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Exploring Sicily
  • Cathy Toole
October 2024

Exploring Sicily

Another walking holiday with HF holidays. We are staying in a nice hotel in Castellmarre del Golfo . A lovely village about 40 minutes drive from Palermo. Read more
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  • Trip start
    October 6, 2024
    Cathy TooleExploring SicilyTraveler

    Day One

    October 6, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Day one
    Arrived in Castellammarre del Golfo at about 1.00 pm having flown from Heathrow on the 8.15 flight. It’s a beautiful old fishing village with masses of fish restaurants, Sicilian pizza parlours and trattoria. We had an orientation walk then a late lunch. Out tonight at a local restaurant.Read more

  • Cathy TooleExploring SicilyTraveler

    Day Two . A Walk to a Temple

    October 7, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Got up early and went to the local shops to buy fruit and nuts and water for my lunch.
    Calatafime Segesta is the site or a beautiful Greek temple and amphitheater. We walked through the pine forest and would have crossed the gorge but it had been made unnavigable due to bad weather. So we had a shortened walk but still very lovely. In the afternoon we visited the temple site . Beautiful with stunning views.
    Lovely people in the group. All interesting and inclusive.
    Walked by the beach this evening and enjoyed a drink with some of the other walkers.
    Dinner out this evening. The food here is amazing with lots of fresh fish.
    The Sicilian local wine is delicious and cheap! Vineyards everywhere.    Read more

  • Cathy TooleExploring SicilyTraveler

    Zingaro Nature Reserve

    October 8, 2024 in Italy ⋅ 🌬 23 °C

    Up early to travel to Zingaro Nature Reserve. Hot but windy day so the higher longer walk along the top of the cliffs was cancelled and we all did the coast path. A beautiful walk with stunning views across the sea. The cliff formations are dramatic with stops at a couple of little museums and craft centres and culminating at a magnificent gorge.
    Some wealthy people decided to build houses in the Nature Reserve overlooking the sea. When they thought they would build a tunnel and a road to make life easier the locals rebelled and the protest worked. The road was never built and the owners had to leave or have all their shopping etc transported by hand or donkey along the coastal path .
    Then a trip to a local beach for a swim but I sat in a nice hotel overlooking the beach and had a quiet time over great Italian coffee. Only 2 euros a cup and that’s expensive here!
    On to an olive oil tasting at a Bayou that has been converted into a boutique hotel.
    Another wonderful day. Palermo tomorrow.    Read more

  • Cathy TooleExploring SicilyTraveler

    Day Four Exploring Palermo

    October 9, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Up early this morning to visit Palermo the capital of Sicily. Our guide Alessio , gave us a great talk on route explaining the origins of the Mafia and how despised they are by the local people.
    Alessio was born and grew up in Palermo. He showed us where his parents live and the school he went to . We also saw where he lives now. A beautiful area on the edge of Palermo where he goes cycling, walks his dog and takes his boys to explore and play. Wild and green with fruit trees that the locals can pick whenever they want to- so they always have fruits in season. Alessio is also supplied with olive oil and red wine from family and friends who make or produce it. No one in Sicily buys olive oil as everyone knows someone who makes it.
    We visited a convent that produced an incredible cake that we all sampled. The convent is no more but outside is a beautiful fountain that had been bought and sent to Palermo by a landowner in need of money. It cost more to transport and install the fountain than the cost of the fountain itself. The fountain came with a lot of nude statues that faced the convent windows and disturbed the nuns. One night all the penises on the male statues mysteriously disappeared and order resumed in the convent. 🫤😊
    Fabulous street food tour with guide Fabio and then plenty of free time to explore on our own.    Read more

  • Cathy TooleExploring SicilyTraveler

    Day Five Erice

    October 10, 2024 in Italy ⋅ 🌬 23 °C

    Today we drove up a mountain to Enrica. Erice is a beautiful old town with the ruins of a Norman castle, churches and alleyways. We had a cookery lesson in what used to be a convent and is now a restaurant and I presume, cookery school. We made a pesto sauce using the freshest basil, tomatoes , garlic and Extra virgin olive oil. We make traditional pasta out of flour and water , twisting it around sticks to get the shape.
    We then sat down to a lovely lunch. Afterwards we did a short walk around the mountainside and then I wandered alone in the town. I did manage to get lost as once you leave the tourist area it became a maze of small streets and alleyways that were largely deserted. I survived however! Another lovely day. We’re fed so much food along the way all I’ll eat tonight is a salad!    Read more

  • Cathy TooleExploring SicilyTraveler
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    Day Six Monte Cofano Nature Reserve

    October 11, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Beautiful walk this morning along the foothills of the mountains exploring Monte Cofano Nature Reserve. Gorges, mountains and the beautiful blue sea. Lunch on the beach and back at the hotel by 3.30. Had tea overlooking the harbour in Castellamarre del Golfo.
    Great meal this evening with the group. Wonderful food and wine!    Read more

  • Cathy TooleExploring SicilyTraveler

    Day Seven Marsala and Isola de Mozia

    October 12, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Today we drove to Marsala and visited the Pellegrino winery for a tour and a tasting. Beautiful place and very interesting. We popped into Marsala itself for lunch and then went to Isola di Mozia, a small island set amongst shallow water where there are salt flats . It is a beautiful place with Roman remains. It was also the home of the Englishman who first created Marsala wine. His name was John Woodhouse, a Liverpudlian, who came to Marsala in 1773 and never left!
    Another wonderful day culminating in a final dinner at another great restaurant. Wonderful food, drink and company surrounded by Sicilian families all dressed beautifully for a Saturday evening out.
    Tomorrow we fly home. The end of an amazing trip.    Read more

    Trip end
    October 13, 2024
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