Just back from Sicily- trip notes
May 29th, 2003 | 09:05 AM
#1
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Joined: Jan 2003
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Just back from Sicily- trip notes
Just got back from Sicily a few days ago and just wanted to thank everyone for advice and let you know we had a fabulous time. This was my second trip, so we just focused on the central and west part of the island, since I'd seen the east coast before.
Flew from LAX to Palermo on Delta/Alitalia. I'll never fly either again if I can help it, but the tickets were free with FF miles.
Here's our itinerary in case anyone has questions/wants details:
Arrived on a Sunday at 12:30 PM and picked up rental car booked though Auto Europe. Booked a 4 door automatic and the car turned out to be a Daewoo. Gutless car, but small and easy to drive.
Drove to Cefalu to visit great grandfather's birthplace. Drove from there to Gangivecchio, an agriturismo in the Madonie Mountains. Charming inn built in the stables of a 14th century Abbey. Dinner was wonderful.
Monday- had a cooking class with one of the owners and cookbook author, Giovanna Tornebene in her restaurant. A bit of a disappointment (disorganized, 3 dishes based on tomato sauce) but otherwise ok. Visited the old town of Gangi perched high on hill, charming. Dinner that night (in the inn) was very good again.
Tuesday drove to the winery of Regaleali. Got lost and wound up driving some unpaved roads. Also had a day and a half there of cooking classes with Anna Tasca Lanza, also a well known cook book author. Expensive, but worth every penny.
Wednesday- Drove to Agrigento and wound up staying at the Villa Athena. This hotel had fabulous views of the temples, but is in desperate need of renovation. Struck a deal to pay in cash and certain that the night manager pocketed the $$ (he didn't want to give us a receipt and whenasked to, gave us a hand written one. Explored the temples in the late afternoon and had a nice dinner in the old town center at la Ambasicati di Siciliana which has a fantastic view from their terrace.
Thursday- drove to Marsala stopping in Sciacca and Porto Paolo, and Selinunte temples on the way. Had the most amazing lunch on the beach in Porto Paolo in a place called Da Vittorio's, basically in the middle of nowhere. There was no menu, and they just kept bringing the food. Five wonderful antipasto dishes, frutti di mari pasta, platter of grilled fish, 2 desserts, house wine, bottled water, 60 Euro for two. Thanks to Elizabeth (?) for this recommendation. We were the only non-Italians there.
The Selinunte temples are stunning and open to the public to walk through, unlike Agrigento.
The town of Marsala is charming, but completely devoid of ANY hotels or Pension in the historic center. Stayed at the charmless Hotel Presidente.
Friday-
Drove toward Trapani stopping at the famous salt pans/windmills along the way. Trapani is a pretty little town on the water and had an interesting fish market every morning. Wanted to stay at Baglio Santa Croce, but they only had one room left, with no windows. Stayed at the new Baglio Fontana, East of Erice and it was lovely. We were the only guests and our room had gorgeous antique dark wood furniture and high ceilings. A lot of attention to detail here. Dinner was mediocre, but it could have been because we were the only guests. Also visited Erice and the temple of Segesta that afternoon. Segesta is also open to walk through.
Saturday-
Drove to Palermo and stayed at the hotel Joli. Ask for a room overlooking the Piazza Florio. They recommended a parking garage that wanted to charge us 30 euro for one night, so we parked in a public lot a few blocks away for 9 euro.
Spent the afternoon walking the markets of the Vucceria, la Kalsa, and el Capo. Had the traditional sandwich of "Milza" at the Antico Foccaceria di San Francisco. This is tasty, but not for the squeamish, as its veal spleen, sliced and cooked and served on a bun with a slice of fresh ricotta cheese. Dinner at San't Andrea off the Piazza San Domenico.
Sunday-our last day. Had to return the car in town by 1 PM so we used our morning to drive to Monreale, the Cappuchine Catacombs, and the Cathedral (nowhere near as impressive as Monreale). Also walked through an antique market on a street behind the cathedral and to the left. Great furniture. After dropping off the car, we went back to Piazza Marina where there was a flea market and had lunch at Ristorante Palazzo Trabucco which was very good. Every church we visited that Sunday, and every restaurant, was filled with families celebrating their children's First Communions. Dinner that night was at Il Bagatto in Piazza Marina and was the worst meal of the trip.
Monday-9AM departure from airport, so 6:45 departure from Hotel. The timing of the airport bus, and the prospect of a 6 block walk to the stop with luggage, prompted us to look for other options. The train was also too far away and a taxi would cast about 40+ Euro. So we discovered that there's shuttle service and booked this trough the hotel for 28 euro total. They sent a private car and drive who arrived on time and whisked us to the airport. Company is called Airport easy Shuttle and website is www.airporteasyshuttle.it
Check in was easy and we had too much time to wait. So, of course I had to buy some Sicilian wine (Nero d'avola grape) to take home. Rest of flight home was fine.
Misc- My tri-band cell phone through T mobile never got a signal the entire trip even though I set up service in advance. Still don't know why.
All in all, a wonderful trip! I will be posting my photos and more extensive journals sometime in the near future on my website and I'll let everyone know when they are up.
Flew from LAX to Palermo on Delta/Alitalia. I'll never fly either again if I can help it, but the tickets were free with FF miles.
Here's our itinerary in case anyone has questions/wants details:
Arrived on a Sunday at 12:30 PM and picked up rental car booked though Auto Europe. Booked a 4 door automatic and the car turned out to be a Daewoo. Gutless car, but small and easy to drive.
Drove to Cefalu to visit great grandfather's birthplace. Drove from there to Gangivecchio, an agriturismo in the Madonie Mountains. Charming inn built in the stables of a 14th century Abbey. Dinner was wonderful.
Monday- had a cooking class with one of the owners and cookbook author, Giovanna Tornebene in her restaurant. A bit of a disappointment (disorganized, 3 dishes based on tomato sauce) but otherwise ok. Visited the old town of Gangi perched high on hill, charming. Dinner that night (in the inn) was very good again.
Tuesday drove to the winery of Regaleali. Got lost and wound up driving some unpaved roads. Also had a day and a half there of cooking classes with Anna Tasca Lanza, also a well known cook book author. Expensive, but worth every penny.
Wednesday- Drove to Agrigento and wound up staying at the Villa Athena. This hotel had fabulous views of the temples, but is in desperate need of renovation. Struck a deal to pay in cash and certain that the night manager pocketed the $$ (he didn't want to give us a receipt and whenasked to, gave us a hand written one. Explored the temples in the late afternoon and had a nice dinner in the old town center at la Ambasicati di Siciliana which has a fantastic view from their terrace.
Thursday- drove to Marsala stopping in Sciacca and Porto Paolo, and Selinunte temples on the way. Had the most amazing lunch on the beach in Porto Paolo in a place called Da Vittorio's, basically in the middle of nowhere. There was no menu, and they just kept bringing the food. Five wonderful antipasto dishes, frutti di mari pasta, platter of grilled fish, 2 desserts, house wine, bottled water, 60 Euro for two. Thanks to Elizabeth (?) for this recommendation. We were the only non-Italians there.
The Selinunte temples are stunning and open to the public to walk through, unlike Agrigento.
The town of Marsala is charming, but completely devoid of ANY hotels or Pension in the historic center. Stayed at the charmless Hotel Presidente.
Friday-
Drove toward Trapani stopping at the famous salt pans/windmills along the way. Trapani is a pretty little town on the water and had an interesting fish market every morning. Wanted to stay at Baglio Santa Croce, but they only had one room left, with no windows. Stayed at the new Baglio Fontana, East of Erice and it was lovely. We were the only guests and our room had gorgeous antique dark wood furniture and high ceilings. A lot of attention to detail here. Dinner was mediocre, but it could have been because we were the only guests. Also visited Erice and the temple of Segesta that afternoon. Segesta is also open to walk through.
Saturday-
Drove to Palermo and stayed at the hotel Joli. Ask for a room overlooking the Piazza Florio. They recommended a parking garage that wanted to charge us 30 euro for one night, so we parked in a public lot a few blocks away for 9 euro.
Spent the afternoon walking the markets of the Vucceria, la Kalsa, and el Capo. Had the traditional sandwich of "Milza" at the Antico Foccaceria di San Francisco. This is tasty, but not for the squeamish, as its veal spleen, sliced and cooked and served on a bun with a slice of fresh ricotta cheese. Dinner at San't Andrea off the Piazza San Domenico.
Sunday-our last day. Had to return the car in town by 1 PM so we used our morning to drive to Monreale, the Cappuchine Catacombs, and the Cathedral (nowhere near as impressive as Monreale). Also walked through an antique market on a street behind the cathedral and to the left. Great furniture. After dropping off the car, we went back to Piazza Marina where there was a flea market and had lunch at Ristorante Palazzo Trabucco which was very good. Every church we visited that Sunday, and every restaurant, was filled with families celebrating their children's First Communions. Dinner that night was at Il Bagatto in Piazza Marina and was the worst meal of the trip.
Monday-9AM departure from airport, so 6:45 departure from Hotel. The timing of the airport bus, and the prospect of a 6 block walk to the stop with luggage, prompted us to look for other options. The train was also too far away and a taxi would cast about 40+ Euro. So we discovered that there's shuttle service and booked this trough the hotel for 28 euro total. They sent a private car and drive who arrived on time and whisked us to the airport. Company is called Airport easy Shuttle and website is www.airporteasyshuttle.it
Check in was easy and we had too much time to wait. So, of course I had to buy some Sicilian wine (Nero d'avola grape) to take home. Rest of flight home was fine.
Misc- My tri-band cell phone through T mobile never got a signal the entire trip even though I set up service in advance. Still don't know why.
All in all, a wonderful trip! I will be posting my photos and more extensive journals sometime in the near future on my website and I'll let everyone know when they are up.
May 29th, 2003 | 11:12 AM
#2
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 162
Likes: 0
Kristina,
Thank you so much for a wonderful report. My wife and I are doing Malta/Sicily next March and I have really been searching for the best route to take. Your path seemed to hit most of the places I wanted to see and any other out of the places I so desired could easily be worked in.
What is your Web site so that I can be looking for the update? Thanks again.
Thank you so much for a wonderful report. My wife and I are doing Malta/Sicily next March and I have really been searching for the best route to take. Your path seemed to hit most of the places I wanted to see and any other out of the places I so desired could easily be worked in.
What is your Web site so that I can be looking for the update? Thanks again.
May 29th, 2003 | 11:51 AM
#4
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,408
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Hi-
My website is http://www.wired2theworld.com
Right now, for Sicily, I have my planning journal and my links page. The rest will be up soon.
You can also read my Sicily trip from 1999 there (go to the round the world journals).
RAR-Yes, we really enjoyed the entire west coast. It's much less touristed than the East coast, but there's so much to see!
My website is http://www.wired2theworld.com
Right now, for Sicily, I have my planning journal and my links page. The rest will be up soon.
You can also read my Sicily trip from 1999 there (go to the round the world journals).
RAR-Yes, we really enjoyed the entire west coast. It's much less touristed than the East coast, but there's so much to see!
May 29th, 2003 | 05:00 PM
#6
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,812
Likes: 0
I'm so sad I missed Da Vittorio's!!! Unfortunately that was the day that we got lost trying to find Selinunte for about 3 hours, and we drove by Da Vittorio's but it was only 11:30am. Based on our track record for the day we were to scared to go back to the restaurant later. Looking forward to your pictures!
. I'll let you know when it's online.
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Jul 5th, 2003 | 09:51 AM
#8
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,408
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Hi everyone!
Just a quick update. I now have the first few days of my Sicily trip and photos online.
http://www.wired2theworld.com
Just a quick update. I now have the first few days of my Sicily trip and photos online.
http://www.wired2theworld.com
Jul 6th, 2003 | 04:38 PM
#10
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,408
Likes: 0
What was wrong with the airline portion?
We flew Delta.
1. A couple of months before departure they canceled our flight (and many others). They did not notify us (I learned about it online). I changed our flight. They canceled it again with no notification. I changed it again. At that point we had to have seats in the back of the plane and not together.
2. The food was horrible.
3. Seat width and pitch are at a minimum.
4.They charge for drinks on international flights. The flight attendant told me "all other airlines do this". No they do not. I don't drink while flying, but it just seemed "cheap" to me.
Generally, I prefer American Airlines as they have more legroom. Like I said, the tickets were free, so I really can't complain. But I would not choose to fly Delta again if given other options.
We flew Delta.
1. A couple of months before departure they canceled our flight (and many others). They did not notify us (I learned about it online). I changed our flight. They canceled it again with no notification. I changed it again. At that point we had to have seats in the back of the plane and not together.
2. The food was horrible.
3. Seat width and pitch are at a minimum.
4.They charge for drinks on international flights. The flight attendant told me "all other airlines do this". No they do not. I don't drink while flying, but it just seemed "cheap" to me.
Generally, I prefer American Airlines as they have more legroom. Like I said, the tickets were free, so I really can't complain. But I would not choose to fly Delta again if given other options.
Jul 6th, 2003 | 04:52 PM
#11
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 138
Likes: 0
Last time I went to Sicily, i flew Continental and than transferred to Lufthansa (Air One). They were both great. I will never go back to Alitalia again. My father, who goes to Italy twice a year and always flies Alitalia, tried continental and lufthansa this time also said he will never go back. He loved them both.
