Saturday, May 27, 2017

Day 16 - Palermo 5/27/17

Final pictures and a few videos of street music and coffee roasting are HERE.

5:30pm: back at the b&b for a rest after a day that was probably longer than it should've been. Woke up around 6 then went back to sleep and suddenly it was 8??!! Rushed to shower and get ready and talked to the b&b owner about the taxi I need at 4am tomorrow. She booked it for me so that's good, I guess. I also asked her what the activities at 5:30am yesterday morning were. Apparently it was something related to organic food? Well ok then.


Friday, May 26, 2017

Sicily Day 15 - Cefalu', Castelbuono, Palermo 5/26/17

Pictures HERE.

10:30pm: at the b&b after a long and full day and the day is ending like it started at 5:30am, loudly. And because I am tired I expect there will be lots of typos in this post and I am sorry in advance. Anyway, I was awoken then by cheering on the street. Since I have a view I looked outside and there were people running on the streets. I have no idea what for, it was not their marathon. I later saw people walking with the shirts that said "15.30 Palermo" and I still do not know what that means. And right now there is literally drumming going on outside. It is a special night event for school kids, but more on that later.

Anyway, I had planned to take a train to Cefalu around 8:30 but since I was up I figured I might as well catch the one that left around 7:15. I took a city bus to the train station and got a croissant and marocchino - that is the first time I have had one of those this trip - it is espresso with a little milk and cocoa powder. The train was a much nicer one than the early ones I had taken at the begining of the trip, and it arrived right on time just after 8am. It went right along the water the whole way and was quite pretty. Once in Cefalu I made the short walk to the water and walked around the city, which was just waking up. It is very pretty with walls and lookouts along the water, beaches, crystal clear water, medieval looking streets, and plenty of restaurants and shops for the tourists. 

Made it to the main square and into the Duomo, one of the most important Arab-Norman churches in the area built in the 1100s. Unfortunately, the main mosaic that is so important is covered and undergoing restoration. I wandered around the town a bit and then went to the cloisters, which have old colums presumably taken from elsewhere. Actually, so did the interior of the church. There is also a castle above town but is apparently so steep that it takes half an hour of stairs to get up there. I trully cannot fathom. 

Caught the 11am bus to Castelbuono, the capital of the Madonie mountains, which I believe is a national park. This is an adorable little medieval town with one main drag and a lot of offshoots. Luckily this castle is easy to reach and houses the city's museum. Checked that out and wandered the town a bit. 

Then what I really came here for - lunch at Nangalarruni. I had made a reservation but did not really need one. They are known for using local products, especially mushrooms. I wanted to try everything on the menu but I decided to go for the "small" tasting menu. It was four courses - roast beef and smoked pork loin slices, spring veggies and mushrooms with ricotta under a gratin of smoked cheese, homemade pasta with spring veggies and mushrooms in I think a ricotta sauce, and a local dessert that was like a milk gel flavored with cinnamon. And delicious local wine and water and the whole thing came to only 29 euros. RIDICULOUS. What a dining experience. 

The other good thing was that the food came out really fast so I was able to make the 2:30pm bus rather than wait until 4:40pm. The bus also had some beautiful views of the towns it passed and the water. It arrived back in Palermo just after 4pm. I was not hungry but a famed gelateria is right near the station so I got a combo of pistachio/dark chocolate and almond. It was cheap, only 1.40. Then I walked over to the botanical garden, which is neat but kind of a huge unkempt mess and I hate to say it but there are a lot of dead plants there. 

Caught the bus back and took a bit of a rest at the b&b. Set out a little before 7 and heard some music coming from a main square. I believe I said it early on in the trip but when you hear something in Italy you follow it. There was a whole setup with a stage and other activities. It appears it is some special event for students called "notte bianca" - I encountered one of those the first time I went to Rome, they are special evenings in Italy when people are in the streets and things stay open later. Hence the drmming I am hearing outside. And the streets are packed with families.

Went for an early dinner at Bistrot Bisso, which is in an old bookshop. Everyone said to get there by 7:30. I did and had no trouble getting a spot but by 8, forget it! I had cous-cous, traditionally served with seafood in Sicily, with veggies, and then a veggie "stack" - potatoes and tomatoes and mushrooms just kind of stacked up. That and water and wine all totaled 12.50. Cheap! 

Wandered back to the opera house where another stage was set up and kids were performing. Took some pictures and went back to Lucchese where I got a small dark chocolate/cinnamon gelato. 

Today's absurd totals: 30,192 steps and 12.01 miles. And I still cannot believe I have signed up to do a walking tour tomorrow morning. I also cannot even believe tomorrow is my last day!! 

Thursday, May 25, 2017

Sicily Day 14 - Palermo & Monreale 5/25/17

Pictures HERE.

5:45pm: at the b&b for a little snack and rest before dinner. I feel like I didn't accomplish much today although that probably is not really true. I took it easy in the morning and had breakfast. Then I went over to the Ballaro market, the last of the three markets I had not yet been to. It is like the Capo but I think contains more junk in addition to all the food and goes on for longer. These markets seriously just ramble on and on through little alleys and streets.

Made my way back near the opera house and went into the Archaeological museum. Only the ground floor was open due to renovations and it was free, but it was still impressive. And finally a museum where there were other people inside!! They had some really intact statues and other artifacts, including a lot from Selinunte, one of the major sites I was not able to fit in unfortunately. There were a bunch of students there asking if you wanted additional explanation. 

Then I went to nearby Focacceria Massimo for lunch. It was already starting to get full with local worker types just after noon. It was surprisingly non-touristy considering you can see the opera house from their streetside tables. I had another pane e panelle and this time also added potato croquettes. Carbs on carbs on carbs. Yes please. The filling sandwich and bottle of water totaled only 2.30. 

Then meandered back towards the cathedral area as I had reserved a spot on the 2pm bus to Monreale. I decided to go the tourist bus route again rather than try to navigate and deal with the city buses. Also the stop was closer. I had a lemon and strawberry granita on the way. I am going to miss these refreshing fruit slushes on warm days!

Caught the bus, which took 20 minutes to get out of central Palermo alone - their traffic makes LA look not that bad! Got there and they give an hour and 20 minutes to see this important church complex. Again, it is all gold mosaics from the 1100s and various times after that and is truly stunning. There was some idiotic tour guide using a green laser pointer to explain the mosaics to her group. I mean, REALLY? Speaking of tour groups and how much I hate them, earlier in the day a German man paying too much attention to his whisper rather than where he was walking on the street literally walked into a school-aged girl. Come on. 

Anyway, after wandering around the church several times I took a quick peek at the surrounding town, which did not seem too special, and the bus left at 4pm and then I just walked back to the b&b for a break before dinner. After what I saw last night I made an 8pm reservation somewhere - at least I think I did!

10:15pm: back at the b&b after a delicious pizza dinner at PerciaSacchi, where I did in fact succeed in making a reservation. It is an upscale slow food type place that uses special flours for its pizza dough and things like that. I had a "Trapani" style pizza, which was like the pesto from the traditional pasta dish deconstructed so it was pesto, tomatoes, a cheese called tuma, and toasted breadcrumbs. Yes they put breadcrumbs on a pizza that has a bread crust. I also had chocolate cake for dessert and I just realized I did not have gelato today! That is OK, the three from yesterday make up for it? I think my pants are tighter despite all the walking....

Tomorrow I have an ambitious day planned and restaurant reservations for lunch at one of the most famous restaurants on Sicily. We shall see what happens!

Today: 26,404 steps and 10.5 miles and I am starting to really second-guess signing up for a walking tour on my last day Saturday.....

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Sicily Day 13 - Palermo pictures

All the pictures and a couple videos odd the Palatine chapel HERE! Also I done know how last night's blog text got black, but it should be fixed now.

Sicily Day 13 - Palermo 5/24/17

7:45pm: sitting in restaurant Buatta for an early dinner, because I'm both tired and hungry and prefer not to be out too late in Palermo. And it's a good thing because they started turning people without reservations away pretty early. They gave me an Italian menu! Victory! Side note: French tourists speak in English to people here. There's irony in there somewhere. Also, I noticed that I haven't heard any Spanish, yet there's so much French and German being spoken on the streets. Interesting. 


Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Sicily Day 12 - Segesta, Erice, & Trapani 5/23/17

Loads of pictures and a video from the cable car ride HERE.

8:15pm: sitting at the lovely osteria la bettolacia, which comes highly recommended basically everywhere. After a long day. And it's a good thing I reserved because they're sending everyone away.

Took it easy this morning and had no breakfast mishaps. The owner said he'd do breakfast early for me tomorrow so I can catch my bus, which luckily leaves from only a couple blocks away rather than from the main terminal. Anyway after Belfast, I wandered a bit and figured out the bus situation to the ruins of Segesta. The bus left at 10:20 and took about 40 min. Most of these people on the bus were from a school in Iowa making a trip in southern Italy for a class. 


Monday, May 22, 2017

Sicily Day 11 - Trapani, Egadi Islands, and Marsala 5/22/17

Tons of pics HERE.

2:30pm: sitting waiting for the 2:50 boat from Favignana to Marsala after a quick yet relaxing morning. Instead of rushing for the 8:20am boat from Trapani, I took it easier this morning. But when I went to have breakfast shortly after 8:30, the two tables were both occupied and the guy was like, wait a few minutes. Ok.... So I waited till almost 9 and then basically snuck out and got a coffee and croissant around the corner because I wasn't going to miss my 9:40 boat waiting for other people to finish their breakfast. And it's a good thing because they boarded the boat early. I planned out my day and got all the boat tickets at once, so that made it easy. All three together were about 24€.

Sunday, May 21, 2017

Sicily Day 10 - Agrigento, Scala Dei Turchi, and Trapani 5/21/17

Lots of pictures and a couple of videos HERE.

1:45pm: at the bus terminal ridiculously early. Not sure why so early but of all the connections I'm making this trip, this one makes me nervous because there's one bus on Sunday and the ticket booth is closed. However, getting here over an hour early won't really help. Except that I checked out of the b&b and don't really have anything else to do.


Saturday, May 20, 2017

Sicily Day 9 - (lots of) Agrigento pics!

Flicks and the WiFi cooperated overnight so you can find over 150 pics from yesterday here! It's mostly of the temples so if old pretty things aren't your speed, these may not be the pics for you. Everyone else, enjoy!

Sicily Day 9 - Agrigento 5/20/17

10:00pm: at my b&b in Agrigento after a day so long I can't remember how it started! Oh right I woke up early and grabbed a taxi around 7 to the bus terminal in Catania. Luckily the driver knew I needed to be down the street from the train station. I was early so I got a cappuccino and nutella croissant at a nearby bar and then found my bus. It was a fancy double-decker thing so I went up top to see the scenery better. It took a little over 3 hours total. There was lots of random road work and several times the bus got stuck behind a slow farm vehicle. The scenery was beautiful especially right outside Catania where Mt. Etna loomed large over the countryside.

Friday, May 19, 2017

Sicily Day 8 - Catania 5/19/17

Pictures HERE 

4:15pm: back at the b&b for a little rest since I had a full morning and afternoon. After breakfast I went over to the Bellini opera house. It is beautiful but kind of strangely built into its surroundings. Unfortunately it looks like it is not open for public tours or visits, despite conflicting information out there. Then I went over to another Benedictine church that was closed yesterday. They gave you a little tablet with headphones for a free walking tour. Pretty neat but I do not have the patience to listen to five minutes about each part of the fresco, sorry. If I had listened to the whole thing I might have been in that fairly small church for almost an hour! Also went over to the Castle, which now houses the city's museum. 

Walked back through the fish market again a little, because it is just so cool, and got a couple of cookies at a pastry shop by the Duomo. It is funny, I would never eat a meal from a place on a main square but that seems to be the best place sometimes for a gelato or pastry. Anyway, one was an almond paste cookie covered in pistachios and the other was a chocolate shortbread filled with pistachio cream. There are either almonds or pistachios in everything here, I feel really badly for someone allergic to tree nuts in Sicily!

Then I started walking up the main shopping street, Via Etna - called that because at the end you can see the Volcano. I meandered and found another market, La Fiera, this one is just as chaotic as the fish market and is half produce, half crap like clothes. What great fun! I had read about this trendy sandwich/burger place called FUD and it was near up where I was, so I went there for lunch. They have funny Italian-english transliterations of everything, like "Stil Ouater" for the water bottles and "cis" for cheese. I had a "classic" - prosciutto, mozzarella, tomato, olive oil, and oregano on a homemade roll. Classic indeed except everything was sicilian. With a glass of rose sparkling wine. Great place and not horribly expensive given its trendiness! They have a tapas restaurant too but I am not going to trek back up there later to go to it.

After lunch I made it up to the Bellini garden, which is a big public park, and then past that a little there is the university's botanical garden, which has a large section dedicated to preserving Sicilian plants. The entrance is free and I was talking to the guy at the info desk and he seemed impressed by my Italian. One thing I have noticed in Sicily more than other parts of Italy is that they respect more here if you try to speak Italian. In Venice or Rome or Milan one you mis-pronounce the Italian they just respodn in English and here they usually do not. I love that! 

Anyway, meandered back down the mile or so on Via Etna and stopped for another cup at Cioccolato & Gelato, this time coffee plus their pistachio ottoveli. Still not sure what ottoveli is but I googled it and the only real matches are this shop so maybe they made it up? Then I came back to the b&b to rest up before going back out later. Which is good because by 4pm I had already walked well over 20,000 steps. Yikes!

9:45pm: back at the b&b after dinner. Set out around 6pm and wandered the area around the opera house a bit. Found a cool glass shop where the owner makes everything and bought a necklace and bowl. There was also a cool little square that had been decorated with art. In fact there are a lot of bars and weed places and hipster things in general in Catania it seems. 

Had dinner at De Fiore, run by an old lady who cooks everything whom you can hear yelling in the kitchen from the dining area. I had read the service was slow but there was only one poor waiter for everyone and you could tell it was going to be a long night for him. Anyway, I had a quarter liter of wine and the famous pasta alla norma, which was apparently invented in Catania. It is pasta with tomato sauce and fried eggplant. I do not even normally like eggplant, but in Italy it doesn't bother me at all, I wonder why! I also tried to order her famous zeppole for dessert but they were apparently out of pretty much everything. So I paid my little 9 euros and went back to the square of the opera house and got a gelato. They had setteveli, not ottoveli. And setteveli is apparently a well-known multilayer dessert and the other place must add one more thing to make theirs 8 instead of 7! Anyway, I had that with an extra dark chocolate and ate it overlooking the beautiful opera house. 

And then it was a quick walk back to the b&b to pack up since I have to get out early tomorrow to make another 8am bus, this time to Agrigento for a night to see the Greek temples!

Side comment - all the sights I paid to go into today were literally basically empty. It really baffles me why no one is going into these museums? 

Walked a ton today and my feet are starting to feel it. 29,324 steps; 11.66 miles. 

Thursday, May 18, 2017

Sicily Day 7 - Catania 5/18/17

Lots of pictures and a couple videos of the market insanity HERE.

3:15pm: sitting enjoying a Lemon Soda waiting for my 4pm of a monastery in Catania. Woke up crazy early and packed up. The sweet lady at my b&b in Ragusa has prepared breakfast for me early and called the driver who had originally picked me up. Then on my way out she gave me a hug and the double cheek kiss. Where else in the world would someone do you a favor then hug and kiss you and thank you?! Italy, that is where. As an aside I think I forgot to mention seeing a LOT of properties for sale in Ragusa.... just saying.... 


Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Sicily Day 6 - Ragusa 5/17/17

All the pictures from today HERE. There are some duplicates, I don't know why some pictures uploaded multiple times, and I can't figure out how to fix it on my iPad. Sorry!

3:30pm - back at the b&b for some R&R since this may be my last slower day of the whole trip. Took it easy this morning and had a relaxed breakfast. Wandered around town, which was very quiet in the morning. Then the tour groups arrived and they started filling everything up. However I think I was quite literally the only person in the Duomo museum, not that it is that impressive... Also, it looks like a lot of kids were possibly graduating from university today so lots of celebrating around town. The public gardens at the end of town are quite lovely with some good views.

Picked up a quick tomato and cheese scacca, a local kind of rolled up focaccia thing, followed by a strawberry granita, and caught the 11:55 bus 11 to the upper/modern part of town. It is decidedly less interesting than where I am staying, the smaller historical center. There is a nice church and some good pastry shops but not really a whole lot else. I skipped the archaeological museum because guides called it rundown. I stopped at a pastry shop and had my first arancina - a fried rice ball, and I use the term ball loosely because this was more like a football. It was filled with veggies and local cheese and I could only eat about a third of it, it was so heavy. One of the guys at the shop thought I did not like it! I bought a couple mini pastries to take back to the b&b. So I guess I just sort of snacked my way through lunch over a couple hour period. 

Then I set out to descend the long stairs back to where I am staying. Some great views along the way - I could even pick out my b&b! Some people were inexplicably climbing UP. Why would anyone do that?! Read a guidebook, take a bus to the top for 1.20euros, and walk down! Anyway, the descent was easy and it let me out into a square not far below the b&b so I came back for a rest and to start packing for the next move since tomorrow will be an early one. Unfortunately, most of my clothes are still wet and silly me I did not see the drying rack they put in the wardrobe. There is also an iron and I am sadly seriously contemplating ironing my clothes later to help them dry. But the thought of ironing on vacation (or anytime for that matter) is making me a little naseous.

9:15pm - back at the b&b for an earlier night because I have to get up early tomorrow for my bus. I set out earlier around 4pm and just wandered the town more, finding cool alleys and viewpoints and photo ops. It rained a little then cleared out. After I while I returned to trusty Al Borgo and had another glass of wine and some snacks like the other night. There was a funeral coming out of the church so that was a downer. 

Decided to eat at La Bettola, a little off the beaten track but tiny, as in 8 tables. I got there pretty much right after they opened and I am pretty sure I got the only non-reserved table they had as they started telling people to come back after 9pm after me. I had the local cheese fried on griddle as a starter, then steak for a main course and then I needed something light so I got fruit and they literally gave me two nectarines in a bowl to cut up. Then I had a chocolate and chili and cinnamon gelato. And my clothes are still rather wet so ironing may in fact be in the future this evening before bed. 

Tomorrow it is back to Catania where I originally flew into - this time to actually stay a couple days and see the city!

Today: 24,905 steps, 9.9 miles, and by the way I have climbed about 70 flights of stairs or more basically every day.

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Sicily Day 5 pictures

All pictures from yesterday are here!

Sicily Day 5 - Ragusa & Modica 5/16/17

10:15pm - back at the b&b after a long day. Slept til 7:30 this morning, a minor miracle, and kind of took it easy. Did not wash my clothes as I had planned - whoops. Went to breakfast, which was a veritable spread of local goodies, including various pastries, olives, chocolate, you name it. True to her word, the lovely staff member had printed me the local bus schedule and wrote down all the train and bus times to/from Modica. What truly lovely people!


Monday, May 15, 2017

Sicily Day 4 - Ragusa 5/15/17

Pictures HERE 

4:00pm - back at the gorgeous b&b in Ragusa for a break because nothing in town is open. Took it easy this morning, even had a second cappuccino at breakfast, and then went to the train station. As with the train to and from Noto, this was a tiny two-car thing that was hot and full until most people got off in Noto. Then it was delayed a bit but by about 1pm I was in Ragusa. My hotel had booked me a car and he was holding a sign with my name at the station. I felt so fancy! Then he took me to a parking lot and told me to wait.... then a little golf cart thing with my hotel on the side showed up. See pictures for a video. The streets are too narrow for a regular car, he said. What an adventure!


Sunday, May 14, 2017

Sicily Day 3 - Siracusa 5/14/17

All of today's many pictures are HERE (over 100!)

5:45pm: taking a bit of a break at the b&b after a day I can only describe as: lots of old stuff, as some days in Italy sometimes are! In the morning after breakfast, I hopped on the little electric minibus to the archaeological museum. Its vast and one could probably spend all day looking in room after room of old pottery and bones and statues, oh my, but as per usual, I lasted about 40 minutes. I was also practically alone. It always makes me sad when museums are almost empty.


Saturday, May 13, 2017

Sicily Day 2 - Siracusa and Noto 5/13/17

All pictures from today HERE

2:15pm: sitting in famous caffe Sicilia in Noto enjoying a delicious and refreshing almond granita after a full morning. After a pretty decent night's sleep, I wandered a bit before breakfast at 8, which is served on the hotel's adorable rooftop terrace. It was a buffet of fresh juice and baked goods, and even bacon and eggs.

Friday, May 12, 2017

Sicily Day 1 - 5/11-5/12/17

6:30pm Pacific US time 5/11/17 - well, the flight took off over an hour and a half late, which means I will surely miss my connecting flight, since I only had an hour and a half layover. At least another flight leaves about 2 hours later, which I am assuming they will get me on. And that is exactly why I get as close to my destination as possible on my first flight, because the closer you get, the more likely there are more flight options to the final destination. So this means I probably won't arrive in my first stop Siracusa until after 8:00pm local time. Never missed a connection before....always a first for something I suppose. I would gladly have given up the rare miracle of the middle seat next to me being empty to not have to deal with this mess. The poor lady next to me is trying to get to Albania and there is no other flight out and she is also going to miss her connection.


Sunday, April 2, 2017

It's almost that time again!

Sicily. May. 16 nights.

Tweaked the look of the blog. Apparently Google has stupidly discontinued its Blogger app so we'll have to see how this will get done on the road.

Have I mentioned I have a new job that comes with more time off? You know what that means.

That's all, see you soon!