nonconformist2

Sicily has been on my bucket list for years, but DPs who I normally travel with didn’t want to go there because of the heat (and the Mafia). After last year’s debacle (last minute cancellation) I didn’t feel confident about revisiting that trip and decided to go for Sicily. As I don’t drive and wanted to cover a lot of ground, I decided an organised trip was the best option for me. I knew there would be good and bad points to this.

I wanted to go for two weeks, which limited the options. I looked at Exodus, Explore! And Jules Verne (also known as VJV). All had broadly similar prices and itineraries. VJV had the nicest hotels, Explore! the best itinerary and most convenient dates, but no solo vacancies for my desired departure, so I booked with VJV.

I wanted to go in May to avoid the worst of the heat, but expected it to be pretty warm and definitely no rain. A couple of days before going I saw a news report about unseasonal rain and floods in Italy, so quickly checked the weather forecast to find it was chilly and raining in Sicily, so redid my packing at the last minute.

Flights were Easyjet from Gatwick at an inconvenient 6 am, so I stayed the night before at the Gatwick Sofitel, which was pleasant enough but not sure it’s worth the high price tag. Yes, I know, you’re paying for the convenient location, but I would go for a cheaper option next time. It was mildly stressful finding my way there as it was not clearly marked from the train station. The view was actually quite nice, OK, a car park and motorway, but with trees and grass behind. The AC was a bit too cold. The fridge was good. I’d gone for a midday train, so spent the afternoon quietly reading a book about Sicily in my room. I ate in the hotel bar, which was a big mistake – sandwiches with shockingly STALE bread, and chips (fries for American readers) on the side which were edible but underdone. Luckily I wasn’t actually very hungry, so retired to my room for a drink I had left in the fridge.

Easyjet offers a twilight bag drop at Gatwick from 8 pm for early morning flights, to save time and stress next day. So I took my main case down and found it actually opened a bit earlier than advertised, and it was super easy to use and at that point not at all busy either. The staff were helpful, and noticed that I hadn’t actually signed my passport (which I got in late 2020 and hadn’t used yet), so I did that to forestall Issues with Immigration People. I’d checked in online a week earlier, for both flights, and printed off my boarding cards.

Back to the hotel for a shower, which I found a bit tricky to operate. I went to bed at 9 but found it hard to get to sleep. Indeed, I barely slept at all before my 2.45 alarm went off. However, I got to the airport in good time.

nonconformist2

The flight was trouble free, apart from some tricky steps downstairs on the way to the plane, although I was tired and headachy, no doubt because of the lack of sleep. Landing I was attracted by the approach, as I hadn’t realised Palermo was so close to the mountains – a great big rock is right by the airfield. It was cloudy and had been raining, but was at least warmer than at home. Those members of my tour group on this flight were met at the airport and taken to the first hotel, the Plaza Opera in Palermo, which would be the base for the first two nights. This is technically 4-star but felt quite basic.

My room on this occasion (we stayed here again at the end of the tour) was OK, an odd shape and quite small but a reasonable size, with a single bed. It wasn’t the one they had planned to allocate me, but that wasn’t ready so they found this one. The view was not bad for a city centre location, looking opposite to apartments with balconies covered in greenery. Power point provision was good. The shower room looked newly appointed. I couldn’t get the wifi to work in my room at first (it was OK later). The public rooms were more elegant with a very nice little salon which was not much used. There was a bar in there but it was never open as far as I could see. I unpacked what I needed for this stay and ventured out on my own at 12.10. I had really wanted to go to the Archaeological Museum.

Sadly, I had trouble working out where I was. I had actually tried for hours ahead of time trying to compare online maps and those in my two guide books, and on the ground just couldn’t work out which direction was which. I kept on finding streets and thinking I was on the right track and then finding ones which should have been in the opposite direction. OK< I'm not very good at reading maps. After a while going back and forth a number of times I took refuge in a café for lunch and a gelato in a little back street gelateria near the hotel. I am pleased to say that I managed at least one gelato every day of my trip except for the last. On the plus side, apart from busy traffic, it felt like a very safe area.

At 5 the group assembled at the hotel to meet our tour guide, the lovely Giancarlo. There was 12 of us there, and we were told another person was due to join us but had had to go to hospital after falling in the street. I was the youngest person, but not massively so. There were four couples and five single women, two of whom were friends sharing a room. The other two singles buddied up together (just as well as they were the most difficult members of the group). Everyone else was lovely. We were issued with a welcome drink of something alcoholic; I don’t drink and they found a fruit juice for me.

Most evening meals were not included on this trip. I just ate a toasted sandwich and pastry that night in a café close to the hotel and had an early night. AC in the room was chilly and the bed covers thin, but although noisy at first it was fairly quiet later in the evening/overnight,and I slept well. The mattress was on the firmer side.

A slightly annoying aspect to the hotel was that they make you book a slot for breakfast the night before – I imagine tricky if you oversleep. However it didn’t seem to be monitored particularly. Giancarlo had told us our day would start at 8.30, so I had selected breakfast at 7.30. The breakfast room was on the 8th floor, and had amazing cityscape views, especially over the horses on top of the nearby Politeama Theatre. Breakfast was a typical Italian hotel selection of cooked egg dishes, cold meats, fruit, yoghurt, bread to toast, and pastries, plus CAKE. I do love cake and jam tart for breakfast, it feels so Italian I cut myself a nice slice of jam tart and was about to tuck in when I found a dead spider trapped in it. This was rather offputting, so no jam tart for me that day. What I did like was that the hotel puts a bottle of water on each table so you don't have to keep on getting up and refilling your tiny glass.

nonconformist2

Our tour proper started at 8.30 with an additional city guide. She used walkie-talkies called Whispers, which were quite a good idea, but slightly awkward to fit in the ear. Our coach driver, Gaetano, who stayed with us for most of the tour, drove us into the historic centre. We had a cute little mini coach, and as it was a smaller group I had a seat to myself. First we visited the chapel of the Norman Palace for its jaw dropping mosaics and gold leaf - genuinely stunning and a highlight of the trip, but it was disappointing not to be able to visit the other open rooms at the palace. The we walked through a small park to the cathedral. One of the horses ready to take people for drives in carriages was wearing an adorable little hat, and they all had covers for their ears. We then visited the cathedral and saw the tombs of the Norman and Imperial rulers of Sicily. Outside, I noticed that the portico was leaning a bit. We then had a break for a snack and my essential daily gelato.

Regathering, we walked through the old town and viewed the ‘Fountain of Shame’ before visiting the stunning Martorana church. Then we had a break for lunch.

In the afternoon, the coach took us to Monreale for a guided visit of the amazing cathedral there, another highlight with its wonderful mosaics of Bible stories. More free time after that and I had a gelato in a brioche - nice but a bit difficult to handle; the view of Palermo from up here was not particularly attractive. Then it was back through heavy traffic to the hotel.

I found somewhere to eat, then had another early night as I was quite tired. This was a mistake as I woke around 4.30 and couldn’t get back to sleep.

nonconformist2

My knees were quite sore next morning, and a Nasty Horrid Insect of some kind had bitten me yesterday. I couldn’t find the anti histamine cream I had thoughtfully packed, and the pharmacy next door to the hotel was not open until 8.30, when we were due to leave Palermo. Disappointingly the weather was awful this morning with looming dark grey skies, but it was a joy to see flocks of swallows circling the sky from the breakfast room windows, on their way north for the summer’s nesting season.

As we travelled out of town those grey skies turned to quite heavy rain, definitely not what I came to Sicily for . We drove along the coast road for a bit, past an anti-Mafia monument, and then up into the mountains to Segesta. By the time we got there the weather had cleared up and we enjoyed a visit to the Greek theatre ruins, where there were stunning views, and then to the surviving temple. Both ruins were wonderful - I wouldn't have picked out this if I had been doing my own trip, but it was more than worth it. A few spots of rain fell here.

There were spectacular views on the way up to Erice. This was described to us as a hilltop village, but it was really a charming little town on top of a mountain. At the top of the town there were more superb views all the way down to the sea, including a distant view of the salt flats. We were then free to explore the town independently. I enjoyed a delicious gelato here with my lunch, and then went into the church at the lower end of the town. I did feel we didn't have enough time here.

hetismij2

I am interested in reading your guided tour report. We don't get many of them
Sicily is on my wish list, and a guided tour would probably be the way I would do it after getting the train down though Italy.

Better rain and chill than the heat they are having now in Sicily which would be even more miserable and potentially dangerous!

nonconformist2

Well, yes, I didn't want excessive heat!Later in the afternoon we drove on to Marsala for two nights at the Stella d’Italia hotel. This had a great setting within the old town, close to one of the beautiful golden sandstone Baroque churches, the only drawback being that it meant a bit of a walk from the coach dropping us. Our cases were transported for us, but I had kept my hand baggage with me on the coach, which was quite heavy. The hotel was quite pleasant. My room was a nice twin room, but with no view to speak of – the window overlooked a small internal courtyard, ie basically a wall, but it was fine for the short stay. It was better keeping the curtains drawn. Perfectly clean, and it had a lovely shower room. The only down side really was that although there was a lift, there were then some additional steps to my room which were a bit awkward with luggage. The first hotel had only had Sky News in English; this hotel, and as it transpired all the other hotels we stayed at had no English language TV at all. However the wifi was excellent and free.

I loved Marsala’s golden stone architecture, and the streets in the centre were really clean too. The old town felt very safe to walk around on your own, with quite a few restaurants and cafes nearby. I found a pharmacy to buy the anti histamine cream I so desperately needed, and had a bit of sticker shock at the price – 13 Euros for a tiny little tube. But it was a bargain in disguise - very soothing, and when I did eventually find my original British tube it wasn't as good. After dinner I had another early night; the room was wonderfully quiet (the benefit of no street outlook) and the bed firm but adequate. I slept well.

nonconformist2

After breakfast next morning we walked to the coach, and then drove through the less attractive modern part of town and along the sea road to the salt pan area at Trapani. This was delightfully pretty, with unexpected little windmills - very picturesque. We caught a little ferry over to the island of Mozia to explore the Phoenician ruins there. These were fascinating, and our guide was most informative about them; but it came on to rain so the later parts of the circuit of the island got rather short shrift as most of us were not well prepared for the rain. The museum was excellent, with some fascinating finds, the highlight being the famous Youth of Mozia, a beautiful white statue which was found in the sea. There was also a café there, and time for a drink before our ferry was due to return to the mainland at 1. As we waited on the little wharf a cold wind rose and it felt more like home than so-called sunny Sicily.

We then had a tasting of fortified Marsala wine at a winery. I could have done without this as I don’t drink, and the lecture on the wine’s history was not as interesting as the one I did in Porto a few years ago, but the others enjoyed it, and there was some food laid on as well. We got back to Marsala mid-afternoon, by which time the weather had cleared up and it was quite nice. In my free time, I decided to go to the Marsala archaeological museum, which was a bit of a walk from the centre of town. It was very well presented, but I felt the contents were not as good as the one at Mozia. The star exhibit was the Punic (Phoenician/Carthaginian) boat which had been excavated from the sea, but there wasn’t much of it. It wasn’t exactly the Mary Rose . I’m glad I didn’t miss it though. What was fun there was going out of the back of the museum to a field which was the site of the Roman town Lilybaeum, with some bits of archaeology still in situ. I was the only person out there, and it was a pleasant afternoon with the birds singing away.

nonconformist2

Back in town I found somewhere to eat, and then passed a wedding party coming out of one of the churches, as I looked for somewhere else for a gelato in lieu of pudding. I enjoyed my gelato, and then started back for the hotel. At least that was the theory. It was now getting dark, chilly, and the rain began to fall. I was both coatless and hatless having gone out when it seemed fine, not to mention umbrellaless. I was also hopelessly lost. I had a map, which I had got from the hotel reception, but somehow the streets on the ground didn’t seem to run the way they did on paper. And did I mention it was now raining *really* heavily? I strayed into the more dilapidated section of the city and started to feel worried. Tears may have been shed.

Eventually however, I ran into another member of my tour group, and managed to find the hotel again. I was wet and emotionally fraught, so was fit only to collapse in my room for the rest of the evening.

nonconformist2

After breakfast next day it was off with our luggage at 9.30. The morning was grey and chilly, but colourful wild flowers adorned the fields and it was quite a pretty drive to Selinunte. Here we visited a reconstructed temple plus the remains of more, which might best be described as, well, a lot of big piles of stones. There was a small museum with some finds as well. Lunch was at an olive tasting place – the tasting itself was very disappointing, with only a tiny amount on offer. I had a very nice sandwich made fresh for me, but the ice cream was poor quality, the worst I had in Sicily.

We then drove through some lovely scenery to Agrigento. One cool sight in this area was local cemeteries where the graves take the form of small houses. Agrigento was one of my must-sees, and I had expected the Valley of the Temples to be the highlight of the trip but I was actually a bit underwhelmed despite an informative guide. We saw two temples up close and a distant view of the acropolis, but I enjoyed Segesta much more a few days earlier. It didn’t help that it started to rain half way round, and our visit was curtailed somewhat as no one in the group had the enthusiasm for walking around in the increasingly heavy rain. We got back on the coach all miserably wet through (despite wearing coats etc), and stayed that way until we reached our next hotel, the Colleverde Park.

We were only here for one night and the rubbish weather meant we could not really enjoy its small but attractive garden or admittedly fine view of the temples of Agrigento. The hotel itself was plain and quite basic despite a 4 star rating. My room looked over a scruffy field and had no proper curtain. However, it was very clean. We all ate in the hotel restaurant which was very high class (better than the hotel as a whole), and it was actually a lovely evening bonding with other group members over an excellent meal. The bed was enormous but the mattress was very hard and the pillow lumpy, and I barely slept.

nonconformist2

It was an early start next day, leaving at 8.30 for a drive into the heart of the island to the Roman Villa Casale near Piazza Armerina. If Agrigento disappointed, this one delivered in spades. Wonderful mosaics, absolutely fantastic. A highlight of the trip, which one group member missed as lack of sleep meant she decided to stay on the coach to sleep. It was raining quite badly, but most of the site itself is undercover so we survived, although there was a walk from and to the car park. The café was pretty awful though - very poor quality food.

The rain got worse as we drove to Ragusa, and a heavy fog developed at one point. However, the worst of it was during the drive, and by the time we got to Ragusa in the early afternoon it had lessened to a faint drizzle. In Ragusa a local guide took us to three locations. First was the Conversation Club, a 19th century gentleman’s club, which was unusual and quite nice to see; next was the small private theatre in one of the many palazzi in Ragusa; and finally another palazzo’s small private garden, which I was a bit underwhelmed by (although it was quite cool that the local guide was a member of the aristocratic family who owned the latter, and there was a sweet elderly cat). I would rather have seen inside one. We had some free time in Ragusa as well, but not enough to see the cathedral as well as have a snack; it is a lovely city but I felt the tour short changed it a bit. I think they were trying to offer a bit of variety, but it wasn't altogether successful.

KarenWoo

I am enjoying reading the details of your report not only to read about Sicily but to learn what it’s like to be on a group tour. We are in our 70’s and I wonder how long we will be able to travel independently. I hope forever but you never know. My husband does all the driving when we travel internationally but at some point he might find it too stressful and tiring.

hugo64

Thanks for doing this report Nonconformist2.
Loved the driving tour of Sicily with hubby a few years back and have booked a cheapo Gate1 for October with daughter. Have done a few guided tours and am interested in the logistics of Sicily as I've found most tours follow the same path with some adds and minuses depending on the level chosen.
Pity about Ragusa. It's a lovely town although a bit of a nightmare for drivers. The upside of a tour. is of course no worries about driving and finding parking spots, sights and hotels.

nonconformist2

I'll do a summary at the end of all the plusses and minuses After Ragusa, it was on to undoubtedly the nicest hotel of the trip, the Villa Favorita a little way outside Noto. This is a converted country villa, with our rooms in what had probably once been the stables. The only apparent drawback the first night was very poor wifi which kept on cutting out after a few minutes, but this may have been due to atmospheric conditions – Etna was erupting! It was better the other nights, although then it worked only in the rooms and not in the public areas.

We were greeted with a drink, either alcohol or a very nice lemon drink. There was a group meal included the first night, which was very nice, based on a limited selection from the main menu. The restaurant, where we also had breakfast, was in the main house.

The room was very quiet and the bed comfortable, but I slept poorly due to a painful knee - no fault of the hotel. Breakfast was super, the best of anywhere we stayed, with a wonderful selection.

Our first day out from here was delayed due to some ridiculous lost (allegedly stolen) phone drama from one group member (it was in her room). Eventually we set out on the 1.55 hour journey to the coast. Today was dedicated to the Inspector Montalbano TV series. I have never seen it, but most of the other group members were keen fans, and I did read the first book in the series while we were away and enjoyed it - it was a bit grittier than I had expected but very good.

First we had a short stop at Puntasecca where the house which plays Montalbano’s home in the TV show is situated. While it was a bit of a pointless stop for me, there was a very nice little café with the best gelato I had in Sicily, and really cheap too, so I guess it was worthwhile. The weather was bright and pleasant here, but it had started to rain by the time we got to hilly Scicli. This is a dark but impressive looking town, where we had a tour of the ornately decorated town hall, including the Montalbano police station film set - the fans loved this and it was quite fun, although it seemed more old fashioned than I would have expected from the one book in the series I read, but that did give it a certain charm. My knee was hurting really badly, and I had to use the rather rickety lift here rather than the stairs.

Then we were given some free time for lunch, just as the downpour set in. I say downpour, it was more like a monsoon.

I couldn’t see anywhere I fancied for lunch, and would have liked to go into a palazzo which offered guided tours. However, the time allocated was short and I couldn’t see how long the tour was or when it would be so decided it was not an option. (No one was at the desk and there was a sign up saying a tour was in progress.) I walked back in the general direction of the pickup point and got progressively wetter and wetter and wetter. My knee was in a state of agony, possibly exacerbated by the need to step carefully through virtual flash floods over smooth cobbles. I was wearing a raincoat and waterproof hat (which I had packed at the last minute, thank goodness I did), but still got soaked through. I eventually found a café and damply squelched my way through a drink and pastry, eking out the drink for an hour until it was time to catch the coach again.

Everyone was more or less wet, but I think I was the worst off. Oddly enough though, the rest had made my knee stop hurting. (It was fine for the rest of the day then painful again that night).

nonconformist2

The rain eased a bit as we drove to Noto, and it was dry by the time we got there, even if we were damp at best. It is a beautiful baroque city, but quite touristy. One group member had been to Sicily before, and was quite upset it wasn't as charming and undiscovered as it had been a decade or so earlier.

We had a walking tour then some free time. After an ice cream I paid to see the street which had been decorated with flower pictures for the annual Infiorata: quite good, but I had envisaged a wider area being covered. I also visited a small palazzo with a ‘hall of mirrors’ advertised as being Noto’s answer to Versailles. This was, shall we say, optimistic advertising. It was attractive but one very small room, hardly anyone's answer to Versailles. My favourite thing in Noto was the church of Santa Chiara, which was really gorgeous inside.

I think we all ate at the hotel that night rather than staying in Noto and getting a taxi back as was suggested as an option.

nonconformist2

The next morning saw, at last, the kind of weather we had expected from Sicily in May. Gorgeous blue skies and sunshine – in fact it verged on too warm! We headed for Siracusa and Ortigia today. We started at Siracuse archaeological park, which was fascinating if very busy. Some school groups made the echo cave almost unbearable with their shrieking. The actual theatre was not at its best due to being prepared for a concert. There was no time for a drink at the café here, which would have been appreciated given the hot day.

Then it was on to delightful Ortigia, where we had a walking tour and visited some of the churches and the natural spring, before some free time for lunch and wandering round individually. I found a bar with a garden at the back where they did a particularly tasty toasted sandwich, and of course gelato for dessert. I did get myself a bit lost finding my way back to the coach in the afternoon, but made it! This was another place where it would have been nice to have a longer time.

We returned to the hotel in time to experience the outdoor pool, which was lovely. Due to the horrid weather earlier it had not been worth daring the cold water the previous two evenings. It was slightly warmer at one end than the other, but was enjoyable, and would be wonderfully refreshing in the heat of the summer. Oddly enough, my dodgy knee, which had been agony in Scicli, and not great generally, was completely pain free while swimming

I ate at the hotel again and had a really nice meal of pork, apple and fried potatoes, then had a little walk in the peaceful and very pretty jasmine-scented gardens in the dark.

nonconformist2

It was an early start next day, 7.15 breakfast and 8.15 departure. It was a shame to leave the lovely Favorita, and one of the pitfalls in a tour became evident – swimming costumes and my coat, hat, gloves and jumper from the day we got soaked in Scicli were all still either damp or outright sodden, so I couldn’t put them in my case. I had to pop them in a carrier bag instead and put on the free seat next to me in the coach.

We drove to Catania, where there was a (very short) walking tour. We saw live octopi among the fish for sale in the market, the elephant statue and the church. This stop was really far too short – I grabbed a gelato and had to finish it on the coach.

We drove on to Mount Etna. I hadn’t been particularly bothered about this ahead of time, but it was undeniably striking and I found the stop here more fun than expected, although the area is extremely touristy. The ash from the explosions a few days before was still on the ground – really more like charcoally gravel, hard to the touch and crunchy underfoot. We had a fair time here, with the option to go on one of the trips up the mountain by cable car/4x4, but none of us wanted to do that. It was possible to walk to one of the lower craters, and we saw a building (now a distinctly grubby shop/café) which had been almost engulfed by lava in the 1980s.

Next we stopped at Acireale, a rather dilapidated town, to visit the Palazzo Fiorini. This was a delightful palazzo decorated in the early 19th century with some very pretty frescoes and beautiful furniture, and great views from the roof terrace. It was rather evident though that the aristocratic family who owned it must have been pro-Mussolini in the 1920s and 30s as there was pro-Fascist sheet music on display in the music room. They didn't allow photography inside, but had some postcards for sale. I really liked this house, it was so pretty inside.

SusanP

hugo64, I hope you do a report on that Gate 1 trip. I have considered it. Even though I have done mostly independent travel, lots of trips by myself, I am unsure about Sicily on my own due to what I've read, as I don't want to drive. I have used Gate 1 on several trips where I didn't want to go by myself (Egypt, South Africa, Thailand and Vietnam) and have had great trips.

Adelaidean

Interesting to read your take on the tour.
I’d never drive, so either a tour or cobbling together drivers/ plus bus which could also be challenging.
The weather must have been a downer.

Holly_uncasdewar

Thanks for taking the time to write up such a detailed report. It's much appreciated.

nonconformist2

I'm glad people are enjoying it!


Then we headed up past Taormina to the mountainside village of Castelmola. The drive here was frankly terrifying as the road skirted the cliff, there was traffic in both directions, and in places cars parked on the side. Our driver did a brilliant job but even so I could barely look to the side – it was beautiful but perilous. (In our subsequent journeys up and down I made sure to have my sun hat on to obscure side vision and my eyes firmly fixed down on my book or kindle.) Our hotel here was the Villa Sonia.

I was disappointed in my room for three reasons, two intrinsic, the third in comparison to others. Firstly, I really didn’t like the high wooden ceilings which extended into large vaults beyond the room itself. It seemed like an obvious place for spiders to lurk. However, the place was spotlessly clean and I saw no spiders during our two nights here. Secondly the furnishings were old and in some cases antique. This was lovely in the public areas – I particularly liked a sweet little dolls’ cradle from the 1810s, but I would have preferred a wardrobe where I could actually open the doors. Finally, my room was facing the road with no view to speak of and no private outside space, while most other members of our group faced the mountains with balconies or enormous terraces and amazing views of Etna. It wasn’t just the single traveller being relegated either – one of the couples had the room next to me, almost as bad but at least they had a little balcony, and my room had a large double bed so it wasn't a single room. It was also (bonus fourth grumble) a bit noisy, as I could hear whenever anyone above me or next door flushed the loo. On the plus side, the bed was very comfortable, and I slept well once everyone else had stopped using the toilet close to midnight.

I had booked for dinner at the hotel and went down in the lift to the restaurant, to find it and the bar locked and completely unpopulated. Discomposed, I went up to reception to be informed they no longer had a restaurant on site, and I had to go up the road to their separate La Caverna restaurant. I don’t know why they couldn’t tell me that when I booked the meal, and the lift still had details and menus for the restaurant being in their basement. Oddly inefficient. A further issue was that to get to the restaurant you had to walk in the road – there were no pavements and cars parked next to the edge made it even more dangerous.

The meal itself was excellent though. I just had pizza, but the mozzarella was utterly delicious. I was also entertained by a little stray cat who kept plucking up its nerve to dart into the kitchen for scraps, then taking fright and dashing back out.

Breakfast next morning was in the basement restaurant, or on the terrace outside. This had stunning views of Mount Etna. I ventured to try the bacon here, as it looked quite nice, but it tasted horribly chemically, so I reverted to my usual selection of cakes and yoghurt. The selection was limited, but to be fair anywhere was going to look bad after the Villa Favorita, and the view made up for it. It was now I found out about all my fellow travellers’ equally super views ☹