Selinunte, Sicily

After exploring the Valley of the Temples we made the way to Selinunte, our home for the next three nights. This is a small beachside town right next to the Archeological Park of Selinunte, the site of more amazing Greek temples, and the reason we are staying here. Our accomodation is just across from the beach and we are hoping to enjoy some downtime here.

Bags dropped off and we were out the door to walk on the beach and dip our feet in the Mediterranean waters. We had a walk along the beach, admiring the golden Greek temples from the beach while Brad found pieces of terracotta and terrazzo that he swears are from the temple grounds. The beaches here are so different to home making us realise how lucky we are. The sand here is quite gritty and we sank so far in as we walked, giving us a work out as we walked. Even though we had lost the sun it was still great to be on a beach again.

We stopped at the beach bar for a couple of drinks - very strong limoncello spritzes, before walking into “town”. It really is a small collection of accommodations, holiday homes, bars and restaurants, and a few tourist shops along the main harbour and beach front. It was a very relaxed feel, especially as tourist season hasn’t hit yet and not everything is open.

We popped into one of the souvenir shops to buy a towel and ended up spending a very delightful and funny hour with a nonna who spoke no English but was intent on us sampling all of her jams, marmalades and spreads, and every single type of alcohol she sold - and she sold a lot of different types. Her sales pitch worked as we left with some pistachio liqueur and some pistachio biscuits. She really made our day and we were very merry when we left.

Nearing afternoon drinks time we made our way to a beach side bar called Bamboo where we enjoyed some more beers and spritzes and the most delicious charcuterie board as well as heaps of free snacks. The prices here are ridiculous and we cannot believe how inexpensive our afternoon was. We were very merry and full by the time we left to return to our apartment to call it a night. No need for dinner. What a fabulous first day in Selinunte.Read more