Brief Sicily Synopsis

October 9 through 17th, 2005

We were two women in our early thirties traveling to Sicily for the very first time. We rented a car and stayed four nights in the Palermo area, two in central Sicily near Enna, and two in Taormina. Our trip was a combination of cultural and natural highlights, no beach time, alas, the weather did not cooperate. All in all we had an excellent trip and plan to return again when time and funds cooperate.

Our itinerary:

Day 1: Monreale, Palermo

Day 2: Driving back roads, Cefalu, Pollina

Day 3: Selinute, Segesta, Erice

Day 4: more back roads, Enna, Calascibetta

Day 5: Villa Romana, Caltagirone

Day 6: Taormina

Day 7: Mt. Etna, more backroads driving, Capo d'Orlando

Day 8: Small town driving south of Catania, fly to Malta

Best Advice: If driving, bring two maps and two guide books, preferably one with city maps. Signs can be haphazard. Whether driving or not, learn the words for "Where is…", "Strait", "Left", "Right"

Best Bargain: Home Away from Home B&B: Toto and Kathy went above and beyond the call of duty to make our stay hassle free and comfortable. Knowing our reluctance to handle the traffic in Palermo, our host was kind enough to drive us into Monreale and Palermo, such generosity took our breath away. All this and very good rates as well.

Favorite Unexpected Surprise: Pollina, a hill town near Castelbuono, stunning views, few tourists, charming in every respect.

Least Favorite Aspect: Parking – everywhere. It was good day when we could find parking easily, cheaply and close by. Finding the Arciological Zone in Calentini It us over an hour to finally locate the place, only to find it closed, sigh

Surprising Difficulty: Finding a good meal. The best meal we had was Il Giardiano in Taormina the worst at the Grotto Azzure in Taormina, both priced about the same. Many of the meals would have an excellent first course followed by a mediocre second, or vice versa. Having said that, we found the seafood to be uniformly excellent.Next time we'll plan our eating a little better

If you like to drive: Take the back roads through the Nebordi mountains. Stunning views around every corner. Learn to use your horn around those blind corners as the locals do. Keep an eye on your passenger side mirror in those small mountain towns.

Don't miss:

Monreale

Segesta

Erice

Mt. Etna on a clear day

Accommodation: We had a positive experience in every place we stayed. Four nights at the Home Away from Home B&B in Bolognetta (close to Palermo), two at the B&B Dal Pietro in Calascibetta (near Enna), and two at the Hotel Svizzera in Taormina.

Things I would do differently:

a) I would visit, but not stay in, Taormina. Our hotel was wonderful, with great views, good service, good breakfast. But compared to other towns, very expensive. I wouldn't mind that so much except, even in the off season, there were way too many tourists in the town (we had the misfortune to be in town the same time as a cruise ship). And everything is very expensive. If I had to do it again, I would most definitely stay in the area, but limit Taormina itself to a day trip early in the morning.

b) Go to Monreale some time other than Monday morning, when all the craft shops are closed!

c) Stay at least a week longer.

Take Care,

Marta