SICILY - where's your favourite place?
 

Planning a trip for September, which will take in some time on Sicily. Where was your favourite place? Would also love information on some great accommodations. Thanks!

Jules,

Sicily is spectacular in September. You can drive from one place to another easily -- beautiful roads. There are so many beautiful places. Palermo is intriging, Cefalu a lovely beach area (Kalura is a nice hotel with beautiful sea views), Taormina is touristy, but so much fun, lively, great evening passagiata and street entertainment; Agrigento has more complete Greek ruins than much of Greece, Trapani is an elegant town in the east, as is Erice at the top of its mountain. But, my favorite place, the most memorable experience, was a place called Gangivecchio. It's a b&b located in the outrageously beautiful Madonie Mountains in an ancient restored abbey. Run by mother, son and daughter, the restaurant is known all over Sicily and beyond. Wanda and Giovanna Tornabene wrote a cookbook last year that won the James Beard Award in the Italian category. We stayed there the week before they went to NY to receive their award. We went for the food, but found so much more -- charming hosts at a breathtaking inn, fascinating little hilltop towns in the area ( Gangi is the nearest and seems to float like ShangriLa at the top of a winding mountain road. You won't see many tourists in the area, but the Sicilians love it, and the people were small-town friendly. If you want to meet some wonderful Sicilians that seem to be a step back in time, this is the place for you. It's about a 2hr. drive from Cefalu (northern coast), about another 40 minutes if you start in Palermo. Information is in Karen Brown's guide. If you want more specifics on any of the towns, you may e-mail me at the above address. Sicily will surprise you and captivate you. Buon viaggio!

I thought Vulcano was a special place, despite the smelly mud pool. I even had a dip in it, as it's supposed to be therapeutic. The walk up to the crater of the volcano of Vulcano was exciting and the view of sunset from the top spectacular - all the sea and islands bathed in gold and bluish hues.
Another special place was Pantalica, where you can walk along the side of a mountain to see Sicel (or is it Sikel?) tombs (Bronze Age I think), some of which were later turned into Byzantine period dwellings and chapels. Talk about rooms with a view!
The archaeological site of Selinunte is very huge and rambling and in a lovely position near the sea. I also loved Siracusa and its old town.
There is so much to see!

WOW! I was going to say Cefalu and the Aoelian island of Lipari, but I think I'll pack it in and go to Barbara's Gangivecchio before too many read this and beat me to it! What a great writer she is!

Thank you all so much, for your replies. I'm
going to spend this weekend with the maps and
hopefully if I can find it, Karen Browns guide, and
plot out the areas you all suggest.

If I come up with any further questions along the
way, and if you don't mind, I'll certainly be in
touch via your emails.

Again, thanks for taking the time to reply.

Jules.

I'm bowled over by Barbara's knowledge and romance with Sicily. We will only be in Catania for one day..via cruise ship. I've printed and filed your earlier message, for a week or two trip in the future, but any ideas what we can do there for a day? We're leaving a week from today.