Sicilian Adventure - Part 1

My travel buddy Cathy & I decided about a year ago that we would like to travel to Sicily.  We had been to many area's of Italy, but had never ventured to the 'soccer ball' at the end of the boot!  Once we made the decision to go planning & research began in earnest.  After lots of discussion and reading - here is the itinerary we landed on:

May 23 -25, fly to NYC spend 3 days
May 25, depart NYC fly overnight to Rome.  Land 5/26 Catch 12:35 flight to Palermo, pick up rental car to drive to Cefalu
May 26 - 29, Cefalu
May 29 - 30 Erice
May 31 - June 2, Agrigento
June 2 - 4, Ragusa Ibla
June 4 - 6, Ortigia, Siracusa
June 6 - 9, Taormina
June 9 - Travel day back to Mainland Italy to Lerici
June 10 -14, relaxing in Lerici
June 15 - travel back to the USA

Now, I know what you are thinking.... these crazy girls, they are moving towns every 2 or 3 days.  Yes, that is correct.  Our travel philosophy has always been that we like to see as much of a country as we can.  You might never come that way again!

Now that you've seen our itinerary, let me tell you about the towns we experienced, what we enjoyed and what we could have passed up, then you can plan your own Sicilian adventure!

First off, we both live in the West, and I just did not want to fly 7-8 hours to the east coast, then another 7-8 hours to Europe.  I had never been in New York City, other than to pass through the airports, so we decided to fly to NYC, spend 3 days then head to Italy.  I will write about the 3 days in NYC in a separate entry, but it was well worth the 3 day layover!

When researching our trip, we decided it would best suit our needs to rent a car.  We normally stick to public transportation when traveling abroad, as it is so easy.  Everything I read however regarding trains & buses in Sicily seemed to indicate that public transportation wasn't necessarily as reliable in Sicily as in other parts of Italy.

Our first long travel day was NYC to Rome to Palermo, rent a car, drive to Cefalu.  That may have been a bit of a stretch, but when we arrived at our B&B around 4 pm in the afternoon, it was worth the long travel.

Cefalu is a beautiful small seaside town.  We stayed at Lirma B&B, which I highly recommend. They have only 5 rooms, and it is about 2 blocks to the beach.  We stayed in the 'Pistachio' room which was quite lovely and had a door that opened up on to a beautiful courtyard.  The room was spacious with a modern bathroom that looked new.  The breakfast provided was marvelous, with 'Momma' making the fresh baked goods each morning.  Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice & fruit was always plentiful and while we were there each morning their was a large bowl of ripe cherries, so delicious!  And of course meats, cheeses, cereals, juices, tea & coffee. There are many small B&B's in this town, and I am sure many are just as nice as Lirma, but since I have stayed only a Lirma, I will just say you can't go wrong with Lirma.  We spent our time here, strolling the town, going to the beach, enjoying light lunches followed by gelato.  An afternoon nap was not out of the question!  Dinner starts late in this part of the world, so a nap is almost a necessity!

You can walk everywhere in this town, no car needed.  We enjoyed our time here so very much.  There are plenty of cute little shops (and many 'touristy' places to buy souvenirs).  And if you just want to relax on the beach, they have that too.  As in most places in Europe, you can rent a couple of Beach chairs with an umbrella for about 15 Euro, or just throw down your own towels.  You can't go wrong in by starting your trip in Cefalu.  It was a relaxing first stop on our journey as the pictures will show.
Also one of our favorite meals of the trip was at Il Normanno, Vu Vanni 9.  www.ilnormanno.net  Amazing food!

Fishing boats on the beach

Yummy Pasta at IL Normanno

Next stop was the small medieval hill town of Erice.

It is a lovely walled town located on top of Mount Erice.  To get here, you have to drive up the mountain, many, many switchbacks on narrow roads.  Then there is the occasional motor coach with 'day-trippers' heading down the mountain.  I won't lie... its scary driving!!

The town has been around in under one rule or another since 831( Greeks, Normans, Roman, etc).  You can walk up to the highest point of the town and get a spectacular view.  There is a church & a park at the top and it is a peaceful place to spend an afternoon.  As I walked through the park I smelled honeysuckle and jasmine.  There is a constant breeze that carries this lovely mingled scent on the wind.

 Erice over looks the town of Trampani and there is a Cable car that you can catch that will take you down the mountainside, which is quite convenient (and you can avoid driving down the switchbacks!)  Also worth checking out is Le Delizie di Venere, which is the famous pastriccera of Maria Grammatico.  Always take your appetite when traveling!  The food is spectacular!

We stayed at the Hotel Elimo.  The staff was extremely friendly & helpful, but the property itself could use some updating.  The room we stayed in was large, but had some water damage and just needed general sprucing up.  The breakfast was average - no where near like what we enjoyed at Lirma!

Heads up if you are driving - the streets are really narrow!  Almost too small to drive a car through.  I would suggest parking outside the town wall, walking in to town to locate your hotel first.  You maybe able to just roll your luggage from the car park to your hotel.  It's a pretty small town.

1 of many churches in Erice

Erice

Hindsight being 20/20, I would have skipped Erice as far as staying in the town itself.   I have traveled extensively throughout Italy and I have seen many a medieval  hilltop town.  While Erice was nice, had good views and was an interesting small town, I think I would have rather spent my time nearer to San Vito Capo, maybe spent 2 nights in Trampani and taken the Cable Car to Erice one day and spent the second day at San Vito Capo,  which is part of a National Park and a great place for swimming and snorkeling.  Or we could have taken a fast ferry from Trampani to the Egadi Islands one day.   Well, you live and learn as you travel, which is why I am writing my experiences down in this blog - maybe it will help someone else with their trip plan!

Our next stop, Agrigento, was chosen because the Valley of the Temples.  First a note of explanation: in our research regarding Sicily, we discovered that it seemed like every civilization has tried to rule here!  The Romans, Byzantine, Islamic, Norman, Spanish & Greeks (I am sure I a missing a few)  have all ruled this island at one time or another.  Because of this, as you travel through Sicily you will see influences of many different cultures which makes it a fascinating journey like no other.

Now, back to the Valley of Temples, which is an archaeological park, and a UNESCO World Heritage site, with eight temples that were built between 500 BC and 430 BC. If you've been to Greece and loved the Acropolis, you will enjoy the Valley of the Temples.  It is well worth the visit.  You should plan to be here 4- 6 hours.  Again, a nap afterwords is very worth while!

Temple of Concordia 

Temple of Juno

Temple of Heracles 

Temple of Concordia with modern art in the foreground

When you visit the Valley of Temples, 

you will see many tour groups from the cruise ships.  

On the day we were there we saw multiple guides from a Windstar cruise.  

It's almost unavoidable to listen to them as they talk

 their guests about the history of the Temples.  Kind of a nice bonus!

We stayed at a lovely B&B in Agrigento, B&B Porta Atenea.  We arrived a little earlier than expected but it was no problem  The proprietor of the restaurant next to Porta Atenea called the owners for us and Philipe arrived in short order to get us set up.  The room was spacious, the breakfast offered on a roof top patio and the location very centrally located.   I would stay here again if in the area.  Philipe was a gracious host. 

The view from our Balcony at Porta Atenea

Next up: Ragusa, Ortigia & Siragusa, Taormina

Safe Travels,
Susan