Of Sicily; Ancient Ruins, Etna, Seafood & Charm!

Up into the narrow back streets of Trabia

From Munich, on Saturday, April 28^th, we were off to Sicily, via a short flight to Cologne, connecting there to our Sicily flight.  We arrived in the evening, picking up our rental car at the Sicily airport.  Gretchen, now dubbed Maria in Italy, our formerly shamed, but reborn, personal GPS, carried us with few problems through the outskirts of the main City, Palermo, to our timeshare, Domina Zagarella, some 10 miles or so down the Northern coastline of Sicily.  

Sicily’s history was fascinating to say the least – 1. A series of occupations in ancient times, by the Romans, the Greeks, etc., with structures built by each empire during their occupation;  now they were ancient ruins; 2.  Numerous occupying armies during WWII; and 3. The birthplace of La Cosa Nostra; some of the most famous (infamous?) members/families emigrated from Sicily to the US in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  We were ready to explore it all; or at least as much as we could squeeze into one week on the island.

View of our timeshare, Domina Zagarella (just across the small bay) & the Sicilian Coastline near Palermo

The adventures began in earnest on Sunday.  One travel guide I’d  consulted before flying to Sicily suggested that it was probably best NOT TO DRIVE directly through the busy (some would say crazily congested) Big City of Palermo.  Good advice, unheeded by innocent Maria, our GPS voice, and uncorrected by the clueless rental car driver; that would be ME.  Anyhow, the direct line between our Timeshare and the main highway leading OUT of Palermo toward our destination for the day, a medieval town with Greek ruins called Segesta, was, Maria determined, RIGHT THROUGH THE CONGESTED HEART OF Palermo.  

The travel guide warning was Spot On!  It was a SNAFU situation if there ever was one.   Cars came at us literally from all directions.  Somehow, we survived with nary a dent in the rental car, which, we soon deduced, was a bit too big for the often narrow town roads we were to encounter all week long in Sicily.  

Yet, on we went to Segesta, eagerly anticipating our first glimpse of some ancient ruins, of which Sicily is renowned.  NOT to be on this particular day!  This was a Sunday, with a Festival of some sorts taking place in what appeared to be a charming old town, if we were to stop long enough to enjoy it.  But it was clogged that day with musicians, tour buses, and locals and tourists alike; with nary a spot to park our vehicle.  We tried to maneuver out of town and find the route up to that tantalizing Greek Theatre that we could see perched on a hilltop as we drove into town.  But somehow we missed the turnoff and decided at that point to maybe try it again later in the week.
 

Seafood on the menu, a regular habit in Sicily,  this one featuring a Sicilian specialty, grilled swordfish, and other delicious offerings

We salvaged the day nicely with a simply delicious dinner, featuring seafood of course, at an unassuming little restaurant right across the street from our Timeshare.  And the big bonus was NO DENTS in the rental car, despite the “white knuckle” drive through Palermo and tight quarters up in Segesta.  Welcome to Sicily; and we were already halfway to loving it!  

 

Mt Etna, always smoldering on top, lords over half the Island of Sicily

The next day, a Monday, we discovered more to love on this beautiful Island, driving out in the morning for a pre-planned two day Island tour, heading East out of  Palermo back toward the mainland.  We headed inland eventually, climbing up over rugged hills, and through lovely old towns, and finally dropping into a big valley with spectacular views of brooding Mt. Etna, spewing smoke from its summit, and no doubt mulling its next eruption; since it is one of the World’s most active volcanos.  It did not blow on this trip, though it would have been quite an experience if it had.

Anyhow, we soon arrived at the charming little seaside town of Letojanni, checking into an equally charming little boutique hotel called Hotel Sylesia..  Our room had a view of the seashore just a block away, and we walked to a seaside restaurant for dinner, featuring seafood of course!  

Our Bed & Breakfast in Letojanni

Sea View from Hotel Sylesia in Letojanni

The next morning we were off to explore the nearby town of Taormina, filled with ancient ruins, including another Greek theatre.  We were told beforehand by our Hotel manager that it was probably best to take public transport into Taormina, as the roads were very narrow in the middle of the Old Town.  So much for heeding warnings; more on that later.  But first we skirted the edges of Taormina and drove up to an equally old and very charming hillside town of Castelmola, which was kind of a walled city where you parked outside and walked into the vehicle restricted inner town.  It was charming and fun to say the least, with spectacular views of the surrounding countryside and seashores.

Castelmola, high up in the hills overlooking Taormina and the Sicilian Coast

Then, we drove back down into Taormina in search of a parking spot from which to walk to the Greek Theatre ruins.  We followed traffic through increasingly narrow, cobblestoned streets, with me blithely disregarding the Hotel Manager’s earlier advice to skip the driving thing when in Taormina.  When the few cars ahead of us somehow petered out to NONE, I made the unfortunate decision to make a sharp narrow right turn, following a few motorcycles and scooters that we’d seen going down the narrow passageway just ahead of us.    In hindsight, this was NOT a very good idea. After about 60 or 70 feet down we went around a left bend… the cycles and scooters long gone by now (Uh Oh!).. meeting only a local gent out on in the middle of the street, sweeping with a broom.  He waved the broom at us, talking (yelling?), and making it clear that we were not welcome… as in “Go Back where you came from… NOW!” (double Uh oh!)

This was easier said than done, of course, but we really had no choice; back up or get whipped by the broom, and most likely cursed in the Sicilian version of Italian.  I have to admit a moment of brief panic enveloped me as I contemplated the task ahead.  Abandoning the old rental on the spot was tempting, but not really a viable option.  So we backed uphill carefully, with maybe a foot or so clearance between parked cars on each side.  All was well and good, if not painfully slow, until we reached that sharp corner up on top of the upsloping road.  This was NOT good, little or no room to maneuver through the extremely narrow turn, backwards and uphill to boot!  More panic quickly set in on my frazzled psyche! Elaine, on the other hand, was a model of calm determination, as in, "let's just get this sucker over with, and get outta here."

 To our rescue, thankfully, came, in succession, three guardian angels, and more; the first such "angel" a hotel bellman who needed to get us out of the way of his hotel entrance.  He patiently guided us part way through the extremely tight backward turn, then returned to his duties.  2^nd guardian angel stepped forward then, a young father pushing, with his wife, their young one up the narrow cobblestoned road in a stroller.  They couldn’t get past our wedged in vehicle, though, so the good father helped us eke another foot or so around the corner, enough for them to squeak by our left side. 

 In stepped Angel #3, if a somewhat gruff one, a motorcycle rider, still with helmet on, who had been waiting with other riders patiently enough behind our jammed vehicle for a chance to slip by and go down the apparently motorcycle only alleyway.  This Gruff Angel reached through my open window, telling me, in passable English, that he would turn my wheel for me.  And turn he did, yanking it to and fro, and telling me when to back up, when to stop, or when to move forward.  Like a robot, I worked the pedals in response to his terse commands.  It was our last, best hope of getting out of this mess!  And he got us through, albeit with a whole lot of help as well from Elaine on the other side, who kept me from scraping the walls with the right fender.  I wisely listened to her first, then the gruff Angel.

 

Roman Ruins in Piazza Armerina

With the 3 angels help, plus the guidance of my co-pilot in the right seat, we finally wedged through the turn, and everybody was happy, most especially Elaine and I as we made our way as quickly as possible out of town.  Greek ruins would have to wait for at least another day.  We headed West up the Southern coast before going inland to another ancient town set up in the hills West of looming Mt. Etna, Piazza Armerina.  There we toured fascinating Roman ruins before settling in for the night at Agriturisimo Torre di Renda, an old farmhouse outside the town refurbished into a Bed and Breakfast hotel.

Intricate pics and scenes woven into the floors of the Roman Ruins at Piazza Armerina

On the next day, a Wednesday, we meandered our way back to our timeshare near Palermo, stopping for a mid-day meal at a restaurant overlooking a beautiful natural stone formation called Turkish Stairs on the Northwestern Coast of Sicily.

Turkish Stairs on the Northern Sicily Coast

We still had hopes of catching sight of the so-far elusive Greek Theatre ruins located in a few places around Sicily.  But on Thursday, we headed first to the ancient walled city of Erice on the Northwestern Coast, near the larger coastal town of Trapani.  We wound our way up a narrow, switchbacking road, arriving in the parking lot just outside the walls of the town right about the time a torrential downpour began.  We had no umbrellas with us, so retreated to the car to wait out the torrent.  It didn’t look like it was going to let up anytime soon, though, so we reluctantly went back downhill without seeing inside the walled hill town of Erice.

 We had another nearby site in mind , an archealogical site overlooking the sea.   But it was closed due to high winds in the area; so no luck there either.  Then, on the way back to Palermo, we made one more stab at Segesta and the Greek Theatre there; but it was closed for some reason I cannot recall at this point.  Oh well.

Changing the subject just a bit, did I mention I gorged on Seafood while in Sicily?  Small wonder, really, since this was an Island after all, and fresh seafood was abundant. 

You don't eat the Head (at least I don't think you do!)

More Seafood, It was everywhere in Sicily

Something to wash down all that great Seafood - Corleone?  The Name sounds familiar!

 

We were now down to our last full day, a Friday, in Sicily, and we just had to go to nearby Trabia, about 15 miles East along the Northern Coast from our timeshare.  My very best friend from High School Years on, Lyn, had family history there, his Mother’s family having emigrated from Trabia to the USA in the early 1900’s. So off we went on one last jaunt.  Set along the Northern Coastline, with narrow cobblestoned streets and a lively main street bustling with commerce and company, Trabia was a real treat..  We had gelato at a corner café, walked through the narrow streets where Lyn’s ancestors had once lived, and generally greatly enjoyed this little town.  It was a nice send-off for our week in Sicily.

Trabia Steet Scenes

The next day, a Saturday, we took a hotel shuttle.. the rental car had already been turned in, sparing us the blood pressure spike of one more drive through the middle of Palermo… to the  Centrale, the Rail Station in the heart of that bustling city.  We’d flown in to Palermo, from Munich, but would now take a nearly 12 hour ride on the Trenitalia Intercity Train to Rome.  This was an interesting ride East along the Northern Coast of Sicily to Messina, separated from the Italian mainland by about ¾ mile of Seawater.  No problem – They loaded our train cars onto special ferries with rails, and off we went, picking up land on the other side and proceeding to Rome. It had been quite a memorable and enjoyable week in this Island Outpost SW of the "toe of the Boot".

Palermo Rail Station

Trenitalia Cars on the Ferry to the Mainland