Sicily--Three Weeks in October--Winging It is Doable
Oct 28th, 2015, 12:34 PM
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Sicily--Three Weeks in October--Winging It is Doable
Rather on the spur of the moment we turned in some Delta miles for tickets on Alitalia from the US to Sicily from Oct. 6 to Oct. 26. Since this was very last minute decision with only a couple weeks to plan our trip (I know many of you super planners are throwing up you hands and shaking your heads with incomprehension hearing this), I searched out help here and at TA. Both places I found a lot of gracious people who were willing to share their time and expertise with me. So, I am hoping to give back in this report.
BACKGROUND: We are well-traveled, moderate budget, and in our 60s. The past eight to ten years we’ve moved into the slow travel mode, preferring quality over quantity. As a part of this mindset, we prefer to stay in apartments when possible since we like the room to spread out, and we like the availability of a kitchen for breakfasts, snacks and heating things up (no real cooking for us).
Whenever possible, we like to have some flexibility rather than being stuck with a rigid schedule and itinerary. And, we are not ones to jump right out of bed each morning with a long list of sight-seeing to-dos. Instead we prefer to savor our time with leisurely mornings and evenings, and time to just stroll and enjoy local ambience. Since we’ve been to both Greece and Turkey, ruins were not at the top of our list of places to make sure to visit. Finally, we often choose some of the lesser visited places rather than trying to tick off all of the top-ten to-visit lists.
LOCALES TO VISIT AND HOW LONG TO STAY IN EACH PLACE: This was a quandary as I was doing my planning. We wanted to minimize the number of places we stayed. Yet, we also did not want to make day trips that were two hours each way. I also wanted flexibility so we could wing it and stay longer in a place if we liked it, or skip a place if it turned out not to be so great as we had hoped. My compromise was to book our first and last four nights in Sicily, and we’d fill in the rest on the go. In October this worked out quite well for us, and other than maybe one place I might have liked to stay that was full, we had no difficulty operating this way.
Our FINAL ITINERARY ended up this way:
5 nights Ortygia Oct. 7-11 http://www.dicasainsicilia.com/riva-levante---veranda/
3 nights Modica Oct. 12-14 Casa della Zodiaco B&B apartment
2 nights Piazza Armerina Oct. 15-16 Dimora del Conte B&B
3 nights Mazara del Vallo Oct. 17-19 Homeaway 6640692
1 night Erice Oct. 20 Erice Pietre Antiche B&B apartment
5 nights Palermo Oct. 21-25 http://www.vrbo.com/1133463a
FLIGHTS:
On the way there we flew MSP to JFK to Catania. On the way back we flew Palermo to JFK to MSP.
Despite the fact that they are code share partners, there is no real sharing of information between the Alitalia and Delta. On the way out from MSP we were told at the very last second (while at the gate boarding) that there was a problem and we were listed as “do not allow to board”. Earlier Delta agents hadn’t noticed this or said a thing but checked us right through. Apparently there was some glitch with Alitalia’s flight times having changed by 15 minutes, and we were listed twice or some such nonsense. After the agent made urgent calls to the help desk to try to clear this message and allow us to board, we got it cleared up and were the last people to board the flight. On the way back Alitalia would not allow us to do online check-in since the last leg of our journey was on a Delta flight; we had to go to the airport to check in.
Coordination at JFK between the two airlines’ terminals was also interesting. Passengers have to go outside between the Delta terminal and the terminal that Alitalia leaves from. From there you walk down a roadway to get to the other terminal. We were lucky that it was nice weather because I can see that this might not be too pleasant in rainy, snowy or extremely cold weather. And, of course, since you are now out of the secure area, you will need to go through security again.
Nervous flyers beware. The flight from Rome to Catania was one of the most turbulent I have ever been on, and I’ve done a lot of flying. In fact, it was one where I started to wonder if this was it and if this is how planes go down. The captain announced that the winds from Etna can often be very strong, and apparently this was the situation when we flew that route.
PHONE/COMMUNICATIONS: We have T Mobile Simple Choice which offers free texting and free data while traveling out of the US. In the past we’ve always bought local SIM cards, but this time around we just relied on our T Mobile plan, and it worked out fine. Data was adequate when we needed it. Phone calls are .20 a minute, and we are guessing we probably spent less than $10.00 on these since we only used the phone to make lodging arrangements and a few other random calls within Italy. We didn’t call home at all though, so people who plan to do a lot of calling may want to look at different possibilities.
RENTAL CAR AND DRIVING: We’ve driven all over Europe (including in several places many people probably wouldn’t ever consider driving), so we knew we’d be fine with having a car for part of our trip. AutoEurope was the broker we used, and we ended up with a very reasonably priced stick shift rental that we picked up towards the end of our stay in Ortygia and dropped off before our stay in Palermo.
Knowing that we would want as small of a car as possible in order to maneuver around some of the very narrow streets, we reserved an economy car-- supposedly like a Fiat 500L. But, as we all know, car rental companies only promise a car in the same class, not the same model. The car we got—a Lancia Epsilon--was a real dog as far as engine capabilities, and we joked a couple times that perhaps the manufacturer should have included some pedals so the passenger could add some extra oomph by pedaling. It needed to be in first or second gear to be able to take those more steep gradients, and sometimes it would kill. One of our cars is a stick shift, so it was not unfamiliarity with driving a manual transmission car.
The Lancia Epsilon also only had trunk space for one of our two standard-size suitcases. Having seen the Fiat 500L, we think we could have gotten both of our suitcases in the trunk of that car. Our dilemma in selecting a rental car class was that, while we wanted a car with a real trunk so our luggage would be more secure, none of the cars that were offered had anything other than a hatchback unless we went way, way up to a much larger size car. Then, the car would be too large to maneuver around the tight and teeny streets. In fact, we know that we could not have managed driving through some of the places we drove with a car that was any larger than what we rented.
The main problem we had with driving on this trip, and one we have never had before, was that we had read all of the cautions over at TA about never leaving anything in your car in Sicily because of the potential of luggage theft. So, if you heed this caution (as we did), it eliminates all possibilities for spontaneity and just stopping at a place of interest while you are in transit between lodgings. In fact, after reading all of the warnings, we became a bit paranoid. We brought along a long bicycle chain lock and used that to secure our suitcase that had to sit in the backseat. We had another smaller, cable luggage lock we also used. I’d say this issue of not being able to ever leave luggage in the car was the least enjoyable aspect of our trip.
Navigating our way through Sicily was a question we had before leaving home. Our usual pattern on European trips is for my husband to drive and for me to navigate; that was the pattern here also. I’d bought the most detailed Michelin map available, and that helped, but we also knew from our last trip to Italy a couple years ago that we’d said never again in Italy without a GPS. At home we just use our phones as a GPS and tried to figure out how we could do the same in Sicily, so before we left home we researched using a GPS in Sicily without actually renting one from the car rental company.
We ended up using two different phone-based GPS systems. Before we left home, my husband researched and found a well-recommended, free product called HERE that does not need an active data connection. So, he downloaded their Sicily maps. We used this for about the first half of our driving time but became quite frustrated with it and eventually switched to Google Maps which needs a data connection. (We’d brought a car charger for our phone so with our T Mobile plan it was no problem.) What we discovered while using a GPS function in Sicily is that about 90% of the time it is very helpful, but you also need to use this in tandem with come common sense observations and a good map.
Using HERE we certainly saw some “interesting” roads and places that most likely other tourists have never seen before. It always got us to where we wanted to go, but apparently the product has no algorithm to prioritize options (or we couldn’t figure out how to set it), so it always sent us on the shortest possible route even if it was not a desirable route at all. A couple times we were almost in someone’s backyard on the smallest of local roads. Once in a very hilly small town it had us going around a series of very tight 90 degree turns with immediate grade inclines of at least 20 degrees as soon as we turned the corners. In Modica it sent us down the narrowest street imaginable, and the guy who lived on this internal corner actually came out to direct us how to make the sharp turn with lots of inching forward and backing up.
The concerns my driver (AKA my husband) had about driving at night and finding parking places also dictated some aspects of our trip. In many locales we stayed parking was horrifically difficult to find, especially in the peak hours of 6:00 to 7:00. So, my driver wanted to try to be back earlier so we could find a place to park. In retrospect, I think finding a lodging that offered parking might tip us towards that lodging over another. The other issue my driver had was that he wanted to be able to walk to restaurants for dinner so that we could share a bottle of wine without having to worry about Italy’s drinking and driving laws. This concern, in combination with the fact that we much prefer to have the variety of options a town offers (rather than the isolation of an agrituriso) also dictated our choices about where to stay.
BACKGROUND: We are well-traveled, moderate budget, and in our 60s. The past eight to ten years we’ve moved into the slow travel mode, preferring quality over quantity. As a part of this mindset, we prefer to stay in apartments when possible since we like the room to spread out, and we like the availability of a kitchen for breakfasts, snacks and heating things up (no real cooking for us).
Whenever possible, we like to have some flexibility rather than being stuck with a rigid schedule and itinerary. And, we are not ones to jump right out of bed each morning with a long list of sight-seeing to-dos. Instead we prefer to savor our time with leisurely mornings and evenings, and time to just stroll and enjoy local ambience. Since we’ve been to both Greece and Turkey, ruins were not at the top of our list of places to make sure to visit. Finally, we often choose some of the lesser visited places rather than trying to tick off all of the top-ten to-visit lists.
LOCALES TO VISIT AND HOW LONG TO STAY IN EACH PLACE: This was a quandary as I was doing my planning. We wanted to minimize the number of places we stayed. Yet, we also did not want to make day trips that were two hours each way. I also wanted flexibility so we could wing it and stay longer in a place if we liked it, or skip a place if it turned out not to be so great as we had hoped. My compromise was to book our first and last four nights in Sicily, and we’d fill in the rest on the go. In October this worked out quite well for us, and other than maybe one place I might have liked to stay that was full, we had no difficulty operating this way.
Our FINAL ITINERARY ended up this way:
5 nights Ortygia Oct. 7-11 http://www.dicasainsicilia.com/riva-levante---veranda/
3 nights Modica Oct. 12-14 Casa della Zodiaco B&B apartment
2 nights Piazza Armerina Oct. 15-16 Dimora del Conte B&B
3 nights Mazara del Vallo Oct. 17-19 Homeaway 6640692
1 night Erice Oct. 20 Erice Pietre Antiche B&B apartment
5 nights Palermo Oct. 21-25 http://www.vrbo.com/1133463a
FLIGHTS:
On the way there we flew MSP to JFK to Catania. On the way back we flew Palermo to JFK to MSP.
Despite the fact that they are code share partners, there is no real sharing of information between the Alitalia and Delta. On the way out from MSP we were told at the very last second (while at the gate boarding) that there was a problem and we were listed as “do not allow to board”. Earlier Delta agents hadn’t noticed this or said a thing but checked us right through. Apparently there was some glitch with Alitalia’s flight times having changed by 15 minutes, and we were listed twice or some such nonsense. After the agent made urgent calls to the help desk to try to clear this message and allow us to board, we got it cleared up and were the last people to board the flight. On the way back Alitalia would not allow us to do online check-in since the last leg of our journey was on a Delta flight; we had to go to the airport to check in.
Coordination at JFK between the two airlines’ terminals was also interesting. Passengers have to go outside between the Delta terminal and the terminal that Alitalia leaves from. From there you walk down a roadway to get to the other terminal. We were lucky that it was nice weather because I can see that this might not be too pleasant in rainy, snowy or extremely cold weather. And, of course, since you are now out of the secure area, you will need to go through security again.
Nervous flyers beware. The flight from Rome to Catania was one of the most turbulent I have ever been on, and I’ve done a lot of flying. In fact, it was one where I started to wonder if this was it and if this is how planes go down. The captain announced that the winds from Etna can often be very strong, and apparently this was the situation when we flew that route.
PHONE/COMMUNICATIONS: We have T Mobile Simple Choice which offers free texting and free data while traveling out of the US. In the past we’ve always bought local SIM cards, but this time around we just relied on our T Mobile plan, and it worked out fine. Data was adequate when we needed it. Phone calls are .20 a minute, and we are guessing we probably spent less than $10.00 on these since we only used the phone to make lodging arrangements and a few other random calls within Italy. We didn’t call home at all though, so people who plan to do a lot of calling may want to look at different possibilities.
RENTAL CAR AND DRIVING: We’ve driven all over Europe (including in several places many people probably wouldn’t ever consider driving), so we knew we’d be fine with having a car for part of our trip. AutoEurope was the broker we used, and we ended up with a very reasonably priced stick shift rental that we picked up towards the end of our stay in Ortygia and dropped off before our stay in Palermo.
Knowing that we would want as small of a car as possible in order to maneuver around some of the very narrow streets, we reserved an economy car-- supposedly like a Fiat 500L. But, as we all know, car rental companies only promise a car in the same class, not the same model. The car we got—a Lancia Epsilon--was a real dog as far as engine capabilities, and we joked a couple times that perhaps the manufacturer should have included some pedals so the passenger could add some extra oomph by pedaling. It needed to be in first or second gear to be able to take those more steep gradients, and sometimes it would kill. One of our cars is a stick shift, so it was not unfamiliarity with driving a manual transmission car.
The Lancia Epsilon also only had trunk space for one of our two standard-size suitcases. Having seen the Fiat 500L, we think we could have gotten both of our suitcases in the trunk of that car. Our dilemma in selecting a rental car class was that, while we wanted a car with a real trunk so our luggage would be more secure, none of the cars that were offered had anything other than a hatchback unless we went way, way up to a much larger size car. Then, the car would be too large to maneuver around the tight and teeny streets. In fact, we know that we could not have managed driving through some of the places we drove with a car that was any larger than what we rented.
The main problem we had with driving on this trip, and one we have never had before, was that we had read all of the cautions over at TA about never leaving anything in your car in Sicily because of the potential of luggage theft. So, if you heed this caution (as we did), it eliminates all possibilities for spontaneity and just stopping at a place of interest while you are in transit between lodgings. In fact, after reading all of the warnings, we became a bit paranoid. We brought along a long bicycle chain lock and used that to secure our suitcase that had to sit in the backseat. We had another smaller, cable luggage lock we also used. I’d say this issue of not being able to ever leave luggage in the car was the least enjoyable aspect of our trip.
Navigating our way through Sicily was a question we had before leaving home. Our usual pattern on European trips is for my husband to drive and for me to navigate; that was the pattern here also. I’d bought the most detailed Michelin map available, and that helped, but we also knew from our last trip to Italy a couple years ago that we’d said never again in Italy without a GPS. At home we just use our phones as a GPS and tried to figure out how we could do the same in Sicily, so before we left home we researched using a GPS in Sicily without actually renting one from the car rental company.
We ended up using two different phone-based GPS systems. Before we left home, my husband researched and found a well-recommended, free product called HERE that does not need an active data connection. So, he downloaded their Sicily maps. We used this for about the first half of our driving time but became quite frustrated with it and eventually switched to Google Maps which needs a data connection. (We’d brought a car charger for our phone so with our T Mobile plan it was no problem.) What we discovered while using a GPS function in Sicily is that about 90% of the time it is very helpful, but you also need to use this in tandem with come common sense observations and a good map.
Using HERE we certainly saw some “interesting” roads and places that most likely other tourists have never seen before. It always got us to where we wanted to go, but apparently the product has no algorithm to prioritize options (or we couldn’t figure out how to set it), so it always sent us on the shortest possible route even if it was not a desirable route at all. A couple times we were almost in someone’s backyard on the smallest of local roads. Once in a very hilly small town it had us going around a series of very tight 90 degree turns with immediate grade inclines of at least 20 degrees as soon as we turned the corners. In Modica it sent us down the narrowest street imaginable, and the guy who lived on this internal corner actually came out to direct us how to make the sharp turn with lots of inching forward and backing up.
The concerns my driver (AKA my husband) had about driving at night and finding parking places also dictated some aspects of our trip. In many locales we stayed parking was horrifically difficult to find, especially in the peak hours of 6:00 to 7:00. So, my driver wanted to try to be back earlier so we could find a place to park. In retrospect, I think finding a lodging that offered parking might tip us towards that lodging over another. The other issue my driver had was that he wanted to be able to walk to restaurants for dinner so that we could share a bottle of wine without having to worry about Italy’s drinking and driving laws. This concern, in combination with the fact that we much prefer to have the variety of options a town offers (rather than the isolation of an agrituriso) also dictated our choices about where to stay.
Oct 28th, 2015, 02:41 PM
#4
The other issue my driver had was that he wanted to be able to walk to restaurants for dinner so that we could share a bottle of wine without having to worry about Italy’s drinking and driving laws.>>
I'm with him there! we like staying in towns too - we find it's nice to be able to walk around in the evening and enjoy the atmosphere, pick a restaurant and go to a bar afterwards.
looking forward to reading the rest of your TR - Sicily is very much on my wish list for next year.
I'm with him there! we like staying in towns too - we find it's nice to be able to walk around in the evening and enjoy the atmosphere, pick a restaurant and go to a bar afterwards.
looking forward to reading the rest of your TR - Sicily is very much on my wish list for next year.
Oct 28th, 2015, 05:08 PM
#5
It's hard to believe you are back already! its very interesting reading your comments about the driving -- I can foresee much the same issues when we go next May. I'm needing your comments about the size of the car especially!
I am so looking forward to reading the rest of your trip report!
I am so looking forward to reading the rest of your trip report!
Oct 28th, 2015, 07:51 PM
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Thanks for such a prompt TR! Very interesting about the car issue, I've rented from AutoEurope for next May and chose the size one level up from the Fiat 500 expressly because I wanted to be sure to have enough luggage space; we'll likely have one standard and one carry-on but you never know. Now I hope we don't have problems getting through the streets!
And we're with your driver on staying in towns so as to avoid driving at night and with annhig on the pleasures of simply wandering around in the evening without having that late night drive on dark country roads in the back of your mind. Particularly because this will be the first time I'll be driving and my husband can't navigate worth beans (he admits this, no worries about being rude).
Looking forward to reading more about your trip, very useful info.
And we're with your driver on staying in towns so as to avoid driving at night and with annhig on the pleasures of simply wandering around in the evening without having that late night drive on dark country roads in the back of your mind. Particularly because this will be the first time I'll be driving and my husband can't navigate worth beans (he admits this, no worries about being rude).
Looking forward to reading more about your trip, very useful info.
Oct 28th, 2015, 08:21 PM
#7
Welcome back! Glad the winging it worked. Its my favorite way to travel, but alsa not one we do very often these days.
We had some crazy drives on our trip too. We used a Michelin map, local maps that we picked up along the way and the GPS on our ipad. Sometimes I think we had too much info. Like you, we drove on some roads that would barely be considered roads and also had some absolutely gorgeous drives following routes on the GPS. I had to give my driver major kudos for his ability to navigate us out of some unbelievably tight jams and driving endlessly on steep, curvy, narrow mountain roads. But it all made our trip just more enjoyable.
We also had a car from Auto Europe - a Fiat Panda and could fit our 2 carryon's in the hatchback which was covered. Despite the cautions on TA and here we did take chances and quite a few times stopped along the way with luggage in our car though not visible and did some sightseeing. Fortunately we didn't have any break-ins.
Looking forward to hearing about your journey.
We had some crazy drives on our trip too. We used a Michelin map, local maps that we picked up along the way and the GPS on our ipad. Sometimes I think we had too much info. Like you, we drove on some roads that would barely be considered roads and also had some absolutely gorgeous drives following routes on the GPS. I had to give my driver major kudos for his ability to navigate us out of some unbelievably tight jams and driving endlessly on steep, curvy, narrow mountain roads. But it all made our trip just more enjoyable.
We also had a car from Auto Europe - a Fiat Panda and could fit our 2 carryon's in the hatchback which was covered. Despite the cautions on TA and here we did take chances and quite a few times stopped along the way with luggage in our car though not visible and did some sightseeing. Fortunately we didn't have any break-ins.
Looking forward to hearing about your journey.
Oct 29th, 2015, 03:54 PM
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Correction__
I just realized we reserved the "Compact Class Fiat 500L or similar" (not economy class) when we booked through AutoEurope. Europcar was the vendor we ended up with.
Since we each had a standard size suitcase, when we were moving from place to place we were always traveling with a visible suitcase in the backseat. If I had it to do over again, I might try to make sure that two regular suitcases could fit in the back and at least be covered up. (We really think the Fiat 500L would have worked for that.) We always say we are going to travel lighter, but for three weeks in a time of changing weather we just do not seem to be able to cut it back to just a carry-on each.
By the end of our trip we were starting to feel a bit more comfortable about the idea of possibly leaving luggage in the car for a short stop if the back shelf would have concealed what we had in the trunk. Plus, by that time we'd been reassured by a number of our hosts that all of the luggage theft stuff we all hear about is an issue in Palermo and Catania rather than throughout Sicily.
When we were leaving Siracusa or Modica (can't remember which), our GPS got us all turned around, and we ended up on the outskirts of the city up on a hill at the absolutely fascinating looking large cemetery complex. Normally, this is the type of place we would have pulled into and looked around for a half an hour or so. But, not this time. Afterwards we said to each other that we probably could have given the woman who was running the flower shop there some money to keep an eye on the car. On the way to Palermo, Castellammare del Golfo also looked interesting enough that we'd have at least liked to pulled in for an hour walk just to check the town out. Once again, not possible because we had a suitcase in the backseat.
Sometimes I think all of the warnings over at TA are overkill, but then I remember the trip report I read here where someone did have the luggage stolen out of their trunk while visiting a major tourist attraction.
As far as the agritourismos they do not seem to be a match for us in what we are looking for. Every time we would drive one stuck way out in the countryside, we'd comment on how glad we were that we were not staying in a place that isolated. We like the opportunities and choices we have when in a more urban area.
Kathy--Catania got eliminated because I was trying to cut down on the number of stops we would make.
I just realized we reserved the "Compact Class Fiat 500L or similar" (not economy class) when we booked through AutoEurope. Europcar was the vendor we ended up with.
Since we each had a standard size suitcase, when we were moving from place to place we were always traveling with a visible suitcase in the backseat. If I had it to do over again, I might try to make sure that two regular suitcases could fit in the back and at least be covered up. (We really think the Fiat 500L would have worked for that.) We always say we are going to travel lighter, but for three weeks in a time of changing weather we just do not seem to be able to cut it back to just a carry-on each.
By the end of our trip we were starting to feel a bit more comfortable about the idea of possibly leaving luggage in the car for a short stop if the back shelf would have concealed what we had in the trunk. Plus, by that time we'd been reassured by a number of our hosts that all of the luggage theft stuff we all hear about is an issue in Palermo and Catania rather than throughout Sicily.
When we were leaving Siracusa or Modica (can't remember which), our GPS got us all turned around, and we ended up on the outskirts of the city up on a hill at the absolutely fascinating looking large cemetery complex. Normally, this is the type of place we would have pulled into and looked around for a half an hour or so. But, not this time. Afterwards we said to each other that we probably could have given the woman who was running the flower shop there some money to keep an eye on the car. On the way to Palermo, Castellammare del Golfo also looked interesting enough that we'd have at least liked to pulled in for an hour walk just to check the town out. Once again, not possible because we had a suitcase in the backseat.
Sometimes I think all of the warnings over at TA are overkill, but then I remember the trip report I read here where someone did have the luggage stolen out of their trunk while visiting a major tourist attraction.
As far as the agritourismos they do not seem to be a match for us in what we are looking for. Every time we would drive one stuck way out in the countryside, we'd comment on how glad we were that we were not staying in a place that isolated. We like the opportunities and choices we have when in a more urban area.
Kathy--Catania got eliminated because I was trying to cut down on the number of stops we would make.
Oct 29th, 2015, 04:38 PM
#10
I think one has to take all the warnings on TA and elsewhere with a grain of salt. There are dire warnings about driving in Palermo and we had no trouble at all. Same deal with driving to Monreale and parking. Easy peasy and parking in a manned lot pretty much behind the cathedral for a few euros.
Once you adapt to packing only carry on in any circumstance, you will never go back. We do multi week/month trips in a variety of climates almost every year and have managed just fine. Shoes are always my biggest challenge.
I enjoy mixing it up with staying in cities/towns and out in the country. Living in a big city, sometimes it's nice to be out in the quiet countryside when we travel.
Anyway looking forward to hearing the details of your trip.
Once you adapt to packing only carry on in any circumstance, you will never go back. We do multi week/month trips in a variety of climates almost every year and have managed just fine. Shoes are always my biggest challenge.
I enjoy mixing it up with staying in cities/towns and out in the country. Living in a big city, sometimes it's nice to be out in the quiet countryside when we travel.
Anyway looking forward to hearing the details of your trip.
Oct 29th, 2015, 11:21 PM
#11
Well, you could always have left one person with the car while the other visited the cemetery... Wouldn't work for a town, though. But I agree with yestravel, packing light makes travel so much easier. I'm just wrapping up a three and a half month trip with a 22 inch carry on I check for flights and a day bag I carry on with pharma and electronics. It is true I cheated on this trip - I mailed the clothes for my niece's wedding, and a few winter things for the Hurtigruten Norwegian cruise to my sister before I left. Needed the wedding clothes, could have managed without the winter clothes (which I mailed home). I wear my boots on travel days and pack a pair of Ecco sandals and a pair of black flats.
Since I travel solo on public transport agriturismos aren't on the radar. And I do like having choices for meals.
Since I travel solo on public transport agriturismos aren't on the radar. And I do like having choices for meals.
Oct 30th, 2015, 05:01 AM
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I'll be honest. It isn't the clothes that seem to cause so much of a problem for us. It seems we have a bunch of other "stuff". I'm trying, once again, to assess all of that and why it seems to take up so much space.
We also know the wear your heaviest boots when in transit trick.
We also know the wear your heaviest boots when in transit trick.
Oct 30th, 2015, 06:12 AM
#14
Geez, yes, "the other stuff." Electronics are a nightmare and as I age it seems I need more & more "stuff" for a variety of reasons. I have started taking prescrip meds and affixing the label onto a small plastic snack bag and not taking any plastic bottles which does save room. Same with vitamins, I put them in a plastic snack bag. I constantly read articles on packing light hoping to pick up a tip here & there.
Oct 30th, 2015, 07:45 AM
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Back to my report! I really wanted to finish this off quite quickly, but now that we are back home, and the fall-weather seasonal yuck illnesses have arrived, we are already providing back-up, emergency daycare for a sick grandchild.
GUIDEBOOKS
I’m one of those who like to check them all out and research guidebooks intensively. Since there is an excellent library system where we live, I probably looked at nearly every guidebook on Sicily published in English. They all have their different strengths and weaknesses.
I ended up buying and taking hard copies of the “Michelin Green Guide to Sicily”, “Sunflower Sicily: Car Tours and Walks”, a 2008 edition (the latest one published) of “Cadogan Sicily”, and “Insight Guides Explore Sicily”. On our e-readers we took borrowed copies from the library of “The Rough Guide to Sicily” and “Lonely Planet Sicily”. (Sorry about the quotation marks. I’ve never been able to figure out how to italicize book titles on the Fodors site.)
The Michelin book had some interesting driving tours and itineraries, and in-depth coverage of the major places of interest (and some more minor ones). However, often it had way more info than we really needed or wanted about a landmark, and it is a bit large to carry around on a daily basis while sightseeing.
I’d bought the small-sized Sunflower book since we intended to do some day hikes and were not planning on just the typical run around to see all of the various major tourists sites type of vacation. We used the book’s hikes some, but it really is more for people who intend to take a walking-intensive vacation; driving tours are also featured.
As always with the series, the Cadogan guide offers in-depth and unique coverage of an area.
The Insight book ended up being used quite a bit since it had some itineraries, was compact enough to carry around during sightseeing, and also included a removable, nice-sized map with Sicily on one side and a map of Palermo on the other.
Of the two books we loaded on our e-readers, I’d recommend Rough Guide over Lonely Planet since its coverage is more in–depth and more extensive.
I also took a copy of “Eat Smart in Sicily”, and this often proved invaluable in restaurants.
WEATHER AND CLOTHING
October is a transitional month as far as Sicilian weather. For those interested in swimming in the sea (we weren’t interested), people were swimming. At the beginning of our trip we had days that were definitely so hot we sought out the shade and were very glad we’d brought sun hats. For the first two thirds of our trip I mostly wore capris or skirts, and my husband wore manpris. I even wore shorts while hiking a couple days towards the beginning of our trip. At the end of the trip I felt a bit cool in my long skirts and switched to long pants.
By the end of our trip (in Palermo) it was definitely cooling down and we had lots of rain. Long trousers with a long-sleeve shirt felt comfortable during the day, and a light jacket or sweater was definitely needed once evening arrived. Palermo residents had moved into their fall/winter sweaters and jackets wardrobe, and sandal season was definitely over. By the time we reached Palermo there were also many days of rain, so umbrellas and jackets were definitely needed.
As far as clothing goes, Sicily is quite casual, and most tourists were also dressed comfortably and casually. Whatever casual clothing you normally wear would be fine. People tended to dress up just a little bit for evenings out but nothing over the top or too dressy. Throw in a couple of scarves to dress things up a bit, and you’ll be fine.
We had mid-weight hiking boots with us, and in many places were glad we had them. Many streets are cobblestones, and ruins etc. are also unpaved with a lot of climbing around possible. So, good sturdy shoes are a must. And, when it is raining and muddy, you’ll be glad your feet are dry. There is a lot of mud too when it rains, both on paths and on roads. In fact, several places we were after heavy rains, the mudslides on the roads were so bad that it made driving really treacherous. We live in an awful climate, so we are very used to driving on snow and ice. My husband, who was driving, said the mud was like driving on grease and as bad or worse than glare ice.
A final note: Before returning home we had one day in Sicily after daylight savings time ended. We were so glad we’d scheduled our trip prior to this since that loss of a hour of daylight at the end of the day really seems to shorten possibilities for being out and about sightseeing.
LODGING WHILE WINGING IT
This was not true winging it (as we used to do) where we’d drive into a town, scope it out, and then go up to places asking about a room. Instead, we’d plan a day ahead and e-mail (most of the Sicilian hosts we dealt with had smart phones because our inquiries were answered very promptly) and confirm either with e-mail or a phone call. We also used booking.com at times. I’ve used AirB&B at other times but am not such a huge fan of that site, so while I sometimes checked out what was on offer through them, I didn’t make any bookings through the site. I also reached the point where I’d sometimes book a room just for one night, knowing that in this off season it would be easy to extend if we liked the place.
Our interest is in smaller, more personalized, non-hotel lodgings (the kind a tour group would never, ever stay at). We found lodging prices in Sicily to be very reasonable, and we stayed in what we feel are very nice places. The most expensive--our apartment in Ortygia-- charged a premium price of 110 euros per night solely due to its location and view. In reality this wasn’t an apartment with kitchen in anything more than name since, for various reasons, it would have been impossible to actually cook in it. All other places we paid between 55 and 70 euros a night for a room for two.
As people who’ve done a lot of traveling and are into more slow travel, we are past the point of being in the mindset of thinking of a room as just a place we’ll sleep at night, and that anything will do since we’ll only be there to sleep. In fact, I’ve gotten quite picky about rooms. We also are at the point in our lives where we will pay a bit (not a ton) more to have a more spacious room, and in certain places a view is worth a bit of a premium price too. A couch and/or a couple of comfy chairs for sitting and relaxing are high on our list of desires as is a balcony for sitting. We do not want to be stuck with the only options for seating to be the bed or a hard desk chair. So, quite frequently we opted for the premium room that cost 10 to 15 euros more per night. Well worth it to us!
For this trip one of our desires was that we have a fridge or access to a fridge in our lodging. With apartments that was no problem at all, and it turned out that we were easily able to make B&B choices where this was a possibility. In Ortygia, Mazara del Vallo and Palermo we had what were marketed as regular apartments. In Modica and Erice our B&Bs actually had a small kitchenette feature. In Piazza Armerina our B&B allowed us to store some food in the adjacent, breakfast room’s fridge.
We were very pleasantly surprised to find out that an apartment rental in Sicily also generally means finding a supplied cupboard for breakfasts during your stay. At various places we found bread and jam and butter, packaged sweets, yogurt, eggs, tea and coffee, milk etc. Each place was different in what they provided. Our B&B in Modica had an arrangement with a nearby bar where every morning we would turn our voucher for a juice, tea or coffee, and a pastry. In Piazza Amerina our B&B served a breakfast of pastries, juice, fruit, beverage, cheese and meat.
GUIDEBOOKS
I’m one of those who like to check them all out and research guidebooks intensively. Since there is an excellent library system where we live, I probably looked at nearly every guidebook on Sicily published in English. They all have their different strengths and weaknesses.
I ended up buying and taking hard copies of the “Michelin Green Guide to Sicily”, “Sunflower Sicily: Car Tours and Walks”, a 2008 edition (the latest one published) of “Cadogan Sicily”, and “Insight Guides Explore Sicily”. On our e-readers we took borrowed copies from the library of “The Rough Guide to Sicily” and “Lonely Planet Sicily”. (Sorry about the quotation marks. I’ve never been able to figure out how to italicize book titles on the Fodors site.)
The Michelin book had some interesting driving tours and itineraries, and in-depth coverage of the major places of interest (and some more minor ones). However, often it had way more info than we really needed or wanted about a landmark, and it is a bit large to carry around on a daily basis while sightseeing.
I’d bought the small-sized Sunflower book since we intended to do some day hikes and were not planning on just the typical run around to see all of the various major tourists sites type of vacation. We used the book’s hikes some, but it really is more for people who intend to take a walking-intensive vacation; driving tours are also featured.
As always with the series, the Cadogan guide offers in-depth and unique coverage of an area.
The Insight book ended up being used quite a bit since it had some itineraries, was compact enough to carry around during sightseeing, and also included a removable, nice-sized map with Sicily on one side and a map of Palermo on the other.
Of the two books we loaded on our e-readers, I’d recommend Rough Guide over Lonely Planet since its coverage is more in–depth and more extensive.
I also took a copy of “Eat Smart in Sicily”, and this often proved invaluable in restaurants.
WEATHER AND CLOTHING
October is a transitional month as far as Sicilian weather. For those interested in swimming in the sea (we weren’t interested), people were swimming. At the beginning of our trip we had days that were definitely so hot we sought out the shade and were very glad we’d brought sun hats. For the first two thirds of our trip I mostly wore capris or skirts, and my husband wore manpris. I even wore shorts while hiking a couple days towards the beginning of our trip. At the end of the trip I felt a bit cool in my long skirts and switched to long pants.
By the end of our trip (in Palermo) it was definitely cooling down and we had lots of rain. Long trousers with a long-sleeve shirt felt comfortable during the day, and a light jacket or sweater was definitely needed once evening arrived. Palermo residents had moved into their fall/winter sweaters and jackets wardrobe, and sandal season was definitely over. By the time we reached Palermo there were also many days of rain, so umbrellas and jackets were definitely needed.
As far as clothing goes, Sicily is quite casual, and most tourists were also dressed comfortably and casually. Whatever casual clothing you normally wear would be fine. People tended to dress up just a little bit for evenings out but nothing over the top or too dressy. Throw in a couple of scarves to dress things up a bit, and you’ll be fine.
We had mid-weight hiking boots with us, and in many places were glad we had them. Many streets are cobblestones, and ruins etc. are also unpaved with a lot of climbing around possible. So, good sturdy shoes are a must. And, when it is raining and muddy, you’ll be glad your feet are dry. There is a lot of mud too when it rains, both on paths and on roads. In fact, several places we were after heavy rains, the mudslides on the roads were so bad that it made driving really treacherous. We live in an awful climate, so we are very used to driving on snow and ice. My husband, who was driving, said the mud was like driving on grease and as bad or worse than glare ice.
A final note: Before returning home we had one day in Sicily after daylight savings time ended. We were so glad we’d scheduled our trip prior to this since that loss of a hour of daylight at the end of the day really seems to shorten possibilities for being out and about sightseeing.
LODGING WHILE WINGING IT
This was not true winging it (as we used to do) where we’d drive into a town, scope it out, and then go up to places asking about a room. Instead, we’d plan a day ahead and e-mail (most of the Sicilian hosts we dealt with had smart phones because our inquiries were answered very promptly) and confirm either with e-mail or a phone call. We also used booking.com at times. I’ve used AirB&B at other times but am not such a huge fan of that site, so while I sometimes checked out what was on offer through them, I didn’t make any bookings through the site. I also reached the point where I’d sometimes book a room just for one night, knowing that in this off season it would be easy to extend if we liked the place.
Our interest is in smaller, more personalized, non-hotel lodgings (the kind a tour group would never, ever stay at). We found lodging prices in Sicily to be very reasonable, and we stayed in what we feel are very nice places. The most expensive--our apartment in Ortygia-- charged a premium price of 110 euros per night solely due to its location and view. In reality this wasn’t an apartment with kitchen in anything more than name since, for various reasons, it would have been impossible to actually cook in it. All other places we paid between 55 and 70 euros a night for a room for two.
As people who’ve done a lot of traveling and are into more slow travel, we are past the point of being in the mindset of thinking of a room as just a place we’ll sleep at night, and that anything will do since we’ll only be there to sleep. In fact, I’ve gotten quite picky about rooms. We also are at the point in our lives where we will pay a bit (not a ton) more to have a more spacious room, and in certain places a view is worth a bit of a premium price too. A couch and/or a couple of comfy chairs for sitting and relaxing are high on our list of desires as is a balcony for sitting. We do not want to be stuck with the only options for seating to be the bed or a hard desk chair. So, quite frequently we opted for the premium room that cost 10 to 15 euros more per night. Well worth it to us!
For this trip one of our desires was that we have a fridge or access to a fridge in our lodging. With apartments that was no problem at all, and it turned out that we were easily able to make B&B choices where this was a possibility. In Ortygia, Mazara del Vallo and Palermo we had what were marketed as regular apartments. In Modica and Erice our B&Bs actually had a small kitchenette feature. In Piazza Armerina our B&B allowed us to store some food in the adjacent, breakfast room’s fridge.
We were very pleasantly surprised to find out that an apartment rental in Sicily also generally means finding a supplied cupboard for breakfasts during your stay. At various places we found bread and jam and butter, packaged sweets, yogurt, eggs, tea and coffee, milk etc. Each place was different in what they provided. Our B&B in Modica had an arrangement with a nearby bar where every morning we would turn our voucher for a juice, tea or coffee, and a pastry. In Piazza Amerina our B&B served a breakfast of pastries, juice, fruit, beverage, cheese and meat.
Nov 1st, 2015, 03:49 PM
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FOOD
We are not foodies, and we do not tend to spend big bucks on eating out but we can discern really good meals from the mediocre. We had some really excellent meals during our trip, but we also had a few that were not so great. Unfortunately, the not so great meals were usually in those places that had gotten a lot of press in guidebooks. Since most of our stays were three nights or longer, when I had the time, I tried to carefully read through restaurant reviews over at TA before going to a restaurant.
Although we had a couple nice leisurely lunches with wine, there were fewer of these than we’d thought we’d have when discussing how we wanted our trip to go. When out and about at some of the ruins or sites in the countryside, we nearly always took a simple picnic lunch with us. Also, with the later starts we tended to get in the mornings and the fact that we often had apartments so we could prepare a more filling breakfast, we often just weren’t that hungry for a big meal at the standard lunch time. So, despite the fact that we had told ourselves we’d try to fall in line with the local custom of having a larger lunch and a smaller dinner, we most often ended up with the large meal in the evening.
Timing does seem to be everything when looking to eat. We soon learned that if we wanted some fresh bread and some cheese for our picnic we needed to buy it early in the day because by early afternoon none of these shops were open. In the really touristy areas you can always find something to eat, but in the smaller places it is either lunch at the standard times or nothing. Not only no restaurants/cafes were open during off hours but also no food shops were open. Twice we ended up with bar snack food because that was all we could find, and we were hungry. These were also two of the least appetizing meals/snacks we had.
Another timing issue is that we haven’t quite figured out is how Italians manage to eat dinner so late at night and then get up and out the door the first thing in the morning. The half a dozen times or so that we went out at the standard Italian dinner hour of 9:00 we would end up returning to our room about 11:00 or a bit later. By the time we’d decompress, sit around and digest it was nearly 1:00 before we got to bed. An early start the next morning wasn’t going to happen.
There were only a couple times when we made reservations, and we couldn’t figure out the pattern of whether they were indeed necessary. When we did have a reservation, we’d sometimes arrive to discover that the place was nearly empty and the reservation was unnecessary. Other times, because they were already booked, we were told we could get a reservation a half an hour to hour later than we’d wanted. Unless you absolutely have your heart set on a place and do not want to spend a lot of time walking round looking for an alternative, I do not know if reservations are all that necessary. Only one time when just walking in were we told that they could not accommodate us. This was on a Sunday night (often a notoriously difficult night to find a good, open restaurant) in Palermo and at an excellent and relatively inexpensive restaurant we’d previously eaten at. When we arrived half of the tables were empty, but they all must have been reserved for a bit later.
Pizza! We had this more often than we’d thought we would, and we bought it from cheaper take-out stands where they just reheated it to restaurants where we ordered fancier fresh baked. The quality varied, and we were surprised to find that some of the best pizza we had was from a cheap, garish-looking, fast-food type place in Palermo that also offered, of all things, chicken wings and onion rings. Seeing the menu, obviously our expectations were not too high, so it was a pleasant surprise. Speaking of pizza, some of the best we had was the variety with the fresh arugula (rucola) on it. There was one variation that had fresh mozzarella, thin sliced prosciutto and arugula—delicious!
SATURDAY NIGHTS AND SUNDAYS
Saturday night is definitely when you will want to be out and about just walking. This is people watching at its best, and you’ll see everyone from new born babies to the very elderly out for an evening stroll. Streets are so crowded you will often have to wend your way through the people. Squares are packed with people. The contrast between the mass of humanity on a Saturday night and a different day of the week (say a Sunday early afternoon) is absolutely incredible.
Sundays can be difficult, so think carefully about where you will be and what you will be doing on your Sundays. If you are relying on public transportation, schedules are sharply curtailed on Sundays making your planning more difficult. We had three Sundays, and they were all very different, with some places more challenging in terms of finding things for the tourist than others.
Our first Sunday was in Ortygia. It was extremely crowded because, in addition to the regular tourists, there were also a lot of local day-trippers and local people looking to enjoy their Sunday of freedom. If you want a nice restaurant for a leisurely lunch, I think a reservation would be a must.
Our second Sunday was in Mazara del Vallo. Other than locals out enjoying a stroll and then a large lunch, the place was absolutely dead with nothing of interest for the tourist. When we went for an early afternoon walk thinking we’d just enjoy the ambience, neighborhoods were shut up tight, no shops were open, no people were around, and it was eerily quiet. We finally decided to just go back and relax around our apartment and venture out again in the late afternoon when people had reappeared. In retrospect, we should have gone to the museum there in the morning (rather than sitting around and relaxing like we did) while it was open. So, this is an example of what your Sunday will be like if you are not in a tourist-oriented place.
Our last Sunday was in Palermo. I’d read quite a bit beforehand about Sundays in Palermo and how the afternoons can be dead but that some of the streets are also closed to vehicular traffic on Sundays. We enjoyed joining the throngs strolling about on the traffic-free Via Maqueda late Sunday morning. While making our way along the street, we happened to glance off and saw a long street full of market stalls. It was the Ballaro market that we had not thought was open on Sundays. Since we were on our way to the train station to catch a train, we only had time for a quick stroll through the market. Then, we took the train to Cefalu for the afternoon. Because it was Sunday, trains did not run very frequently so we had to get our timing right. As a more touristy place, Cefalu was also full of strolling tourists on Sunday afternoon and lots of places open for dining of varying sorts.
We are not foodies, and we do not tend to spend big bucks on eating out but we can discern really good meals from the mediocre. We had some really excellent meals during our trip, but we also had a few that were not so great. Unfortunately, the not so great meals were usually in those places that had gotten a lot of press in guidebooks. Since most of our stays were three nights or longer, when I had the time, I tried to carefully read through restaurant reviews over at TA before going to a restaurant.
Although we had a couple nice leisurely lunches with wine, there were fewer of these than we’d thought we’d have when discussing how we wanted our trip to go. When out and about at some of the ruins or sites in the countryside, we nearly always took a simple picnic lunch with us. Also, with the later starts we tended to get in the mornings and the fact that we often had apartments so we could prepare a more filling breakfast, we often just weren’t that hungry for a big meal at the standard lunch time. So, despite the fact that we had told ourselves we’d try to fall in line with the local custom of having a larger lunch and a smaller dinner, we most often ended up with the large meal in the evening.
Timing does seem to be everything when looking to eat. We soon learned that if we wanted some fresh bread and some cheese for our picnic we needed to buy it early in the day because by early afternoon none of these shops were open. In the really touristy areas you can always find something to eat, but in the smaller places it is either lunch at the standard times or nothing. Not only no restaurants/cafes were open during off hours but also no food shops were open. Twice we ended up with bar snack food because that was all we could find, and we were hungry. These were also two of the least appetizing meals/snacks we had.
Another timing issue is that we haven’t quite figured out is how Italians manage to eat dinner so late at night and then get up and out the door the first thing in the morning. The half a dozen times or so that we went out at the standard Italian dinner hour of 9:00 we would end up returning to our room about 11:00 or a bit later. By the time we’d decompress, sit around and digest it was nearly 1:00 before we got to bed. An early start the next morning wasn’t going to happen.
There were only a couple times when we made reservations, and we couldn’t figure out the pattern of whether they were indeed necessary. When we did have a reservation, we’d sometimes arrive to discover that the place was nearly empty and the reservation was unnecessary. Other times, because they were already booked, we were told we could get a reservation a half an hour to hour later than we’d wanted. Unless you absolutely have your heart set on a place and do not want to spend a lot of time walking round looking for an alternative, I do not know if reservations are all that necessary. Only one time when just walking in were we told that they could not accommodate us. This was on a Sunday night (often a notoriously difficult night to find a good, open restaurant) in Palermo and at an excellent and relatively inexpensive restaurant we’d previously eaten at. When we arrived half of the tables were empty, but they all must have been reserved for a bit later.
Pizza! We had this more often than we’d thought we would, and we bought it from cheaper take-out stands where they just reheated it to restaurants where we ordered fancier fresh baked. The quality varied, and we were surprised to find that some of the best pizza we had was from a cheap, garish-looking, fast-food type place in Palermo that also offered, of all things, chicken wings and onion rings. Seeing the menu, obviously our expectations were not too high, so it was a pleasant surprise. Speaking of pizza, some of the best we had was the variety with the fresh arugula (rucola) on it. There was one variation that had fresh mozzarella, thin sliced prosciutto and arugula—delicious!
SATURDAY NIGHTS AND SUNDAYS
Saturday night is definitely when you will want to be out and about just walking. This is people watching at its best, and you’ll see everyone from new born babies to the very elderly out for an evening stroll. Streets are so crowded you will often have to wend your way through the people. Squares are packed with people. The contrast between the mass of humanity on a Saturday night and a different day of the week (say a Sunday early afternoon) is absolutely incredible.
Sundays can be difficult, so think carefully about where you will be and what you will be doing on your Sundays. If you are relying on public transportation, schedules are sharply curtailed on Sundays making your planning more difficult. We had three Sundays, and they were all very different, with some places more challenging in terms of finding things for the tourist than others.
Our first Sunday was in Ortygia. It was extremely crowded because, in addition to the regular tourists, there were also a lot of local day-trippers and local people looking to enjoy their Sunday of freedom. If you want a nice restaurant for a leisurely lunch, I think a reservation would be a must.
Our second Sunday was in Mazara del Vallo. Other than locals out enjoying a stroll and then a large lunch, the place was absolutely dead with nothing of interest for the tourist. When we went for an early afternoon walk thinking we’d just enjoy the ambience, neighborhoods were shut up tight, no shops were open, no people were around, and it was eerily quiet. We finally decided to just go back and relax around our apartment and venture out again in the late afternoon when people had reappeared. In retrospect, we should have gone to the museum there in the morning (rather than sitting around and relaxing like we did) while it was open. So, this is an example of what your Sunday will be like if you are not in a tourist-oriented place.
Our last Sunday was in Palermo. I’d read quite a bit beforehand about Sundays in Palermo and how the afternoons can be dead but that some of the streets are also closed to vehicular traffic on Sundays. We enjoyed joining the throngs strolling about on the traffic-free Via Maqueda late Sunday morning. While making our way along the street, we happened to glance off and saw a long street full of market stalls. It was the Ballaro market that we had not thought was open on Sundays. Since we were on our way to the train station to catch a train, we only had time for a quick stroll through the market. Then, we took the train to Cefalu for the afternoon. Because it was Sunday, trains did not run very frequently so we had to get our timing right. As a more touristy place, Cefalu was also full of strolling tourists on Sunday afternoon and lots of places open for dining of varying sorts.
Nov 2nd, 2015, 01:20 AM
#18
very interesting and helpful, julies. one thing one learns from travel, I think, is that you can never predict the patterns of life in other places. just when you think you understand, it changes!
Nov 2nd, 2015, 02:26 AM
#19
Many thanks for sharing your travels, julies. This will be very helpful for our May trip.
While we will be going to most of the "usual suspects" and seeing more of the architectural sites, it's very useful to read your comments about day-to-day life, such as finding places to eat.
Looking forward to comments about the specific places you visited, too. I'd love to know your thoughts about Modica - we have 2 nights planned there next May.
While we will be going to most of the "usual suspects" and seeing more of the architectural sites, it's very useful to read your comments about day-to-day life, such as finding places to eat.
Looking forward to comments about the specific places you visited, too. I'd love to know your thoughts about Modica - we have 2 nights planned there next May.
Nov 2nd, 2015, 06:38 AM
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My feelings on Mazara del Vallo are in a way mixed. It is certainly worth a visit, but I think our three nights there was max. I'll let you know more later on.
Modica was a place where we had three nights and could probably easily filled a fourth. I'll get back with more on that too.
Modica was a place where we had three nights and could probably easily filled a fourth. I'll get back with more on that too.
