February 10, 2024 - Saturday
Travel Day - Catania to Rome to Albania and the Balkans! -->
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Time for a change of scenery. I've been curious about the other coast for a while, time to go see for rural-scape, forests, lakes, new people, new food?
Sicilia
February 9, 2024 - Friday
Ortigia Island- next to Syracuse
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| Ancient Fortification: Apollo's Temple |
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| The bay and sea wall in Orgigia |
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| Tiny beach near Duomo. Clear Water |
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Running out of fuel but holding on.
Gas Cap Lid |
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| Old Fortification & Castle in Ortigia |
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| More rock - stacked everywhere |
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| View to Syracuse (Siracusa) from Ortigia |
February 7, 2024 - Wednesday
Catania
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| Elephant Statue in the main Piazza in Catania |
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| Il Duomo in Catania |
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| Water fountain by Train Station |
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| Water fountain by Train Station |
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| Fountain near Grotto in main Piazza |
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| Catania Fish and Food Market |
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| Catania Fish and Food Market |
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| Swordfish |
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| Fish Vendors |
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| Bacon wrapped veggies |
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| Breaded meat ready for cooking |
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| Main church |
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| Black Pig Salami |
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| Pistachio Salami |
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| Costal de Borregito |
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| Burriñates and lamb with tail |
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| Swordfish |
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| Fish on Display and Vendor |
February 6, 2024 - Tuesday
God, or really GODS, lots of them...
Agrigento - kind of a difficult start to the day. First to the bus stop this morning, the bus to the valley of the Temples goes by, didn't even slow down. 30-minutes later a second bus stops... nope, he is not going there. Finally, 20-minutes later, a bus stops and picks me and several others up. The driver is angry, drops me off at the wrong stop. I walk up to the entrance and the security guard says... "No-This is the Exit. Walk to the Rotunda (circle) and take a right". I walk 1km to the gate, all closed. I look left, I look right, I step over the rope and I'm in. YiHaaa. The day instantly got better. Glad I'm not a rule breaker. I was probably caught on camera, somewhere. I'll let you know where to send Bail Money.
Back in 1977 I was in Athens. I really like this place better. It is called Valley of Temples. It is actually a long ridge above two valleys. Quite a view. Over there gardens, Olive trees, almond trees are in bloom (related to peaches/plums: Genus Prunus). Oranges and lemon trees. What a setting.
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People do weird things with rocks. An Almond tree in bloom on left.
Greek, not Roman
Valle dei Templi |
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| My foot/shoe as reference to how big these rock sections are. Hand hewn. The square keyway between each rock section keeps them from slip sliding around. There are Thousands of sculpted rock parts that used to be parts of columns. |
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The corner of an old temple, the rest of the columns fallen in the foreground.
I wonder if the slaves they used were treated well. Artisans did the design work on the ground.
Someone else did the heavy lifting. |
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| A look across old Greek ruins toward the village of Agrigento. |
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| A pitched roof, or part of it. I imagine taxes ate away at the rest. |
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| And the rest of the Leggos. |
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| One of the column tops in the upper left, fine detail. Doric Columns, very early. |
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| More rubble. |
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| A close up of the first set of columns. |
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| Plowed fields, orchards, and in the distance the sea, The Mediterranean, looking out toward the north of Africa, Tunis, Tunisia. |
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A more complete skeleton.
6th Century BC - 2,600 years ago? |
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| Morning sun behind the top right column. |
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| These building are stunning, indescribable, definitely major WOW factor. To the human form it humbling to experience the scale of these ancient civilizations and what they left behind. |
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| These guys had been carrying up scaffolding to do some repair work. Imagine the equipment to build this originally. Each column dwarfs the workers even thought they are far away. |
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| The shadows are pretty powerful on a sunny morning. |
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| Bronze at rest. And here I thought they were solid and coated with bronze. |
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| Definitely Greek. This god even had wings, a six-pack, pecs... and other body parts. |
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| I thought it might be homes of the workers... |
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| Marble statues. Interesting... more modern than doric columns. You can see the smooth folds of the robes and veins on the feet. |
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| It turns out that these were crypts, burial plots. |
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| Lots of places to park your remains in the rock wall along the ridge between temples. |
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| Almond trees, crypts, temple columns. Oh Gods, you think of everything. |
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| The countryside view from the temples. |
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| Not much traffic at the Round-About this time of the morning. |
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| Temples, everywhere. |
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| Close-up |
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| Side-view |
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| Another Temple way over there. The round structure near the rail is a chiseled hole into the ground. |
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| Underground passage way? You could not see down into the bottom. Very deep. |
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| Heading to the exit. A lot of walking. A very good day. |
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Meanwhile, back in Agrigento, a piece of sweet pastry and the best OJ in the world.
Time for a nap and some pain pills for sore and tired joints. |
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| Some guy, contemplating life, his wife left him. He looks happy on the inside! |
February 5, 2024 - Monday
Travel Day: Palermo --> Agrigento
I came here to visit the Greek archeological architecture: Valley of Temples --> tomorrow
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| I am being shadowed. |
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| That Norteño guy that follows me around. I saw him at the Palermo Stazione Centrale on my way to Agrigento. |
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The story merges with the myth of the haunting Achaean warrior hero traveling towards the villa of Troy. A ceramic on a wall off of the main road route. Very Greek. |
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| Someone left their night-light on, thanks! Agrigento somewhere in the historic center, spotted on my after supper walk. |
Today, no food pic, but a description of supper. I walked outside for supper about 4:30, a ghost town. So, I asked the store clerk below my room where they sell pastries. He said, maybe 6:00 but probably 7. Okay.
Agrigento is a town built on a tall hill. Everywhere you go is either up or down. At 7ish I walk out looking for a good pasta place and find one uphill from me. I can see the sea just over there, sea level. My room is at about 700-feet. Definitely on a hill.
I find a place for pasta, that didn't serve pizza and proud of that, and walked in. Not too hungry so I ordered: Swordfish Pasta. Once again, a great choice. It was set in a bowl of hot olive oil and covered with spices. Good to the last drop. Perfect Al Dente, again. Once done, I ordered a cappuccino, different this time with an ultra thick foam. Almost a coffee flavored foam. I like liquid coffee but this was pretty good. I asked for the check and they brought me a sweet cookie and a couple of ounces of Lemoncello. It was a very pleasant walk home, downhill. :=) Next time you are at the liquor store, buy yourself a bottle of Lemoncello to share with friends.
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| 10:00pm view out my bedroom window. Ghost town, again. |
February 4, 2024 - Sunday
Road Trip from Palermo: Beach Day, By city bus
On the advice of the hotel clerk who spoke some english, I decided to head to explore the local's favorite beach. At the first bus stop the driver said, wrong bus but I'm going to where you can get the one you want. (It was a mix of Spanish and Italian). At the correct bus stop (San Croci), the driver says, you need a ticket. So, I dashed off the bus to the kiosk, bought a ticket for €1.8, jumped back on the bus (#806), and my day of exploring began. Off to Mondello.
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| The water here at the village of Mondello is quite clear. |
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| It is easy to see down 20-feet. |
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| The village and waterfront of Mondello before people arrived. |
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A beach castle artist found a way to collect change. One of those houses in the sand had a garage with a car. And he drinks beer. Pretty impressive disposable art up close.
After walking the beach I went for a hike. It turned out to be 6km round trip.
La Riserva Naturale Orientata Capo Gallo |
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| I thought this was odd, until I figured it out. |
4-guys ran past me in what looked like short scuba diving suits and they had paddles hanging off their bums, as I walked up toward Capo Gallo and the Faro (lighthouse). It wasn't a jog, it was a fast run. I thought... Fancy Italian running suit?
When I got to the turn in the trail and paid my €1 hiking fee these guys were getting into the water, and I thought... different strokes.
I continued walking up the trail and heard splashing in the water. I'll be damned. Here come these guys, swimming with paddles along the Tyrrhenian sea coast. They were swimming along faster than I was walking. The only Norteño response for that is "Allah Dude". By the time I get to the lighthouse, they were out of the water and just started running down the trail I had hiked up.
Practicing for a Triathlon? They clearly had their Wheaties this morning.
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| The rocky coastline on the West side of Mondello. |
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| Rocks upon rocks. |
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| The view looking back from where I started. |
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The view looking back from where I started.
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| The other side of the trail. |
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| Thornless Cactus |
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Meanwhile, back in town people showed up, lots of them. Big ones and little ones.
The kids were all wearing superhero kinds of outfits. |
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And adults were chilling. There is a sexy looking mermaid water fountain in there somewhere.
Lots of food, coffee, and fancy fruit drinks. |
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| And a bunch of Biker Dudes and Gals. |
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Real bikes, including a Ducati or three somewhere. BMW's were by far the #1 bike of choice.
Some of the Scooters/Mopeds here were on Steroids too though. |
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| People around the fountain. |
Trying to avoid Food Pics. But given that I'm on the coast, I thought I would try Chicken and Chicken of the Sea. That Tuna & Egg sandwich was worth a try, and I've been wanting more than just pizza/pasta/gelato. Although, the seafood pasta from earlier this week was amazing for a sit down meal. Tonight, last night in town, I had to splurge (€8) on comfort food.
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| Chicken, Chicken of the Sea & Agua Frizzante |
Tomorrow after a Hotel breakfast and two cups of Cappuccino, I load up my backpack and walk to get a city bus (#101) to the Stazione Centrale on "Via Roma" to head to Agrigento, about 2-hours south, by train. Once there, I'll head to the Centro Historico and see about lodging for a couple of nights. Agrigento is an archeological treasure of Greek and Arab influence. I'm googling for a 3-Star place now. Nothing like planning ahead. Out of tourist season it is fairly low-risk.
I have pretty much gotten sick of the AirBnB decay. Mostly the added fees, the lack of person to person contact, and the sense that they are doing me a favor and all of them think they deserve 5-stars.
February 3, 2024 - Saturday
Meanwhile, back in Palermo: Trapani
It is Saturday night and everyone is out walking the streets after 7:30. The thing to do... I found this snack place that had lines out to the street.
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| Fried Chicken chunks on a Stick and French Fries. |
February 3, 2024
Day trip by bus: Palermo to Trapani
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A homemade door and frame: Media - Metal, welded, and painted.
This was in the bus station this morning as I got ready to head west to the western most point of Sicily: Trapani
I know, you are not nearly as excited about this as I am. |
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| As with most of the island of Sicily and the Italian peninsula, the countryside is beautiful. There are a lot of vineyards on this side and many fewer olive trees. I find the hills and their agriculture enchanting. They can often only plow downhill. |
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| The main gateway to the historic city center in Trapani. Buses load and unload on the southern port dock side of the city. It is where the ferries all take off from to smaller islands and also to Tunis, Tunisia. |
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| and another Church / Chiesa (Church/Iglesia) |
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The northern coast of Trapani - The Tyrrhenian Sea.
Looking West. |
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The coast looking East. Palermo is 2-hours that way.
Italy is the land of 10,000 Tunnels, for roads and rails. To cross the mountains in the background, by tunnel or by sea |
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A water fountain in the Centro Historico.
She has been there a while. |
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| The best beach in town. Same view west, farther down the walkway. |
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An ad for a brand of coffee. In the pic, the monk's robe/habit is made of coffee beans.
I think the monk's habit is coffee.
'Cappuccino' takes its name from the Capuchin friars: the color of the espresso mixed with frothed milk was similar to the color of the Capuchin robe. The Capuchin friars are members of the larger Franciscan orders of monks, and their order was founded in the 16th century in Italy. |
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Sunshine on the balconies & wall of a pedestrian street in Trapani.
It was T-shirt weather if you stood in the sunshine. 60-degrees. |
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| Africa is not very far away. |
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Another "boring" pic? Well, it has some history. Have you ever had sea salt?
Here in the Trapani Salt Flats, salt is processed from sea water, dehydrated with the sun.
From there it crystalizes and is packaged for export. |
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| The Trapani salt plant across the keel of a boat. |
February 2, 2024 - Friday
Palermo, Sicily
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Sometimes a bird's eye orientation is good. This one, €20, meh...
Afterward I went to the City Tourist Information Center:
Their map and information made for a good self-guided walking visit/tour of Palermo. |
A good day for walking. It rained early in the morning but eventually warmed up. It was a good day to explore the street markets. Not many tourists, anywhere, but it is where the locals go, probably a lot of restaurant owners too.
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Nice Horse?
Palermo Opera House |
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| Facade of Opera House |
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Open air market.
1st row, second from left: Burriñate. I almost bought one.
Memories from way back, Long before cholesterol. |
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| Beautiful fruit - Oranges and Mandarins are in season. |
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Fruti di Mari
The owner gave me a sample of fresh raw octopus. Pretty close to wonderful .
Clean flavor, chewy, good mouth feel. |
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| A bit of everything |
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Open Air Market - packaged shrink wrapped stuff.
Olives, Pistachio, Almonds, Dried Tomatoes, Peeled Garlic in olive oil. |
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| Il Duomo |
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Church courtyard - when the Arabs owned it, the garden in front was probably spectacular.
I envision the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. |
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Same church - Arabesque arches
This close to Tunisia, lots of recycled architecture. |
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Way in the back, another church steeple
A pretty clean city. |
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Monument of Giuseppe Garibaldi - Piazza Garibaldi
A comfortable place - I hung out watching kids play soccer, teens practice skateboarding, and pigeons. |
I had my laundry done today, €18, and worth it. Washed, dried, folded.
February 1, 2024 - Thursday
Sicily: Day 1 - I have arrived on the island after days of train travel. An island off the tip of the toe of Italy's boot. Ask a Siciliano if they are Italian, and the answer is... "No, io sono Siciliano". Kind of like home, anyone south of the Sunshine Vally is from Southern New Mexico. (Santa Fe to Socorro is definitely Central New Mexico.)
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For those shoveling snow this coming week, I feel your pain.
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I arrived in Sicily, Palermo specifically, this afternoon and rented a decent room for a few nights. I'm tired of being on the train although the scenery was quite amazing.
I crossed the Strait of Messina, from Reggio Calabria to Messina by ferry, an air boat actually. Maybe 30-minutes of time.
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I needed a haircut today, the first place I tried was a 2-hour wait and €32 (Euro), too much ($35). My guy at the Gelato shop I found knew a guy. He walked me to his barber. €18 for a cut, shampoo, and a pat on the back.
Outside the door was a bike like one I had when I lived in San Antonio 100-years ago.
Anyway, the barbershop was through an alley, past this bike and next door. |
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| Cheese, Fromaggio, whatever it is called, a treasure found at a local corner grocery. |
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...and the store has preserved meat, and good fresh bread.
Remember that John Denver song: Almost Heaven, West Virginia!
charcuttiere - not many do this preservation but oh man...
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