my wife and i were in sicily last may for a month. spent 2 days in the baroque towns. liked ragusa, and loved noto. when we got to modica and never got out of the car - too much traffic and the main sites were in congested areas rather than in an old town area. spent a very enjoyable afternoon in Scicli - nice lunch and a quiet afternoon taking photos.

good points about numbers, shellio. I too need to read the website thoroughly.

toledodd - a whole month? lucky you. And thanks for the tips about the various Baroque towns.

Oy! Now I'm stumped again!

Thanks for the feedback, toledodd, even if it sets my poor brain spinning again!

Oy! Now I'm stumped again!>>

progol - you will be fine in Modica as you are staying there, remember? so you will be able to explore when all the emmets [like me] have gone home.

remember what you said to me up thread -Stay strong!!!

<i>when we got to modica and never got out of the car - too much traffic and the main sites were in congested areas rather than in an old town area.</i>

This confuses me as Modica has a big center that is pretty much entirely "old town." We stayed two nights and didn't have time to see most of the sights in the town.

The skateboarding video below captures Modica pretty well, at least based on my visit (in late March a few years ago):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGkRZ5WqIKs

A little quieter/emptier--they must have filmed early in the day, maybe on a Sunday, and the skater is not often shown on the main drag, which is a busy street with shops, restaurants, etc.

thanks for the link to the skateboarder, Leely.

There are a lot of other you tubes films available according to the menu to the right of the screen - I must make some time to look at them.

Leely,
I enjoyed the youtube of the skateboarder, too - though it must've been very early in the morning without any people around!

Oh, annhig...I think I've relapsed again! So many places....booking.com would make me broke if I forget to cancel all the reservations I don't end up using!!

progol - my advice is - step away from the laptop.

[though as someone else said, if you are still looking, that probably means you haven't found quite the right place yet].

[though as someone else said, if you are still looking, that probably means you haven't found quite the right place yet].

I don't think there is a right place! This is more the "perfect is the enemy of the good" syndrome. My husband, at this point, is ignoring this discussion and lets me know that it's my decision. Dang!

that's "cruel and unusual treatment" in my book, progol.

do you get the blame if it goes wrong?

My husband never cares or inputs on where we go or stay. Our family rule is no help, no complaining!

Progol, you really do need to step away.

Annhig, I think my husband is trying to ignore my insanity.

JulieEC, you're absolutely right. I'm doing my best to just stick with a decision and not change my mind. I'm a bit embarrassed, I admit. I'm not this bad in my day to day life!

Update in plans: given some health issues that impact my stamina for stairs, I've (reluctantly) decided to cancel my Modica reservations and stay in Scicli instead. I've now booked at the highly recommended Hotel Novocento.

Many many thanks for all your feedback! I know a lot of the struggle has been related to ongoing health issues and trying to decide what is and isn't manageable.

progol, is this it?

http://www.hotel900.it/index.htm

it looks very nice and in a good position, which I know is important for you. How many nights do you have there?

Anyway, I'm glad for your sake that you've made a decision that you can stick with. I too was a drawn to Modica, but the B&B that I found in Ragusa which is one of those rare beasts, a B&B with a pool and in the middle of the town so we can walk to dinner without worrying about what we drink, swung it for me.

progol, you are going to enjoy Sicily no matter which town you stay in, and I hope Scicli works out well for you.

We will be around the same area in May as well, staying in Modica, so we will have to compare notes when we come back.

>>a lot of the struggle has been related to ongoing health issues and trying to decide what is and isn't manageable.>>

The important thing is to manage those health issues and keep on travelling

What sundriedtopepo said (except about being there at the same time).... Best wishes, progol!

Many thanks, all!

I'm sure the trip will be terrific -- and annhig, yes, that's the hotel! It's definitely my "splurge" of the trip, but it gets great reviews, and I figure that will more than justify my decision to stay in Scicli and assuage any other mixed feelings that linger!

Now I can't wait for the trip to finally start!

progol,
I'm sure you will enjoy Scicli, I loved it. Not sure if you read my TR, but Scicli was untouisted when I was there. Delightful passegiata so be sure to participate. I enjoyed 2 wonderful dinners in town at restaurants the hotel recommended. Also really enjoyed the small, but interesting costume museum just on the next street from Hotel Novecento. The hotel is excellent, great helpful staff.

It was a bit in price than most of my other hotels on my trip, but since it was pre-season in April, they upgraded me to a deluxe room. It was small but had a very modern beautiful bathroom. Hotel was totally quiet, bed and linens divine, breakfast very good.

Scicli has very few stairs and lots of flat walking to enjoy.

It's also an easy and scenic drive to Vendicari Nature Preserve, which is basically enroute between Scicli and Siracusa. Very pretty beach and on the migratory bird route. I went especially to see the wild flamingos!
Buon viaggio!

Vendicari Nature Preserve was very nice. Further town the road was a lovely seaside town, Marzamemi, which was about 30 minutes from Noto.

Dayle - It was your travel report that inspired my decision - along with threads on TA. I've heard it described as a smaller Modica, I suspect because it's less "touristy" than other towns. And i was very taken by the hotel -- so a bit of a splurge for us, too but it does look lovely.

yestravel, those sound like great suggestions and I will definitely try to include them, if time permits.