Sicily

Sicily. Oct 1st

Met Chris and co at airport by 3 and they were exhausted. We found our way to Cefalù to meet Sara the property manager. We followed her up the mountain, skirted the Italian “Stonehenge” and followed her through a break in the guardrail, up a steep driveway.  At the turn, the car stopped, wheels spun, rubber burned...everybody out!  With suitcases, and everything!  Up the second section to a beautiful home!  We picked our rooms, toured the whole place

then ventured into town for dinner.  We made our way down to the beach area and found a great restaurant on the promenade. 

There was a guitar player, who serenaded us almost thru the whole meal!  Dotty almost fell asleep in her dish!  We went back, and found the cut in the guardrail, and couldn’t get up again...everybody out!  Pretty funny!

  

Tues Oct 2

  

The day dawned sunny, but with some clouds moving in. We had arranged for a tour of the Valley of the Temples 2 hours away.  As we approached, the heavens opened up and the parking lot was a field of mud!  Sara was waiting for us at the ticket office   We couldn’t even get to her for the river of mud!  We bought ponchos and umbrellas and proceeded to trek up the mountain.

The Valley is spread out below the modern city of Agrigento towards the sea. The area has been inhabited since prehistoric times.  The first organized settlement dates from 581 BC and was one of the last Greek colonies in Sicily.   The Valley is a UNESCO world heritage site. The temples were amazing. What got us was the antiquity. Of the remaining temples, the Temple of Hercules is believed to be the oldest dating from the 6th century BC!

Temple of Concordia is the only one to survive and is relatively in tact. Over time, depending on who was invading, the temples then became churches, modified, and then reverted back to temples. Concordia was built around 430BC and was converted into a Christian basilica in the 6th century AD.

The Temple of Juno was partially destroyed by an earthquake in the Middle Ages. There is a long altar originally used for sacrifices. There are traces of red likely the result of fire damage from the Carthaginian invasion of 406 BC.

The Temple of Jupiter is the largest one and would have been the largest Doric temple ever built if the construction wasn’t interrupted by the Carthaginians. The temple was destroyed by an earthquake but remnants of a sculpted man with arms raised are still evident. The arms were intended to support the temple’s weight.

We concluded the tour amazed, by the early dates of this site.  We found a lunch place and by now, the rain had stopped, and the sun ventured out.  We decided we’d shop on the way home for dinner and relax. Finding the supermarket was a challenge, and by the time we were done, the heavens opened once again.  We couldn’t get up the driveway...so up we walked, schlepping bags and umbrellas!

Dinner was great, prepared by Chris...chicken and veal and pasta with pesto.  Sara had left us a beautiful cake...we were happy!

Wed Oct 3

Today dawned cloudy and we decided to explore Cefalù central.  Cefalù is a beachside town on the northern Tyrrhenian coast. The mountain I termed “Stonehenge” is simply called La Rocco (the rock).  The town consists of medieval streets and historic sights.

It was a small Greek settlement dating from the 5th century BC.  Again, the antiquity gets me!  It was later captured by the Romans, only later to become an Arab stronghold!  Then came the Normans, determined to erase any trace of Eastern influence in 1064.   Roger II, (Ruggiero) commissioned the building of an impressive cathedral in 1131 and Cefalù became the seat of a most powerful bishopric.

We ambled through the medieval streets to the duomo, enjoying the sights, while walking between the raindrops.  The interior of the church is plain, until you get to the vaulted apse.

It is decorated with some of the most beautiful mosaics in all of Sicily.  The central figure of Christ holding an open bible, portrays Him with a truly human expression. The row under Jesus is the Blessed Mother, flanked by archangels and the row beneath that is the apostles.  Truly works of art.

We returned home again, just before another downpour.  When the thunder and lightening began, with multiple power outages, we decided to remain in again for dinner.  Dotty created. a gourmet meal, seemingly from nothing!  Tomorrow we have an early call.  We have to be in Taormina by 9:30, and it’s a 2 1/2 hr ride to get there!

Thursday Oct 4, 2018

We left the house by 7:40 am, to meet our guide, Chiara, in Taormina.  After the introductions, she joined us in our car for the ride up Etna. I don’t know what I expected, but this was not it!  Mt Etna is Sicily’s prominent landmark and is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. Eruptions and lava floes have occurred as recently as 2005.

Chiara was a wealth of historical knowledge, and she went over again, the chronology of the invaders. We climbed the south side of the mountain from the seaside, and were amazed by the black landscape...the black of course being the hardened lava. We stopped a number of times for photo ops, and made it to the summit. We passed a number of bikers and didn’t envy them in the least! I couldn’t imagine biking that!

At the top, we spent some time in the cantina and bought sweatshirts. I can’t find our jackets...probably left them somewhere in Croatia. Then we went over to the lower craters, and only Danny and I ventured out...truly amazing!

Upon leaving Etna, we returned to Chiara’s car, then followed her to Giardini Noxos,and Taormina. The seaside towns were picture perfect. Chiara took us to a great restaurant, where we had a great meal...we ate like famads! While we ate, the heavens opened, curtailing any further exploration of the town. It took almost 3 hours to get home where we crashed after an exhausting day!

Friday, Oct 5

Today we tried to reach the mountainous outcrop but to no avail. However, the photo ops were great.

We then ventured into Collesano, the Paese of the Capece boys! We meandered thru the town, church was closed. We found the family name on a WWI monument, assuming they were ancestors. Our stomach clocks went off so we found a lil place to eat and the owner treated us like royalty! When someone else asked if we spoke Italian, he pointed to me and said, “only this one!” I felt complimented!

Came back home by 3, and finally had an opportunity to enjoy the house/pool/ and patios. Dinner tonight, somewhere in town.

We ventured along the main thoroughfare, and had dinner at Il Normanno, which Vic had found in his search.  The town was preparing for a go-cart race the next day, so Lenny had to leave us off, and find parking.  By now we were familiar with the city, so he went back to the main parking lot of the first night.  Dinner was great (as they all seem to be) and the stroll back to the car was just the thing needed for digestivo!

Once again, we left the van at the lower level, happy to know it was our last climb!  Tomorrow, it's off to Terrenovo di Paolino.