After leaving Segesta the day before we drove to Erice and spent the night at Hotel Moderna in Erice.  The weather continued to be quite cool and windy so we checked in and relaxed a bit before very short walk to dinner.  It seemed like we had gorged ourselves on seafood the last couple days and the nights dinner was veal and lamb chop centered.  We were definitely not let down.

The morning brought little change in the weather outlook.  Laura did some needed computer time, Karen and Scot got in a bit of souvenir buying, and I ran out to grab some photos and move the car before we got a parking ticket.  By 10 o’clock we were moving on down the road to Selinunte and the ruins located there. Selinunte welcomed us with 20 minutes of of wind blown coolness before we retreated to the relative comfort of the visitors center to let a 15 minute rain shower pass.  With a bit of hesitancy we ventured back outside and were able to spend a relaxed hour or so walking, touring, and climbing around and through the Greek temple and city ruins.  Most of the fellow tourists had given up for the day so we had the place pretty much to ourselves.  The sun peaked out now and then and gave us a bit of a rainbow. over the fluted columns.

Bits and pieces of Erice

The gardening flower Alyssum grows wild here and sprouts out of cracks and crevices every where.

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Good things come to those who persevere.

The scale of these ruins compared to that which we had seen at Segesta was astounding.

Scot for scale. The columns had a diameter of at least 8 feet at the base.

Looking pretty cute!

Olive trees with pines in the background.

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Laura, playing the warrior princess thing again.

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Oh look!! Gelato for dessert.  Can you believe it??

We are driving a counter clockwise tour around Sicily and checking out the ancient ruins that exist at various locations.  The weather was threatening rain as we loaded the car and grabbed breakfast in town before starting out.  From Cefalu we drove west through the now pouring rain, past Palermo and Monreale and on to the remains of what is described as the best preserved Doric temple in the world at the town of Segesta.  The weather had turned in our favor with the sun peeking out but the temperature had dropped a bit and the wind was whistling making for a cooler than expected visit.  As the photos show the temple is truly in remarkable condition for having been built around 430 BC by the Elymian people of Sicily.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segesta

After a few hours of touring the site we grabbed some lunch.  Karen managed to polish off a gelato even in the brisk weather but loved the warmth of car.  We traveled the short distance to our overnight location the hilltop town of Erice which Laura and I had visited previously.

Click the photos to enlarge them.

We loved the fact that even though this archaeological park is not more than 2 miles from the autostrad there were not more than 100 people there while we visited. It made for an easy time of taking photos without people in them.

You can’t always get photos without people.

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Apparently the temple was never finished according to the reference material. Part of the support for this argument is that the columns are not fluted.

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Thank you Sicily for not ruining this place and keeping it natural.

The Greek theater.

Scot and I both thought the seat cushion concession was the real money maker here.

One last shot and then on to Erice for the night.

Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012

We picked up Karen and Scot at the airport just outside of Palermo at 3 in the afternoon.  Aside from a bit of lack of sleep the travelers were in good spirits and ready to hit the sightseeing trail.  Karen had mentioned wanting to see the mosaics at the cathedral in Monreale so off we went for a bit of touring before the drive back to Cefalu and dinner.  Even though Laura and I had been here just a week or so earlier the church held new surprises as we took in a side chapel not seen previously and purchased the audio tour headsets which did a wonderful job of filling in where the tour guide books ended.

Back in Cefalu we freshened up and headed down into town for a little local introduction, glimpses of a wonderful sunset, a fantastic huge seafood dinner, and some street surprises.  After the requisite second gelato of the day we headed back up and hit the bed before the first full day of touring ahead.

Back in the cathedral at Monreale.

Doing their best to look like tourists. What do you think?

Mosaic details.

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Putting a lip lock on the gelato. With Makiato in hand. What a multi tasker!!!

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Really, there is no connection between the sign and Karen.

The sun and the sea teaming up to be show offs!

Meanwhile in the other direction. Hello Cefalu`

An Officer and a Gentleman Italian style.

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Taking it to the streets.

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A little late night shopping for the essentials.

The main piazza in town.

Table side wave action during dinner.

The ‘twins’ having just one more gelato before calling it a night.

With all this Italian wining and dining we have to get out and burn some serious calories from time to time. Wednesday was forecast to be a sunny but not too hot day, so we decided to try another hike, this one recommended by our host (and most excellent long distance concierge) Jerry. The trailhead was located adjacent to a nearby church, Gibilmanna, which we had visited last week.  We found it easily and set off into the cool morning woods. Before long though, the trail began to descend, and seeing as this was supposed be a hike to the TOP of a mountain, we began to doubt that we were on Jerry’s trail. We went back to the trailhead and set out again, this time looking for a fork that would take us up, rather than down, but we couldn’t find one. There happened to be an elderly couple hunting for mushrooms nearby, and Laura used her limited Italian to say something that probably translated to “We like walk UP mountain. Is this way?” The gentleman provided lots and lots of instructions in Italian, clearly sending us back to the beginning of the path, and telling us, we think, to walk through the church, not around it. Huh? After a bit more wandering, and no doubt some trespassing, we found a paved path behind the church that led through the Stations of the Cross, and up to an outdoor chapel. From there we followed a woodland trail that led us to a road…by this point we had no idea where we were heading, but it was quiet and pretty, and at least it was going up. The road finally ended at a communication tower, and another man, some kind of worker, was parked there. Thank goodness, because he showed us another path and told us that it went all the way to the top, where we’d be able to see in all directions. A short distance later, we reached the summit where we were indeed rewarded with 360-degree views of Sicilian landscape.

We lingered on the summit for a time. The views were softened by morning mistiness, and we could hear the shouts and whistles of Sicilian “cowboys” moving cattle in the valley below. We also could see a dramatic example of one of the many wildfires that have burned in Sicily this fall: the better part of an entire valley to our east was scorched and blackened, burned literally to the rocky cliffs where we stood.

For our afternoon activity, we decided to drive out to an “amazing” restaurant that was off the beaten path but worth the effort, according to Jerry. We set off, directions in hand including an amusing instruction to pass through a “little arch thingy”, and all was well until we reached a critical turn and found the road completely closed off due to maintenance on the “thingy” (which by the way went under a railroad line).  Not to be discouraged we proceeded to the next little arch thingy and figured we could make our way back to where the restaurant was. Don’t know if the pictures really convey it, but we found ourselves bumping along on some very back roads, more like driveways, that were access roads for a string of small farm plots, maybe 2 acres each. We saw fennel, cabbage, squash, and even some scraggly grapevines. People clearly doing what they could to make a modest living.

Predictably the road we were on ended. Reversed course to the main road and forgot about the little arch thingies. We drove till the main road crossed over the tracks, and made our way back to La Campagnola. The reward was a beautiful patio, great food, and an adorable young dog that made himself comfortable near our table, but never begged.

There was a last chapter to this day. In the late afternoon, when we were back home, a storm blew in with thunder, lightening, wind, and hail. About 15 minutes into it we lost power at the house, but we were well stocked with candles and flashlights, so we managed just fine.  We texted Jerry to let him know and he assured us power would be restored soon, and also let us know that the candlelight “Romance Package” was all inclusive!

Not exactly a soft forest floor.

The Mediterranean is in the background and you can see the burned area across the central portion of the photo.

Looking over the burned landscape.

Another view of the burn.

This is a relatively large file showing an almost 360 degree view fro the top.  Click on the image for an enlarged view.

The back road to lunch.

Don’t tell the rental company we went down these roads.

We landed.

The mussels and clams were fantastic!!!

Looking good.

Our new best friend was so well behaved.

Action shot of the evening hail storm.

The hail knocked the brake dust off the wheels on the car.

Mid day walk along the water front in Cefalu`

Lover’s locks on a sign post.

Three wheelin’ produce truck.

Laura sealing the deal on some peaches.

We both thought this model was our niece Nora!!

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I had to wonder just how many nets this man had made in his lifetime.

I have “gone to the dogs” twice in this blog so far and the mutts will most likely be back for a few more posts before we get home.  They are just simpler to get good photos of than cats.  And, I must admit I am not a huge cat fan.  In an effort to be fair and trying to be balanced in the interests of those who might be folowing the blog I managed to finally compile enough good cat photos to put together a posting of the feline side of Italy.

A few of these might actually be some ones pet, but since none  have collars it is a bit difficult to be certain.  The majority of the cats are quite suspicious and not real prone to doing anything that resembles a pose for you.   If you try to bend down and get on their level that is an invitation for them to scamper off under a car or down the narrow street and out of sight.  So to the cat lovers out there here is one for you.  If you have better captions for any image please add them in a reply.  Identify which cat it goes with.

I am not going to look at the camera for any reason.

A little rough around the edges.

Looking for dinner out in the shrubs.

This is so embarrassing.

Busted!!

Hey! We are trying to take a nap over here.

The torn ear and scarred face tells me this is definitely a street cat.

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There is another one of the “camera people”.

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Monday morning we took off on the road again toward the SW portion of Sicily, south of Palermo, and the towns of Corleone and Prizzi.  You may recognize these as the names so much a part of the “The Godfather” and “Prizzi’s Honor” movies.  This region of Sicily is quite rural and intensely farmed, but in a way, and with a look, that is dramatically different than what we are used to back home.  The land is both much steeper and rockier than what we would consider good farm land.  In a pinch it might pass as native pasture land.  Here, we saw the results of clearing the fields of cobbles and huge boulders into piles and long rows so that the land could be worked.  The steepness of the fields only allows them to be plowed in the downhill direction.  After which the tractor, with plow raised, travels back up hill in the unworked section to then start plowing a new portion.  The cost of diesel per acre plowed must be extremely high.  Gasoline for the car costs $8.85 a gallon!!!

We spent some time travelling dirt roads to get a closer look at the fields and some of the old abandoned farmhouses which dot the country side.  At lunch we ran into a young man who had been born in NYC but had moved back to Sicily almost 20 years ago.  He said that work in Sicily is hard to find and that one has to work long hours.  When we asked him about the amount of wildfires we had seen across the land he replied that many of the fires are intentionally set with the hope that the results will lead to work for the locals to repair the damage caused by them.   Kind of a weird catch 22 scenario.

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We saw numerous small flocks of sheep being moved to new pastures by modern day shepherds.

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Getting all of the cobbles and boulders out of the way is job one.

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If you look close there is a tractor on the right side of the drainage and just above the center of the frame.

Apparently there was a significant amount of immigration out of Sicily and to the U.S.during the late 1800 and early 1900’s. These numerous abandoned farmhouses may date from that time.

The wide open spaces of central Sicily. This cliff outcrop ran across the country side for some distance.

More rock clearing evidence.

Thank God he was wearing undies!!!!! Tidey whities.

The mosaic pattern in the piazza in front of the church in Bisaquino.

More sweaters on the move.

Laura got me with the iPhone.

This past Saturday and Sunday we chose to just hang out in town and around the house.  The temps were in the upper 70’s and it was a bright sunshiny day. On Saturday mornings there is a large market on the edge of town which is just down the road from us.  After just one wrong turn we found it and though we really didn’t need anything we walked the length of stalls looking at what was being offered.  This was primarily a clothing market but did have a good “food section” which offers more action and photo opportunities as the local clientele decide what to do for dinner.  The unwritten food handling rules differed from what we observed in the markets in the lakes district around Como.  Here, people would most often choose their own produce and had no qualms about squeezing or looking over anything they might be considering.  This was in contrast to the hands off policy found to the north.

We went into town each day to stroll along the streets and get a daily dose of gelato.  On Saturday we solved our internet connectivity problem at the same time as we ate gelato.  We used the shop’s WiFi and sat at a table on the edge of the piazza.  Problem deliciously solved and at a better price point.  It was pizza for dinner at one of Jerry’s favorite spots in town and then back up to the house.   Sunday we did some shopping at the grocery store and I cooked dinner at home in the evening.  Ready for the road on Monday.

Let’s go shopping.

Pony tail bands

You can even get those hard to find items here!

One of the shop keepers.

Smoked fish.

Mounds of sun dried tomatoes and salted capers.

It took me a few seconds to figure out what this frugal shopper was doing to the tomatoes. Since they are sold by weight she was pulling of the little green stems before they were weighed!

Plums tossed into the paper cone that is the take away container.

If one egg plant is good…..

Then this is heaven.

Fresh shrimp to go.

Music in the main piazza steps.

Keeping up with old friends.

Old doors with rusted metal grills along the old fishing center on the water front.

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The guys hangin’ in the piazza.

At one time this looks like it was a fine hotel in the center of town.

Palermo was so much fun let’s go back!!  Well, let’s just drive through it on our way further west to see more of Sicily.  The plan was to take the back roads on the way west and then return via the autostrade later in the day.  Getting through the craziness of Palermo was interesting for a short stretch.  The flow in the direction we were going was at a standstill for some reason that we never did figure out.  This caused the drivers behind us to drive in the left lanes, going head to head with oncoming traffic.  So the picture is, we are standing still next to the double parked cars.  Oncoming traffic is next to my left side as it passes their own line of double parked cars.  Then the folks behind me decide that since they want to turn left a bit up ahead, they can drive on the far side of the oncoming traffic and then make the turn.  No traffic lights, stop signs, or cops.  Yeah a few horns were honking and there were some hand gestures that had various meanings but amazingly no bent fenders.  We shook our head sat still and eventually got past the hiccup.

On to the “backroads”.  These are two lanes roads that meander up the hills in sharp switchbacks and go through the center of numerous small villages.  Because of the extremely narrow roads, and street parking which is common in most of the small towns, household trash has to be taken and deposited in dumpsters sporadically placed along the roadside.  We had this up at Lake Como and it is the system in Cefalu also.  It seems to work pretty well but is a surprise to see people stop, hop out of their car and deposit their trash bags and recycling.  We were shocked after leaving Palermo that the usual stand of 6 small dumpsters was quite often completely overwhelmed with bags of garbage lying in a heap.  It sometimes stretched beyond the dumpsters for 50 yards or more along the roadside.   This went on for mile after mile.  We were totally confused since we had been told by so many people how beautiful Sicily is and this just did not fit with what we had expected.  It struck us as similar to the images we see when some big city trash hauling union goes on strike and the trash piles up.

We did eventually get through this and I will say that as we proceeded west the country changed to vineyards, olive groves, and plowed fields awaiting planting.  Throw in a sprinkling of thousand foot high rock outcrops, old stone walls defining field outlines and ancient houses, and a much more picturesque landscape surrounded us.  We visited the monochromatic town of Erice and bought a few pieces of wonderful pottery before finally heading back to Cefalu for the evening.

The narrow and uniquely designed roads and pavement in Erice.

We are way up above the valleys through which we traveled. More switchbacks to drive.

The requisite town castle!

Everything in the town, with the exception of the bench slats, was made from the same very pale grey limestone. There was very little variation in color anywhere.

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We did not buy this large vase but there are some items being shipped to Texas.

Wide loads go elsewhere.

There is that cute girl smiling at me again.

We decided to travel an hour to the west to the ‘big city’ of Palermo in order to purchase something that would allow us to get online.  The challenge is caused by a weak cell signal at the house which does not allow for downloading files in a timely manner.   Traffic in the central portion of Palermo is controlled chaos.  There are almost no traffic signals to stem the flow of cars into and out of intersections that sometimes have three or four streets entering.  On top of that we spent an hour in the Vodafone store front, aided by the nicest guy who had lived in New York for 14 years and spoke perfect English and could act as an intermediary for us.  The store attendant was extremely helpful and try as she would, the VF folks would not accept our credit or debit cards for some unexplained reason.  As Laura wrestled with the internet monster I sat for the most part in the car, double parked along with many others on a very busy main street and watched the everyday interactions in this stream of life.  The first two images capture the total difference with how the typical city in the States works.  It is interesting that the traffic makeup is different than it was in Milan.  In Milan the number of motorcycles and bicycles make up a large portion of the commuting.  In Palermo the auto is king by far.

After throwing in the towel with regard to the internet we did walk a bit through a part of the city before we headed to the town of Monreale about 5 miles away.  The main attraction here is the Santa Maria la Nuova cathedral and its interior which is adorned with what is regarded as the world’s best preserved mosaic art works.  The cathedral was built between 1174 and 1189.  We will be visiting this building again in a week or so when my niece arrives to stay with us.

Motorized wheelchair out in traffic and moving along.

Delivering the beef to a shop from a truck parked out in the street.

Either Cabela’s is going to open a new store or they are useful for keeping the pigeons away.

These beautiful statuary were on each of the four corners of the intersection.

As always another church to step into and admire.

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This church was set in a large piazza in the city which gave it a bit of quiet in the hectic-ness that surrounded it.

The central nave was much less decorated.

The repeated domes on the side aisles let in some wonderful light.

These are made by Vespa! Maybe we could air condition them and import to Houston.

The following photos are of the cathedral in Monreale.

The mosaic artwork from the late 1100’s.

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Confessionals along the side wall.

The interior courtyard of the cloister.

The end of the building is narrower than the butt end of a smart car! And keep in mind that the walls are probably 10 inches thick on each side.

After an overnight at the edge of Asissi, we travelled east into parts of Italy we have never seen: Le Marche, and Abruzzo. Our target this time was the town of Montedinove, where we hoped to see two apartments. The landscape along our drive was distinctively different from Tuscany. Heading west to east, it began with winding, and narrow valleys as we passed through the Appenine Mountains. We had an amusing stop in the town of Noccia, at the entrance to the “Parco Nazionali dei Monti Sibillini”. Popping in through the old town’s walls we were surprised by all the activity. Wandering further we began to see quirky storefronts decked elaborately with wild boar taxidermy, and all manner of other pig related stuff. The shops were bursting with smoked and processed pork products. We never did figure out exactly what the town was about, (and never encountered another non-Italian speaker), but our best guess was that this was the Italian answer to Estes Park, with pork shops substituted for the endless fudge shops of American tourist traps.

As we drove through the park and beyond, the valleys widened but were still very rolling with many steep hillsides. Most of the land was being actively cultivated, but unlike Tuscany, the slopes were not terraced. It was hard to imagine someone pulling a plow up and down these very steep slopes, but much of the area was obviously freshly plowed. It created an intriguing  landscape that was both beautiful and like nothing we have seen before, anywhere.

The drive on to Montedinove took us into a very remote part of Abruzzo. Why there were two vacation rentals in this tiny little hill town in the middle of nowhere is a mystery, but if we wanted a quiet town for a base, this would fit the bill. The village was immaculate and well maintained…we wondered if portions of it had been re-built at some time, because the building materials were more modern than what we typically encounter. This village is probably not the place for us, but we still loved the fun of finding it, and are always happy for a reason to take the road less traveled.

Espresso in hand and planning the day.

To the east through the Apennines.

All hogs and nothing else.

The inside of all these shops pretty much looked the same.

Cute huntnick!

Cute decorations

A pick up soccer match in the town piazza.

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Trying to look at the countryside as I drove was tough to do.

Monte di Nove as a beautiful little town but just toooooo quiet.

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Not on the menu.

OK. Get me out of the car and on to Sicily!!