ABC Wednesday: S is for SICILY

ABC Wednesday is up to the letter S this week so I'd like to take you on a tour to some of the places I visited when in Sicily/Sicilia .

The second week of November, 2006, we took the overnight ferry from Naples to Palermo, the capital city of Sicily. From there we drove west to the town of Erice, which is at the top of a mountain above Trapani on the west coast of Sicily.

By the time we arrived, I was sick as a dog and went right to my room and had delusional dreams until the next morning. Thankfully, the ladies I was traveling with and our guide agreed to stay over another day so that I could rest. While I was sleeping the second day, they took a day trip to Trapani where they viewed the salt-pans, a magnificent sight amidst all the fishing boats. On the morning of the third day, I was well enough to travel (although still sick) and I managed to take a few photos as we were leaving. Below is Trapani from Erice.

I'm disappointed I was too sick to appreciate Erice, because at 2,500 feet up, it's an intriguing medieval town of churches and forts, of silent cobbled lanes and miniature piazzas. I took this photo as we were driving down the mountain from Erice and the Mediterranean Sea was spectacular in its brilliance. And it is said that on a clear day, you can see Cape Bon in Tunisia.

We drove through stunning countryside ....

to reach Segesta where we viewed ancient Greek temples. Sicily has a rich Greek history because it was always considered a crucial strategic location due to its importance for Mediterranean trade routes. At one time it was considered to be part of Greece. We had to take a bus to the top of this mountain to view the amphitheater and other ruins above this temple. I took the shot from the window of the bus as we were returning to the car park.

I also took this shot from the top of the mountain that overlooked the countryside of Sicily near Segesta. It was paradoxical to see a modern highway snaking its way through old farms and ancient hills.

From Segesta, we travelled south to Selinunte on the south coast of Sicily. Another ancient Greek site, it contains five temples centered on an acropolis, which literally means "high city." This is one of my favourite shots because I took it as we were approaching the area and this temple stood out from behind bushes that looked like sagebrush. Actually, this part of Sicily is considered to be the "wild west" of the area.

The area was dotted by ruins through which we wandered for quite a while, imagining ourselves back in ancient Greek times. Some of these ruins were caused by massive earthquakes.

The site at Selinunte is so massive that we weren't able to see all of it. I took the following photo using my telephoto lens. You can see the Mediterranean out on the horizon and one can only imagine the size of the original temple.

From Selinunte, we drove through luscious countryside to Agrigento where we saw "The Valley of the Temples." I'm not going to include photos from there because I have to pick and choose what to show. I don't want you to get bored, but I do hope you will take my word for it that Sicily is certainly a destination to keep in mind for your future travels. I must admit that I wasn't that keen on going there at first, but I quickly realized that my guide was right!

We stayed overnight just outside of Agrigento in the most beautiful villa! Through the window of my room, I gazed at the city as the sun set and watched as the city lights came on. Stunning view! The next day we traveled through Enna - sort of central Sicily) and then south again to Piazza Armeria. (click on the link to see more photos.) There we viewed the most gorgeous Roman mosaics I've ever seen in my life!

We then headed for Siracusa where we stayed two nights. By the time we arrived, it was dark and I was exhausted and starting to feel worse again. So I hit the sack at the five-star Hotel Roma in my own room of a two-bedroom suite. The next day I missed the outing because I had to find my way down the street to the local farmacia where, in my halting Italian, asked for the drug that my doctor always gives me when I end up with bronchitis. I was thankfully able to understand the pharmacist when told I had to go and see the dottore a few doors down. When I entered the door, I expected to see something similar to what we see here in Canada. But the room was empty and a tall, good-looking young man was just coming out of another door. I asked if he was the dottore. He was and spoke enough English to understand me when I explained my symptoms (using hand gestures and notes the hotel manager had given me) that my doctor gives me Xithromax when I'm sick. He said, "Oh, one a day?" I answered, "Si! Si! One a day!" I was so excited that I was going to get my prescription! (Did I mention he was a handsome young Italian dottore?) He told me to go to the farmacia and I asked if I needed a prescription. But he just said, "No, just go and ask for the xithromax." Wow! So off I went and told the pharmacist that the dottore had said "Si, xithromax per mio." Or something like that. So I got the drug, went back to my room and slept some more.

We weren't leaving until around noon the next day, so as the first pill had done its duty and I was feeling much better, albeit still a bit weak, I went off on my own to explore the city. The following photo is of the harbour in old Siracusa. It was a lovely day, just warm enough to not need a jacket but not too warm for me to work up another fever. I really would love to go back some day and see more of that city. I think the rest of the group got to go on a boat ride or something like that. Boo Hoo!

We arrived in Taormina that afternoon - up the east coast past Catania where the airport is and just below Mount Etna. This is the "Riviera" of Sicily! Beautiful town with lots of wealthy tourists roaming around. We went and had gelato and coffee in the piazza while watching Mount Etna spew some smoke. The next morning we heard that it had erupted that night around 11:00 pm, but we were all tucked in at the San Dominigo Palace Hotel by then. Since this post is getting quite long, I just want to suggest you google this place and look at images and read its history. It's one of the leading hotels in the world! Our group even took high tea there one afternoon. This is the view from my patio.

I could show you all sorts of photos, but you'll just have to come over and see the album. But I do want to show you a typical scene along any Sicilian street.

If you're interested in Sicilian recipes, just go over to Welshcakes Limoncello's site. She is an ex-pat from the United Kingdom, currently residing in Modica, and experiments with the local fare. She shares recipes and photos of lots of Sicilian meals along with her point of view of Sicilian life.

Our week in Sicily ended early in the morning November 14, 2006, after driving back to Palermo where we caught another overnight ferry. We arrived back in Naples just in time to see the sun rise.

To view more ABC Wednesday participants' photos, click on Mrs. Nesbitt's place here.