Petersontravels

We checked out of the beautiful Villa Igiea Hotel and picked up our rental car.  Driving in Sicily is more than just a challenge, it requires you to completely rethink the driving process.  For example, if you leave a gap of maybe 4-5 car lengths in front then somebody is going to turn right in front of you.  They look for any opening and simply hope you’ll stop!

The Sicilian drivers also LOVE to tailgate!  There will be a line of cars in front of you but they will tailgate like you are the only car on the road!  Break-checking them does seem to help (which I thought was weird…maybe they are surprised by a slowish driver who is aggressive back?) but if I can’t see your headlights in the rear-view mirror we have a problem!  Also, when able I drive WELL over the speed limit, but I’m still a turtle to these people.  They will also pass you in highly dangerous ways just to be one car closer to the front of the line.  It could be 8-10 cars in a line on a windy road and they will go out of their way to move 3 to 4 cars up.  Absolutely THE worst drivers I have ever witnessed….and I’ve been to Korea!

Also, we were driving through an area with multiple Stop signs, but no real reason for them to be there (like adjacent to somebodies personal driveway).  Do NOT stop at these or you run the risk of getting rear ended!  Nobody stops or even slows down!

Our destination for the night was the little mountain town of Erice (pronounced like you are trying to say Eric Church while drunk) but first we had to stop at the Doric Temple of Segesta, which is on the way.  This is your first view of the temple from the parking lot.  Looks pretty cool!

The guy at the ticket counter told us to take the shuttle up to another site first, as it was just about ready to depart.  If you don’t mind really steep hiking with zero shade, then by all means skip the shuttle, but we found it well worth the extra 5 euros each, if nothing else to simply save on time.  The site to see here is the “Hellenistic Theatre of Segesta” that sits on Mount Barbaro.

The theater was built around the 3rd century BC by the Elymians/Greeks and later modified by the Romans.  It is carved directly into the natural rock of the hill with an excellent view looking towards the Mediterranean.

There are some other ruins nearby if you are really into archeological sites, but the theater was the highlight of the mountain top.  The main attraction here is the Doric Temple of Segesta, a very well-preserved ancient Greek temple built around 420 BC.

It is an unfinished temple, lacking a roof and internal walls.

It is also unique in that the large columns were never fluted (grooved) as are most Greek temples.

Another unique feature is that you are free to walk throughout the interior of the temple.

I loved the juxtaposition of the ancient temple columns set against the lush winery vineyard.

One last shot from the interior of the temple.

We then continued our road trip towards Erice, a very small town set on top of a mountain 2,460 feet in the sky.

The road to the top is a very VERY windy!  We even passed a huge bus!  Crazy!  This is the first view you see after you reach the entrance to the town, known as Porta Trapani.

After checking into the very cozy Hotel Elimo we took a pre-sunset walk.  Cars actually drive down these narrow streets!

There are numerous ceramic shops to browse through.

The streets all lead uphill from south to north, and at the north end of the town there are some gorgeous gardens with even more beautiful views.  It’s a photographers dream come true!  That is 2,162 foot Mount Cofano in the distance.

There are numerous excellent shots to be had.  The building to the right of this photo is Castello di Venere (Venus Castle), a 12th century Norman castle built over the ancient Phoenician and Roman temple dedicated to Venus.

The unique building is Pepoli Tower, a 19th century Art Nouveau building.  It was originally a private retreat for study and meditation, hosting artists.  It is now a small museum.  Pretty much everything closes early this time of year, so we were just happy to have the view!

Another shot of Mount Cofano from a viewpoint on Venus Castle.  Incredible view!

This is a viewpoint of Venus Castle from the west side, while it is still in full sunlight.  One of the benefits of staying here overnight is you get to see it at varying times of the day, with sunset being the bonus.  From nearby Trapani you can take a cable car up, but most people leave before sunset.

Our hotel has an incredible view from their restaurant, so we picked up a bottle of wine and watched the sunset from there.  I had a hard time getting both the sunset and the bottle in focus!

I’ve gotta say this wine was quite good and only 20 Euros in the local store.  We are really liking the Italian Grillo varietal!

One last shot of the Trapani salt flats and the Mediterranean as the sun sets.

The narrow streets are so beautiful at night!  This was on the way to dinner, as our hotel’s restaurant was unfortunately closed.

The next morning before checking out we visited the town’s main church known as the “Real Duomo”.  The exterior is quite spartan and looks more like a fortress than a church.

While the interior more than makes up for that.  This church was built in 1314 by King Frederick III of Aragon.  He commissioned the church to be built to express his gratitude to the local community after they provided him shelter.

The impressive ceiling is newer and was installed after the original ceiling collapsed in 1853.  I love the intricate detail!

I also love the scary motifs at the tops of the columns.  These were meant to ward off evil spirits, bad luck and demonic forces.  I think the California Golden Bears should put these all over their stadium!  Wow do they need to ward off some evil spirits!

I had to take one last photo as we were departing of this monk and nun enjoying gelato on their way up the street.

Up next, we make our way to Marsala, and enjoy some wine tasting as well as a tour of the local salt pans, while also running numerous Stop signs!

 

On our 3rd day in Palermo we took an Uber to the train station and headed to Cefalu, a gorgeous beach town just 50 minutes away by train.  Be warned, these trains get packed!  Line up early to ensure you get a seat.  We had no issues but others said they had to stand the entire way.  Just off the train is this map of Cefalu.  You don’t really need a map, this place is small.

It was raining lightly as we walked into town.  This is the main road through Cefalu.

Our first stop was the Duomo of Cefalu, one of the three Norman-Byzantine churches in Sicily.  Fortunately the rain had lifted after the short walk to the church.

Does this look familiar?  The Christ Pantocrator we saw in Monreale looks just like this one.

Here is a closeup to confirm they are pretty much the same.

The church is beautiful, no doubt, but I’ve gotta say it doesn’t hold a candle to the one in Monreale.  The stained glass windows are unique, but very new, having been created between 1985 and 1990.  They simply look like “modern art” to us, and if you have been reading our blog you will know we are not fans.

Outside of the Christ Pantocrator, the exterior is the best part of the church, particularly as it’s nestled up against “La Rocca di Cefalu”, the mountain that overlooks the town.

We then walked towards a spot with a waterfront view, and the personality of Cefalu is quite evident in it’s welcoming narrow pedestrian (mostly) streets.

A quick dodge to the right from the prior photo and you have this perfect view towards the west along the coastline.

A view worthy of a selfie!

There is a breakwater with some benches looking towards La Rocca.  This view might look familiar to those who watched White Lotus, Season 2, as one scene was shot right on that bench (it was supposedly in Palermo in the show).

Here is a shot of the same spot from a little further back.

While the weather continued to threaten there were several people enjoying the Mediterranean waters.

There was even a bit of surf!

Everybody was vying for a photo amongst these ancient seaside walls at Piazza Marina.  I was able to sneak Kim in there for a quick shot.

I thought this abandoned street made for a perfect photo!  Love the patterns in the cobblestone, particularly as they still have a shine from the morning rain.

We decided to try to make our way up to La Rocca, where you can hike up the side of the small mountain.  We saw these planters in the middle of the stairs on the way up.  Ceramics are a huge thing in Sicily.

This is the view looking back towards the ocean from the top of the same stairs.

When we got to the entrance of La Rocca we saw this line….and it was not moving.  I didn’t capture the entire thing…there were more people lined up to the right.

We didn’t plan to hike all the way up in the first place, just enough to get a better view, but with the line not moving we decided to simply take in the view from here.  I’ve gotta say, this was good enough!

After about a 6 minute walk downhill we were at the beach.  This spot was also a site for a White Lotus scene, as this beach was used for numerous times in the show.  The shots must have happened at a much lower tide, as there was hardly any beach left while we were there.

This stairwell to the beach was also in White Lotus, right at the beginning and at the end.  We just watched it for the second time right before we came on this trip.

Back in Palermo, at sunset, this was the view of the sky from our room.  This image was not altered, the sky literally looked that purple.  It even made the ocean look purple!  I’ve never seen anything quite like it!

The next morning we checked out, took an Uber to pick up our rental car, and headed towards our next stop, the mountain top village of Erice.