parking spot then indicated that\npayment was required. We put this down to our first and only contact with the\nmafia who are entrenched in Palermo. \n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Before visiting the catacombs we took a look round the above\nground necropolis. Many of the tombs were clearly maintained by descendants and\nthe vast area of tombs had a happy sunny feel.&nbsp;\nIn contrast the underground catacomb was vaguely spooky. The tall\npassages were dug starting in 1600 to provide space to store bodies. The\nmummified bodies were dressed in their clothes and then stacked on shelves\nalong the wall. There are different \u2018streets\u2019 for different categories of\npeople such as \u201cvirgins, professionals, clergy\u201d.&nbsp; It was certainly challenging to visit a place\nof last repose with so many actual dead bodies, the sort of place that\ninevitably has you thinking about your own mortality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Having paid the right people to look after our car we decided\nto leave it parked and look round a bit. A few blocks away was the Castello\ndella Cuba, a rectangular, 12th-century Arab-style pavilion, used as a summer\npalace. The shell of the palace is only moderately interesting but we paid the\nadmission because it also included access to the Phoenician Necropolis down the\nroad. We asked (in broken Italian) if there was a guide available to let us\ninto the Necroplis and got the answer \u201cyes \u2013 but look round the Castello\nfirst\u201d. &nbsp;So that is what we did. Then,\nwhen we were ready to go down the road it appeared that the guides had slunk\noff to lunch. Palermo appears to really struggle with the concept of tourism! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Undeterred we wandered down the Corso Calatafimi passing\nsome grand buildings such as the Real Albergo dei Poveri &nbsp;(a baroque 18th-century property once a poor\nhouse, now used for exhibitions). We contented ourselves with a glimpse of the Palazzo\ndei Normanni&nbsp; from the Piazza\nIndipendenza \u2013 the queue to get inside was more of a crowd. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">All the lunch options we had pre-selected were now either\nfull or closed. So we gambled on the Bar Santoro in front of the Palazzo. This\nfaded pavilion had the strange arrangement that food had to be ordered inside\nat the counter, but there was table service for drinks. It wasn\u2019t a\nparticularly pleasant place to eat, there were beggars and other unsavoury\ntypes roaming about, and the restaurant had just one dysfunctional toilet with\na queue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">So without any mixed feelings we said goodbye Palermo and\nclimbed into the hills to Monreale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1429\" height=\"1011\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-4.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-167\" srcset=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-4.png 1429w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-4-300x212.png 300w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-4-768x543.png 768w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-4-1024x724.png 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1429px) 100vw, 1429px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2>Monreale<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>20<sup>th<\/sup> \u2013 21st August <br><br>Our accommodation for one night was the unusually named B&amp;B Hootel Duomo Monreale. It was in the most convenient location for sightseeing (the main piazza) and the most inconvenient location to drive to. Because the piazza is a pedestrian zone in the daytime, we parked &nbsp;in the cramped Duomo Parking \u2013 a sort of multi-story car park built on the side of a steep hill. We had packed our overnight essentials in carry bags and left the two suitcases in the car. As we were walking to the piazza we were contacted by the owner of the B&amp;B and he met up with us to let us in. We were expecting a bedroom, but instead had a mini-suite with a separate living area decorated with amphora.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">It didn\u2019t take us long after arrival to unpack our small\nbags, so we were soon wandering round Monreale. The main reason for visiting\nwas to see the cathedral. It is one of the greatest extant examples of Norman\narchitecture, &nbsp;constructed in 1174 by\nWilliam II of Sicily. But it was getting late and close to closing time so we decided\nto leave viewing the inside of the Cathedral to the next day. &nbsp;Instead we looked round the outside, admiring\nthe Arab influences on the highly decorated Eastern apse. It was a balmy summer\nevening so we dressed for dinner and then had an Aperol Spriz looking out onto\nPiazza Vittorio Emanuel. The owner of the B&amp;B had recommended a restaurant\n\u2013 which turned out to be the only non-tourist focussed place that was open. We\nsat indoors <em>at Ristorante Re Ruggero<\/em>\nwhich was quite empty as everyone else elected to sit outside. Then suddenly\nthe heavens opened and there was a big rush as the diners all relocated inside!\nOf course we didn\u2019t bring our umbrella so we had to spin the meal out till the\nrain eased \u2013 any excuse to have dessert!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Alcamo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The B&amp;B Hootel Duomo wasn\u2019t really a bed &amp; breakfast\n&#8211; because it didn\u2019t serve breakfast! Instead we wandered out into the piazza\nand grabbed a light meal in one of the cafes. &nbsp;Being a major tourist attraction there were\nplenty of yellow tourist post boxes around and we were able to purchase the\ncorrect stamps for our postcards and post them. We didn\u2019t have much confidence\nthat the cards would actually be delivered (but they were after about 5 weeks).&nbsp; Without checking-out of the B&amp;B we joined\nthe queue outside the Cathedral and were one of the first people to be\nadmitted. We were just expecting to see a few good mosaics and were blown away\nby the scale of the interior decoration. Every available surface was covered in\npictures, all with an attention to detail, and all radiating a gold hue. The\ncraftsmanship was inspiring, but as the visitors piled in, the church started\nto feel less like a place of worship and more like a railway station. We didn\u2019t\npay to see any of the extra add-ons \u2013 just seeing the main church more than\njustified traveling to Monreale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"wp-block-table\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Coffee<\/strong> <br><em>It is difficult to stay long in Sicily without being sucked into the coffee culture. It may sometimes be hard to find somewhere for a light lunch but there is never any difficulty finding a caf\u00e9. If in doubt you would just head for the Piazza Duomo. We did have two challenges getting our fix of caffeine. Firstly, the Sicilians could not make a decent cappuccino.&nbsp; Milk coffee is not their forte as they only consume it for breakfast. Most of the cappuccinos we ordered were topped with a light fair-floss milk foam \u2013 not the real milky taste we have become accustomed to in Sydney. Secondly we were unable to overcome the challenge of being served a small glass of water with our black coffees. We would see people drinking at the bar being offered a paper cup, and see others sitting outside being served a glass of water. But however hard we tried and how many times we asked we were never given water. Perhaps they thought their tap water wasn\u2019t good enough for a foreign tourist?<\/em><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">\n  \n \nAfter collecting our bags it was time for a coffee (it is always time\nfor a coffee in Sicily) and then, with some difficulty, we extracted the car\nfrom the Duomo Parking. \n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We made an on-the-spot decision to visit Alcamo on our way\nto Erice. The town looked interesting in the Eye Witness Guide and it was just\nabout in the right place to find lunch at the right time. It actually turned\nout to be a very pleasant town largely bypassed by tourists. Our attitudes to\nAlcamo were possibly coloured because it was the only town where we found it\nwas easy to park! The streets in the old town were mostly pedestrian zones and\nhad a feel of affluence (in stark contrast to Palermo). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The <em>Basilica di Santa\nMaria Assunta<\/em> dated from 1402 but the attractive frescos on the nave vault\nwere a later addition in the 18<sup>th<\/sup> century.&nbsp; One of the chapels on the right side of the\nnave contained a marble triptych representing Madonna between Saints Philip and\nJames dating from 1519. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We wandered as far as the castle but didn\u2019t go in as it was\nclose to lunch time. After viewing some suggestions from Google (which were either\nclosed or non-existent) we settled for lunch in a busy caf\u00e9 on <em>Piazza Ciullo<\/em>. The caf\u00e9 shared a common\nSicilian problem in that the price of items on display was not shown. The price\nwas always reasonable but the uncertainty about the bill was annoying.&nbsp; Pearls started to fall out of Adrian\u2019s pants\nas we were eating lunch. In the hurry to get dressed that morning a (fake) pearl\nwristband had got caught up and disintegrated there!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">After lunch our next stop was going to be Sueesta to see the\ntemple (unfinished) and amphitheatre. As we approached on the freeway the site\nwas clearly visible on the top of a ridge. We took the sign-posted exit and\nheaded up to the site only to be told to turn round and go down the hill again.\nWe had shot past the official car park for visitors which was a long way back\nby the freeway. For extra cost you could buy a ticket for a shuttle bus to\navoid the uphill walk. At this time heavy clouds were gathering, and flashes of\nlightning could be seen in the mountains. We reasoned that it wouldn\u2019t be long\nbefore it started raining at Segesta, and by the time we got to look round we\nmight have to beat a hasty retreat. &nbsp;So\nwe carried on driving west to the coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Google\u2019s route to the hill top town of Erice where we were staying\nhad to be abandoned when the road had a barrier across it saying it was closed.\nThis meant we had to take a circuitous deviation through the outskirts of\nTrapani and approach from another side.&nbsp;\nThe well-engineered road wound up 750m with a series of hairpin bends,\nbut at the top there was no space to park (legally) by the town gate. Instead\nwe gate crashed a &nbsp;\u201cresidents only\u201d spot,\nleft our luggage in the car, and without wasting any time headed up the steep\ncobbled main street to the Hotel Elimo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1429\" height=\"1011\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sicily.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-168\" srcset=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sicily.jpg 1429w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sicily-300x212.jpg 300w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sicily-768x543.jpg 768w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sicily-1024x724.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1429px) 100vw, 1429px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2>Erice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>21<sup>st<\/sup> \u2013 24th August <br><br>Erice is a delightful hill town perched on a mountain high above the coastal city of Trapani. It is completely over-run by visitors by day, and quiet at night. The Hotel Elimo, highly recommended by Trip Advisor, was within the old town walls and therefore virtually inaccessible by car. The ever helpful Antonio who ran the hotel offered us a number of choices for how to manage our car during the 3 night stay. Because we had already collected a parking dent in the car we opted to let him valet park the car in the hotel\u2019s small garage. The hotel was a charming rambling set of rooms round a central courtyard. At the back there was a dining room with a view down to the coast (when we weren\u2019t up in the clouds). Our room was at the front, at street level, so there was a continuous procession of visitors past our window. Their snatches of conversations were quite noisy, but late in the evening when the town went to sleep, the chattering stopped and we enjoyed undisturbed nights.&nbsp; Annabel and Justin joined us in Erice for the first two nights and for a day sightseeing the west coast.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Just after we stepped inside the Hotel Elimo the\nthunderstorms caught up with us and it started to rain heavily. We were glad\nthat Antonio offered to park our car in the garage and bring us our suitcases.\nThe meetup with Justin and Annabel went more smoothly than our earlier\nrendezvous in Catania; they checked in soon after us. Soon we were dressed for\ndinner and enjoying a complimentary Spritz in the lounge.&nbsp; Antonio recommended a restaurant to us and\nmade a reservation \u2013 he was a perfect host! Luckily the rain blew over before\nwe headed out on foot to find our dinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Masala &amp; Trapani<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We formed our plans for our day together sightseeing over\nbreakfast. Annabel and Justin wanted to visit a winery in Marsala so Antonio\nwas called in to help. After a few phone calls he found a place that had a\ntasting at a suitable time and made a reservation for them. He also recommended\nthat we took the Valderice road down from the mountain which indeed turned out\nto have fewer bends that the route up from Trapani. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We had to head directly to Marsala to get there in time for\nthe tasting; well as direct as any Google route ever was in Sicily. We\ndeposited the tasters at the <em>Donnafugata<\/em>\nwine estate and set off on a hunt for somewhere to park the car nearer the\nhistorical centre of town. Being early we struck lucky when Megan spotted a\nfree parking place along the sea front. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">It was a short walk to enter the old town through the Porta\nGaribaldi. Inside was a \u201c<em>zona traffic\nlimitato<\/em>\u201d which meant the streets were largely free of cars, and allowed\nthe restaurants and cafes to spill out into the narrow streets. The mother\nchurch on the small central piazza was dedicated to Thomas Becket of Canterbury.\nThis unusual choice of patron saint was a result of the Normal invasion of\nSicily. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"wp-block-table\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Navigating with Google (2)<\/strong> <br><em>Google Maps made a brave attempt at creating cross-country routes in Sicily. Away from the towns it was confused less by one-way streets and mule tracks, but instead by the vast difference between newly engineered roads (presumably built with EU finance) and the old roads that wound through villages and round fields.&nbsp; As a result Google would plot routes that seemed to defy logic, patching together spells driving down a fast new road in the wrong direction, and then winding on an old road to get back closer to the desired course. In general we trusted and adopted the Google route, except for a couple of occasions when the phone suggested a circular deviation that clearly returned back to where we were! Throughout the trip we relied heavily on the phone for navigation, but the Australian pronunciation of places and road names was unhelpful and amusing at times.&nbsp; Google directed us onto to provincial road numbers, but these numbers were rarely displayed on any road signs.<\/em><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">\n  \n \nAfter a coffee stop that included a super-size Cannolo we reached the\nBastione Nord and started to retrace our route back to the car. Fortuitously we\nnoticed signs describing various city walks and were able to follow one which\ntook a different route passing some poorly maintained and labelled\narchaeological ruins. \n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">By the time we had returned to the car and driven back out\nof town, Annabel and Justin had relocated to <em>Cantine Florio<\/em> where we picked them up. For lunch the choice was\nbetween a smart restaurant by the tasting rooms clearly built for the coach\ntrade, or to head back into the old town where there was a wide choice of\neateries. Despite the potential difficulties parking we decided to go back to\nthe Centro Historico. Driving down the streets where we had earlier walked to\nthe Porta Garibaldi we struck lucky as a car pulled out of a spot in front of\nus. Adrian wanted to sample to local specialty of Fish Couscous but it turned\nout that nearly every restaurant offered it. So we chose <em>Natura a tavola<\/em>as as it also had a wide range of Masala wines that\nAnnabel could sample. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Heading back we followed the coast so we could see the\nextensive salt flats which are still used to harvest sea salt. The windmills,\nused in the past to pump brine and to grind the salt, are an attractive part of\nthe landscape. &nbsp;We stopped at the <em>Imbarcardero<\/em> where small boats leave to\ncruise on the lagoon, but there wasn\u2019t time for a boat trip to Mozia island. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">In Nubia, just south of Trapani, Google navigated us to the <em>Museo del Sale<\/em>, where for a small\nentrance fee we were given a guided talk about sea salt harvesting; it was most\ninformative. The museum is inside an old windmill and there were great views\nfrom the roof over the flats to Trapani.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Our final stop before returning to Erice was suggested to us\nby Antonio,&nbsp; a well-regarded place to get\ngranita in Trapani. Although we had vowed never to try parking in Trapani, the\nthought of a nice cold drink was compelling. After cruising round for a while\nwe came across a piazza that had some vacant pay-and-display spots. The parking\nmeter co-operated by accepting our change and printing a ticket, and we had an\neasy short stroll to the small restaurant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Back on top of our mountain the cloud came down as usual. We\nwalked to the castle (Castello di Venere) but there were only occasional\ntantalising views as gaps in the cloud blew past. It wasn\u2019t very pleasant out,\nso we returned to the hotel, and made a booking for dinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1429\" height=\"1011\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-5.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-170\" srcset=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-5.png 1429w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-5-300x212.png 300w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-5-768x543.png 768w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-5-1024x724.png 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1429px) 100vw, 1429px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Mozia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We said goodbye to Annabel and Justin, who were heading east\nto Catania, and then we retrieved our car and headed back to the <em>Imbarcardero<\/em>. &nbsp;There was plenty of space in the free car\npark, and buying tickets for the ferry was easy (though there was an attempt to\nupsell us a complete tour of the lagoon). With our tickets in hand we headed to\nthe canal that provides a harbour for boats and boarded the only boat there.\nSomeone cursorily looked at our tickets and we settled in for the ride. As the\nboat filled up the skipper returned and said a lot to us in Italian. Luckily a\nyoung man translated for us, telling us that we weren\u2019t in the Mozia ferry we\nwere in the lagoon sightseeing boat. Apparently the Mozia ferry couldn\u2019t come\ndown the canal to the wharf. So we jumped out and walked up the canal tow path to\nthe lagoon where after about 15 minutes a much bigger ferry came to pick us up.\n&nbsp;When we reached the island after 10\nminutes &nbsp;we had to pay a separate\nadmission fee which also included the museum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Mozia was an important colony of Carthage founded at the end\nof the 8<sup>th<\/sup> century B.C. &nbsp;It\nwas sacked by the Greeks of Syracuse in the 4<sup>th<\/sup> century B.C. after\nwhich the island was abandoned to sand dunes, and the lagoon silted up. It is\nquite rare to see such extensive Carthaginian ruins, and so much evidence of\nPhoenician culture.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We quickly looked round the museum before it closed for lunch.\nThe star exhibit was a statue known as \u201cThe Youth of Mozia\u201d \u2013 a remarkable\nathletic sculpture dating from the 5<sup>th<\/sup> century B.C.&nbsp; Having done the museum it was time for us to\ndo lunch \u2013 sandwiches from the small caf\u00e9 on the island eaten outside under some\nshady trees. It was a hot day and we didn\u2019t have the time or inclination to\nmake the full tour of the island, so we opted instead to take the shorter route\nround the SW corner. This took us past extensive Phoenician residential\ncomplexes, the city wall with its gates and guardhouses, and a group of temples\nround a freshwater pond. We were expecting that ruins of this antiquity would\nbe little more than a few stone foundations and were pleasantly surprised to\nfind that substantial remains have been excavated; and there is clearly more\nhidden under the many mounds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The ferry back to the mainland was running frequently, and\nso we didn\u2019t have to wait long before we were able to set off home. On the\nferry we could see that Erice was enjoying sunshine, so it was a disappointment\nthat when we started to climb up through Vallerice the cloud came over. We\nspent our third night in the cloud \u2013 apparently this was an unexpected weather\ncondition for Erice in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1429\" height=\"1011\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-6.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-171\" srcset=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-6.png 1429w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-6-300x212.png 300w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-6-768x543.png 768w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-6-1024x724.png 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1429px) 100vw, 1429px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Selinute<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Antonio had given us some suggestions where to go walking in\nthe morning to see the best of Erice. But when we sat down for breakfast is was\nobvious that Erice wase still in the clouds. So we resigned ourselves to the fate\nof never actually exploring the town. With the suitcases packed into the car we\nfarewelled Antonio and headed south towards Selinute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The route Google chose for us started with a lot of turns\nonto and off local roads, but eventually settled down into a fast run on the\nE90 which runs from Palermo down to Mazara del Vallo in the SW of Sicily. When\nwe turned off the E90 in Castelvetrano we joined a slow moving traffic jam. It\nwas caused by the exiting traffic trying to turn left onto a busy road (no\ntraffic lights, no roundabout; welcome to Sicily!). To make faster progress we\ntook the right lane, turned right and did a circular detour through a largely\nabandoned industrial area. The number of empty commercial properties in\nindustrial zones bears testament to the dire straits the Sicilian economy is\nin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Thunder storms were gathering as we approached Selinute but as\nthey didn\u2019t threaten to rain on us as we paid admission to the large archeological\nsite. Selinunte was one of the most important of the Greek colonies in Sicily. At\nits peak before 409 BC the city may have been home to 30,000 people. The\ncurrent archaeological site covers about 40 hectares, so as we were short on\ntime we paid extra for 2 stop \u201ctrain\u201d tickets. This allowed us to visit the\nAcropolis as well as the temples on the East Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"806\" height=\"605\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-7.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-172\" srcset=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-7.png 806w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-7-300x225.png 300w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-7-768x576.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 806px) 100vw, 806px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"wp-block-table\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Would you trust this bridge?<\/strong>  <br><em>The engineering for new roads in Sicily was impressive.&nbsp; To iron out the deep valleys and narrow ridges there were lots of high viaducts and short tunnels. It was however very noticeable that many of the high bridges were under some form of repair. It was comforting to think this was just normal maintenance to keep the structures in prime condition. But then whilst we were on holiday a bridge collapsed in Genoa killing 43 people. This somewhat sapped one\u2019s confidence!<\/em><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">\n  \n \nThe first stop on our train (actually a set of oversized golf\nbuggies) was the three temples on the East Hill. Temple E was controversially\nreconstructed in the 1950\u2019s but the other two temples are just a jumbled mass\nof fallen stonework. We looked in the Museum (as it was the stop to get back on\nthe train) but there was little of interest on display. \n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The train took us down into the valley and up the other side\nby the impressive stone walls of the acropolis. There was one clear ancient\nstreet running through the area, and a partial reconstruction of Temple C. But\nthe rest was just jumbled stonework. We had great fun (and got quite hot)\nexploring the maze of fallen columns, flagstones, and blocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Exhausted we caught the train back to the entrance gate and drove\nround the adjacent seaside town of Marinella di Selinute looking for lunch.\nEventually we settled on <em>Bar Cosi Duchi<\/em>\njust outside the ruins that had a good lunch special \u2013 brushette. There was a\ndownpour whilst we were eating and we got wet rushing back to the car\nafterwards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">From Selinute it was a long hard drive back to the east\ncoast at Catania. Our route took us within sight of the Valley of the Temples\nat Agrigento \u2013conveniently the temples are not in a valley otherwise we\nwouldn\u2019t have been able to see them. We had no plans or time to look at this\nover-visited attraction and pressed on inland heading for the main freeway\nnorth of Enna. Initially the road was new and fast, but when we got closer to Caltanissetta\nwe were diverted onto minor roads to avoid some major tunnel building. &nbsp;If that wasn\u2019t slow enough, a short time later\nthe road ahead was closed (probably due to an accident) and we were shunted off\nonto a back road that went to Ennna. As a result we got stuck in heavy\n\u201crush-hour\u201d traffic skirting round the south side of the hill town and lost a\nlot of time before we got onto the dual-carriageway to Catania. We arrived in\nPuntalazzo much later than we had planned, but luckily we had been able to\nphone the accommodation to reassure them that we were coming, and also to\nrequest they cooked us dinner.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1429\" height=\"1011\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-8.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-173\" srcset=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-8.png 1429w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-8-300x212.png 300w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-8-768x543.png 768w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-8-1024x724.png 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1429px) 100vw, 1429px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2>Puntalazzo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>24<sup>th<\/sup> \u2013 26th August <br><br>La Pietra Antica O&#8217; Munti was not our first choice of accommodation on the slopes of Etna. But it did have vacancies over a peak holiday weekend. The Antica in the name refers to the buildings which were a converted wine press. The breakfast\/dining area still had some of the original press and vats for the juice. Our room on the ground floor of an outhouse was large but sparsely furnished. It was not particularly welcoming; a bit like the owners who couldn\u2019t manage a smile for us. Breakfast was an optional extra; both mornings we ate on our own. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We were exhausted after the long days drive, but after\nfreshening up we headed up to the main building for our dinner. The rooms were\ndimly lit and deserted except for us. We ordered antipasta followed by soup\n(Megan) and pasta (Adrian) \u2013 it was adequate but not overly exciting. It wasn\u2019t\nlong before we both headed off to bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Etna<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Megan woke during the night with food poisoning and was\nsubsequently off her food for a day or so. Adrian went to breakfast and came\nback with a tray of tea and bread. It was clear that Megan wouldn\u2019t be going\nanywhere in a hurry so we abandoned the tentative plans we had to take the\nCircumetnea train round Etna. Instead Megan went back to bed, and Adrian drove\noff to the largest town nearby, Saint\u2019Alfio, in search of lunch. In the\nafternoon Adrian enjoyed a short walk on the lava fields, and Megan came along\nin the car. The direct route from our accommodation up to Rifugio Citell was\nquite hair-raising, with roads that were barely wide enough for two cars to\npass, and people driving downhill very fast. At one point we had to fold in our\nwing mirror to get past a van coming the other way. <br>\nIn contrast the road once we reached the national park was wide and well\ngraded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Adrian parked the car at the trail head and then took a 4km\ncircular walk that went round the Sartorius Mountains. The mountains weren\u2019t\nparticularly large; they were in fact pyroclastic vents dating from the 1865\neruption. There wasn\u2019t a marked path but some waypoints downloaded onto Google\nmaps gave some sense of direction when wandering on featureless lava\nfields.&nbsp; We took a longer way home,\nsticking to larger roads, and passing through Fornazzo and Saint\u2019Alfio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Unsurprisingly we didn\u2019t \u2018eat in\u2019 at La Pietra that evening,\ninstead we headed at opening time to a popular Pizza restaurant in Saint\u2019Alfio.\nMegan didn\u2019t actually want to eat anything so we ordered and whilst she\npretended to nibble, Adrian consumed the lot!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The news that night was that Etna had started to erupt. We\ncouldn\u2019t see the glow from where we were staying, but it was visible to Annabel\nand Justin who were staying a bit further south of us. The minor eruption only\nlasted a couple of days and posed no threat to flights from the nearby Catania\nairport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Catania<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Megan accompanied Adrian to breakfast on our second day in\nPuntalazzo, even though she only wanted tea. When she headed back to the room,\nAdrian took some photos of the dining area and managed to drop the phone from a\nheight onto a stone floor. It was surprising it still worked, but soon we found\nthe Wi-Fi reception was very poor. Subsequently Adrian could be found wandering\naround like a water diviner trying to stand directly under hot spots!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">After a very leisurely pack (it was all Megan was good for)\nwe checked out (no smiles again) and headed south on narrow winding roads\nthrough numerous villages built on the lava flows from Etna. As everything was\nbuilt from dark grey lava stone it was a pretty gloomy area. Our destination,\nfor Megan to sit in the sun and Adrian to go walking, was Monti Rossi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Monti Rossi is the double splatter cone resulting from the\n1669 eruption. This was most violent historical eruption in the recent history\nof Etna, and the lava flow submerged western Catania. Nowadays the cones are a\npopular recreation area with panoramic views over Catania and back to Etna. We\nparked in the picnic area which was busy with families cooking barbeques.\nAdrian set off on a walk using a photograph of the sign at the park entrance. &nbsp;Unfortunately the map had a clearly marked\nINGRESSO which wasn\u2019t actually the entrance we had entered! As a result what\nshould have been a nicely contoured walk round the craters turned into a\nscramble up a badly eroded path in slippery volcanic ash.&nbsp; The views from the top were however worth the\neffort getting there. It was only a few days later when reviewing the photos on\nthe phone that Adrian found the scribbled words \u201cYou Are Here\u201d on the sign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-9.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-174\" srcset=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-9.png 1024w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-9-300x169.png 300w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sicily-9-768x432.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2>\nHeading Home\n\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>26<sup>th<\/sup> \u2013 29<sup>th<\/sup> August&nbsp; <br><br>Our final night stay in Sicily was in the Catania Airport Hotel. A smart well run modern hotel located in the middle of a very run down industrial area. Its main attraction was its proximity to the airport. The next day we flew to Istanbul, and after a long lay-over flew overnight to Bangkok and Singapore. We paid for the convenience of a good night sleep in the Crowne Plaza T3 in Singapore Airport before hopping onto a daytime flight home to Sydney. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Our holiday in Sicily was rapidly drawing to a close and in\npreparation for the early flight to Istanbul the next morning we checked into\nthe Catania Airport Hotel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The check-in at the Airport Hotel was friendly, efficient\nand all smiles \u2013 such a contrast with the dour family running our previous\naccommodation.&nbsp; After moving the cases to\nour room (conveniently right next to the lift) Adrian drove the car to the\nairport rental drop-off.&nbsp; The process of dealing\nwith the parking dents we had picked up was efficient; the repair cost was agreed\non the spot. Our holiday insurance would cover the excess so we weren\u2019t too\nconcerned. Whilst it was easy to drive from the hotel to the airport, walking\nback was a different matter. First one had to wander through rental car yards, and\nthen walk on the side of a busy road without footpaths. &nbsp;It was not an activity to be tried after dark\nso it was good we returned the car early. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Back at the hotel there was time to have a swim in their new\npool before the thunder clouds gathered and it started to rain. The hotel had\nan unusual policy of requiring everyone to wear a bathing cap \u2013 so we bought\none to share between us. Sicily doesn\u2019t seem to have heard of slip resistant\nflooring, and walking back to the hotel in the rain the polished stone paving\nwas a like an ice rink. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We had a low key meal in the hotel restaurant with Megan\nstill pretending (quite convincingly now) to eat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Singapore<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We got an early shuttle from the hotel to the airport \u2013 at\n6:30 it was just dawn and Etna rose clearly above the city without any cloud at\nthe summit \u2013 just a plume of smoke from the crater. We weren\u2019t in any\nparticular hurry, so it was no concern to us that our flight from the small\ninternational (non-EU) gate at the airport boarded very late.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">In a couple of hours we were back at Istanbul with a 7 1\/2\nhr lay-over to enjoy the magnificent business class lounge.&nbsp; This would be our last visit to the old\novercrowded Ataturk Airport as in a couple of months it was planned to close\nand be replaced by a new airport.&nbsp; Our\nonward flight was delayed, so we went back to the lounge to wait. When we did\nboard the meal service was very efficient (Megan was back to eating!) and we\nboth got a reasonable sleep on the flight to Bangkok. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">In Bangkok we followed a very familiar route through\nimmigration, baggage claim, and back out through departures. We were now\nEconomy class passengers heading to Singapore. We found somewhere quiet to sit\nwhilst waiting for our flight to be called. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The Crowne Plaza Hotel right inside Singapore terminal 3 is\nan expensive option, but it is ultra-convenient, just a short walk from baggage\nclaim. We were pleased to see that the pool hours had been relaxed since our\nlast visit and so we were able to have a swim before heading to bed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Our flight the next day to Sydney was uneventful and\nfamiliar.&nbsp; By 10pm we were home\ninspecting the garden and shivering in the cold of a Sydney winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>In Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>Adrian&#8217;s Thoughts:<br><br>Sicily wasn\u2019t a destination we had ever planned to go to \u2013 so I approached it without any preconceived ideas about how good it would be. From the first day the unique experiences delighted me, and it stayed that way for the rest of the holiday.<br>Italian food in Sydney is very predictable, and I was not looking forward to 3 weeks eating it. The variety of food in Sicily was a pleasant surprise, as was the way that it changed over comparatively short distances as we travelled around.<br>We hired a car with some trepidation as much is written on line about how bad the drivers were. This turned out to not be true, just like anywhere in the world the locals have some surprising habits, but driving was in general an enjoyable experience. Parking on the other hand was always a challenge. Sicilians have raised parking to an art form. <br><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>Megan&#8217;s Thoughts<br><\/p><p>Our Italian holiday exceeded expectations.<br>Naples was relaxed, clean, and had some lovely streetscapes and places to wander. No feeling of danger or of the edginess that it used to have.<br>Sicily was full of delights and surprises. There were so many spectacular hill towns, wonderful churches, Baroque monuments, all kinds of architecture to admire. The views of the sea and coastline, all so lovely.<br>Traffic and crowds were to be expected in mid-summer in Europe, but they presented a challenge that we seemed to manage. Adrian\u2019s driving skills were something to behold; driving quite like a Sicilian and I wasn\u2019t even scared!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Sicilian Encounter 3rd&nbsp; &#8211; 27th August 2018 In August 2018 Annabel decided to celebrate her marriage to Justin with a weekend celebration in Sicily. This seemed like a good excuse to look round the island (Adrian had never travelled&#8230; <a class=\"tbreadmore\" href=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/2018\/08\/03\/2018-sicily\/\"> Continue Reading&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":179,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":215,"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153\/revisions\/215"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}