Visit to Sicily and Italy Part 1     

 September 2017

 

Our group with Lakshmi Travels has covered many, many destinations.   Each place surprised, delighted, educated and entertained us, but none more than Italy.   It had a combination of all the adventurous elements plus pure pleasure like fabulous views,  pizza, cappuccinos and gelato!   Yes, we made good use of it all!   From the awe-inspiring cathedrals housed in sun drenched piazzas to the true blue oceans, from nature at its worst like Mt. Etna to the ancient ruins that told their own stories from the past, it was all a riotous run through time and space and now we are back, left to figure out what it was all about!  Two packed weeks of a well researched itinerary put together by Lakshmi for us exclusively!  Let me tell you, looking at your photos will not help much as every town had a gate, a cathedral and a piazza, as Shankar put it, a  GCP!   The only way to make sense is to take it from day one and try to relive our own special memories.

This time we were 28 people in our group, some old friends and a few new.   Coming from different directions, we met in Rome and caught our connecting flight to Palermo.   When we were picked up at the airport in a very large, luxurious bus with a friendly driver, we were happy to discover that we would be travelling in the same vehicle all through up to Rome, even crossing to the mainland on a ferry which would carry the bus.   We made it our second home for the next  two weeks, almost!  Palermo is an important city in Sicily.   We had  plans to visit several places in Sicily including the famous volcano, Mt. Etna.

 In Palermo

Our tour manager was Mr. Anil Edwin  who stayed with us throughout and the local guide in Palermo, Roberta.   She introduced us to the city by saying that the piazza in the Roman style was from 1874 and the main opera house was one of the biggest and best in the world. The city also got its name having a big port (pan-ormos).   It is a town set in the plains, surrounded by hills.   It has two main cathedrals.  She alerted us to the fact that the architecture style here is Norman combined with Arabian as Muslim talent also went into the design.  In the 9^th to 11^th centuries, there were 300 mosques in Palermo which were later changed to churches, some retaining vestiges of their heritage.   The two major structures actually compete with each other – one built by the Archbishop and a later more elaborate one in nearby Monreale by the king, who only accepted the supremacy of Jesus and not other Church authorities.  Located on a higher elevation and built over 20 years, inside it is decorated with 24 ct. gold and colored marble and shows subtle traces of Al Hambra Islamic art.  Virgin Mary holding the child and also a portrait of Jesus and painted wood ceilings are its hallmarks.   Later we checked out the other cathedral, simpler but with a huge organ and miracles depicted on its walls, stories from the Old Testament, including Noah’s Arc.

The guide briefly alluded to the Mafia as she gave our tour.   From what we could figure out, it had started as a group to help people from injustice but had evolved in a different direction.  As we drove through town,  the sharp eyed ones on the bus caught sight of a “Rasalakshmi Saree store” that led to a lively discussion of who the owners might be and indeed who shopped there!  We headed back to the hotel for free time and a few made it in time to take the Opera House  inside tour, it was fairly close to the hotel.   The rest, jet lagged,  rested, then headed out to get the first of the fabulous cappuccinos nearby.   We also walked over to check the view of some marble statues by night, quite a rare sight.

Views along the drive

Marsala was our next destination the following day.  It was a small town with a population of 85,000 and made famous by its gate entrance facing the sea from which Garibaldi came from Southern Italy and unified Sicily.  Besides the decorative gate, there was a lovely garden and museum with ficus trees .  Garibaldi’s memorabilia as well pictures of the soldiers who came with him were inside. We could also view some ancient Greek costumes.  We had a unique lunch with pasta in a creamy pistachio sauce and a very large plate of fried vegetables and rolls.   More on the food later, but suffice to say that the three or four leisurely courses at lunch each day set us back couple of hours on our sight seeing throughout Sicily!

Greek Ruins at Agrigento

We drove through the stark countryside (it had been a very dry rainless summer everywhere in Sicily and Italy) and yet the crops were thriving, mostly olives and grapes used for wine.  Our itinerary was mostly near the coastline as we drove around the island of Sicily and the frequent glimpses of the blue seas coupled with the delightfully sunny weather was a real treat. We were heading for the Greek ruins of Agrigento, known as the Valley of Temples dated between 510 and 430 BC.        They did not disappoint.   Even from a distance we could see the magnificent ruins situated on a small hilltop.   Located adjacent to each other, the first one we saw was the temple of Zeus and Hera, brother and sister from Greek mythology who married each other.  This edifice was not very well preserved,  though huge.  Engineers had declared it to be a marvel of mathematics and symmetry. Only men were allowed inside the temple in the Greek period and animal sacrifice was common.

As we walked along after getting a sneak peak of the town below and the ocean in the distance, we could see what our guide described as areas where coffins had been lodged on the walls where sometimes whole families were “buried”.   Some even had a view having portions that had broken down, “a coffin with a view” as our guide joked.  It was a long walk in the hot sun, but totally worth it!   Especially the Temple of Concorde that was intact with minimal damage – in the glow of the late afternoon, it stood majestic and impressive, a testimony to the engineering skills of its ancient builders.  Some structures, such as this one,  were later used as Churches and were restored in later centuries. Not any more, in fact no one could go inside.

Wholesome Food, Delicious Cannolis

That night at our hotel, we were served eggplant parmigiana, but to the delight of vegans and those looking for low calories, it had no bread or cheese!   Red sauce was also rare in these parts of Sicily.  The cannoli we had somewhere for desert were so delicate and scrumptious, we threw caution to the winds and just ate it all!  Such authentic, wholesome food.   Eggplant was the star of the show everywhere as our group was all vegetarian!

Siracusa

The drive over every mile of Italy was so scenic, full of new sights around every bend, gently rolling hills, neatly laid out  vineyards, now covered in plastic to prevent birds from nibbling the almost ready- to- harvest grapes.  However, as in many other places we have visited previously, the human population seems to be limited to cities.   In the countryside, we could barely see adults, leave alone children or animals.   Anytime someone sighted a human, there was much excitement on our bus.  At our next destination, Siracusa, lunch was at an old restaurant with character.   Wine casks and bottles lined the walls.   We were served salad and spaghetti, topped off with local grapes.   Gave us a chance to go out and taste the gelato in the market place in so many flavors.  It was amazing how the standard of gelato in all of Sicily and Italy was consistently high  though the price varied.   Pistachio was by far the top flavor with our group, with variations of chocolate or hazelnut coming in second!

Then we took a walking tour of the town and were shown a cathedral that was converted from a Greek temple with art work by a famous artist.  I think this town was Siracusa,  quite magnificent with its squares and cathedrals.  The entire square was so huge, stretching over a vast area, it was a pleasure to just be there on that sun- drenched day,  quintessential Italy!

Mt. Etna, Famous Volcano

We stayed at the luxurious Hilton Naxos Giardini  hotel in Taormina and were happy with the lobby and rooms.   Located in the  Taormina Riviera area, it was on the beach and we did make some brief visits to walk along the water, but the sand was so coarse and full of pebbles!   In the evening, we sat by the deserted pool enjoying the ambiance, taking pictures and generally making the most of the free time and company.  Early next morning we left for Mt. Etna, one of the highlights of the Sicily visit.   It was about a two hour ride up the mountain with hairpin bends.   But the drivers here are so good, we had no moments of fear.   After the bus dropped us off at 6,200 ft. elevation, it was the usual wait for the rest rooms.   Believe it or not, this restaurant had only one with a line that snaked out for miles.  That set us back almost an hour and prevented us from taking the tour of the immediately located dormant volcano.   We were haphazardly moved into lines that took us to the cable car ride reaching 8,200 ft.  Our group got split up!  Other countries should learn tourist organization from the US.   We also spent our spare change in Italy by often paying for rest rooms that charged a Euro or 50 cents  in many places.

                              

Mt. Etna did not disappoint.   The cable car (unfortunately with tinted windows) took us close to miles of solidified black lava.   For some reason the authorities were constantly smoothing out these rocks with earth moving equipment.   On reaching the top, we took 4 x 4 bus rides to a higher elevation of 9,600 ft. and walked up the incline toward a secondary crater.   It was super windy on top with grit blowing in our faces.   The slopes were slippery as well.   In the interest of safety, I did not make it to the rim of the volcano though some in our group did.  But what we saw was unique and one of a kind experience.

From a distance we had seen the lovely  tranquil views and we also saw this aspect of nature that has been very destructive in the past.   The active volcano had spewed less than a year ago and in 2001 the big eruption had destroyed the cable  lift chairs and many structures nearby.   Still it was a popular tourist destination, an experience to be remembered.  We had our lunch right there. Next, as we drove on, must confess some of us were lazy to avail of the opportunity to walk down to the ancient stadium as the afternoon sun was beating down too.   It was reported later to be beautiful with view of Mt Etna and the ocean in the distance. Even now it is used by the local people for concerts.   Indulged in some little shopping for souvenirs instead and tasted the lovely fresh squeezed orange juice of the region.

After a somewhat tense day, we had ample time to relax over dinner at the hotel.     We decided to have an exclusive ladies table and let down our inhibitions and giggled like schoolgirls!   One interested Italian waiter, also gauging our mood, light-heartedly teased some of the ladies and we in turn used the chance to totally rag the chosen ones, but it was all in fun and well taken!  Italians are not one for delicacy, the waiter grabbed our plates and threw the bread down on the tablecloths (all with a smile) so he could serve the next course.   Another observation, in Italy you have to literally beg for a bread plate, butter or olive oil!  As for crushed red pepper, we got smart and bought our own!  Thanks Saroja, for supplying the whole group!  I could even bring some home.  We loved the moon shaped small plates that took up less room and fitted in with our large plates.

Taormina Ocean Views

Taormina was the last stay- over on our tour of Sicily before we had the exciting ride on a boat that transferred our bus itself across the straight of Messina!  So we had gone all around Sicily, covered the main attractions, seen the Tyrrhenian Sea on the North, Mediterranean to the West and South, and the Ionian sea on the East!  On to Reggio Calabria on the mainland of Italy, the southernmost tip of the boot toe shape of Italy!  While our bus was left on the lower level along with other vehicles, we went up on the open decks and enjoyed the beautiful views and the robust sea breeze.  The ride was not very long and soon we boarded our bus and drove right out.  If we had been impressed by Sicily, the mainland of Italy far surpassed it and as we drove and covered the miles, all the way to Rome and some of us further to Siena, Florence and Pisa, we just marveled at how much was packed away by way of beauty and variety in this small country, and we did not even see everything that could be seen!