June 2018 – Western Sicily

Continuing our philosophy of travelling as much as we can whilst we can, we headed to Sicily with Riviera Travel. We had chosen Riviera’s tour of Western Sicily and the Aeolian island of Lipari.

Our first base was in the pleasant coastal city of Trapani.  From there we visited Erice which is a town on top of a hill overlooking Trapani.  At 751metres above sea level we had some amazing views as well as enjoying walking through narrow streets to the church and then to Castello di Venere.  We enjoyed our free time by having lunch sitting on a terrace with great views.

The next day was a busy day visiting, first, the amphitheatre and temple at Segesta.  Both were on hill tops and involved quite a steep walk. However, the picture shows the guide demonstrating how good the acoustics were by addressing us from the stage area. From there we headed to Marsala and a visit to the Cantine Pellegrino to see how Marsala was made and to taste various vintages. Ironically you could buy a bottle of the young Marsala more cheaply in Tesco than at the cantine. However, it was a great visit! From there we had free time for lunch in the town of Marsala. We separated from the rest of the group and headed down a side street where we came across a delicatessen. The proprietor invited us in to eat in his garden.  We had a look inside and found a garden restaurant filled with locals. We asked for a mixed platter of local specialities as well as some stuffed peppers and sardines. What a feast we had, washed down with a bottle of local wine and some sparkling water. It was certainly the most adventurous of our meals away and possibly the best value!

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From our base at Trapani we headed back up the coast to Palermo before going to our second base at Cefalu. During our visit to Sicily we visited many churches and cathedrals. One church was Palermo Cathedral which had a quite lovely exterior but when we went inside the building was full with a confirmation service in progress. We felt uncomfortable with the prospect of walking around during such an important service and left.  However, our next port of call was to the Palatine Chapel with an incredibly beautiful interior.  Dating back to 1132 the walls and ceiling are decorated with amazing mosaics. The photos don’t do full justice to the decoration but I hope they show that the Chapel is certainly a place to visit when in Palermo. 

 

Our hotel in Cefalu was high above the old part of town and we had fantastic views from our balcony we could look over the town to the Cathedral and sea or to the mountains behind the hotel. The hotel was brilliant and we enjoyed very good food during our four night stay! Cefalu old town was pleasant enough to stroll around with a public beach to the rear of many dwellings.

Further around the bay, there were more beaches in front of a promenade which looked far more typical of a beach resort!

Our visit to the Aeolian island of Lipari involved a 90 minute bus ride and a high speed ferry crossing lasting just over an hour. The island was quaint but very touristy although the ceiling of the cathedral was very pretty.  On the way back Gerry counted up the lengths of road tunnels we went through (each tunnel had its length displayed at the entrance).  We went through approximately 38 km (just under 24 miles) of tunnel as well as travelling over many long and high bridges. The motorway represented a marvellous feat of engineering.

 

Our final day was spent visiting the inland town of Castelbuono. 

The town had a very different feel to the coastal towns we had visited before – far more our scene. We walked around the town and then through a gate to the castle square. The views from the castle of the surrounding valley were fabulous.

 

We were only away for a week but we saw so much.