So, Sicily...
Short version: I had an amazing time in Sicily, I think I ate my body weight in cannoli, the food was amazing, Sicilians are insane drivers, it was very quiet and the weather was just right.
It wasn't exactly quite the holiday we had in mind - we knew it would be low season, but it was more like NO season. The pool was drained and empty, the restaurant at the resort was only open one hour in the evening, the bar wasn't open, the spa wasn't open, the resort shop wasn't open. It was incredibly quiet everywhere, many of the main tourist spots seemed almost deserted, and we actually struggled sometimes to find anywhere to eat at lunchtime! I think both Mel and I had thought we'd be spoilt for choice for food, but it wasn't quite like that!
So it wasn't a relaxing, chill-out kind of trip - we did a lot of driving, as the apartment Mel had rented was a bit away from anywhere, really!
I would imagine in full season that wouldn't be a problem, as the resort would have everything you'd need - but for March, and everything shut, it required a bit of driving to find restaurants and supermarkets.
But we didn't really mind because there were amazing view everywhere you looked. Quite frequently we'd just pull up by the side of the road and explore a deserted beach. We were exploring somewhere new every day - we visited Modica, Ragusa, Siracusa, Taormina, Agrigento, Mt Etna...
One of my favourite places was a little fishing village called Marzamemi - again, incredibly quiet, but it was a lovely, changeable kind of day, with bright sunlight but heavy clouds, and the light was amazing. Pictures didn't do it justice. We actually visited there twice - I wish I could say it was for the views, but actually we had the best cannoli of the whole trip there, so we had to go back!
It also had this tiny little piazza that was deserted, and something about it felt very Mexican - I could just imagine the Magnificent Seven riding into it!
The highlights for me were Agrigento, Taormina and Mt Etna. Agrigento was one of those occasions when I was so glad we'd gone in March when it was so quiet, because there was times when we had the place to ourselves - and it is so nice to be able to take a moment in such an historic places. The ruins of the temples were so well-preserved, particularly the Temple della Concordia - it was hard to believe they could have stood for 2500 years! And it made us wonder at the contrast between Sicilian historic sites and British ones - there was a definite lack of information provided, and I'd like to find a book or guide on the Valley of Temples now I've been there, but it's made up for by just how close you're allowed to the ruins.
In places you could still see the traces of white on the pillars or the reddish hue from fire when the site had been attacked over 2000 years ago. You could almost squint and blot out the fence and the modern intrusions and imagine how impressive they must have been, back in the classical period, these temples stretching out across a ridgeline with the sea behind them.
Taormina was another amazing site - there's a Greek amphitheatre perched on the top of the cliff, with views to Mt Etna one side and the boot of Italy on the other. You can't see Etna in this picture, it's behind the clouds on the right - but I would imagine on a clear day it would be stunning. Those Greeks sure knew how to pick a location! Apparently in the summer they still put on torchlit performances and plays in the theatre, and you can sit your ass down on the very same stone seat where a Greek or Roman sat two thousand years ago. I think it would give me chills - I'd love to go back and see something like that.
And then Mt Etna itself was probably the third highlight of the trip for me. Left to myself I'm not sure I would have gone up - I don't like heights - but Mel is very into geology and seismology and desperately wanted to go up a live volcano. I was surprised at how much snow there was still, still lots of skiers and snowboarders on the ski lift and slopes. We took a ski lift half the way up the mountain, which was making very nostalgic for my skiing days. I haven't been in about 15 years, and can't really afford a skiing holiday these days, but I do miss it! Then they take you up on some kind of cross between a tank and a snowplough up to some of the craters near the summit. It was freezing cold, and neither Mel nor I were really dressed for the snow!
But the sight of it all was so amazing I forgot to be afraid of the height! We walked along the rim of some of the craters, and our guide explained how the volcanic activity and the history of eruptions and the volcanic ash. At some points you can see fissures and ruptures with steam emerging and the smell of sulphur, and at one point we all sat down in the ash and it was so warm - the world's best seat warmer! It's quite a novel experience to be up above the clouds when you're not in an aeroplane either!
One of these things I love most about Italy is how its towns and streets can manage to look shabby and dilapidated and yet still so beautiful. There's something about the way they age and wear that has such charm about it. I don't know whether it's the style or the architecture or the materials, or maybe it's just the novelty of it, so I can walk Italian streets for hours, utterly entranced. And I love the way you can walk along tiny little alleys, twisting and winding, and then suddenly emerge into a piazza with grand buildings and churches that will take your breath away.
Siracusa and Noto were particularly good for that. And at one point, we were lost in some streets near the duomo in Ragusa, no signs of life, no cars, and then we heard singing from a choir in the duomo and just followed the sound to the piazza. It was one of those moments where you just stand still and close your eyes and try and live in the moment.
And there was cannoli. Lots and lots of cannoli. For breakfast, lunch and dinner. I have probably eaten my own weight in sugar and ricotta.
It wasn't exactly quite the holiday we had in mind - we knew it would be low season, but it was more like NO season. The pool was drained and empty, the restaurant at the resort was only open one hour in the evening, the bar wasn't open, the spa wasn't open, the resort shop wasn't open. It was incredibly quiet everywhere, many of the main tourist spots seemed almost deserted, and we actually struggled sometimes to find anywhere to eat at lunchtime! I think both Mel and I had thought we'd be spoilt for choice for food, but it wasn't quite like that!
So it wasn't a relaxing, chill-out kind of trip - we did a lot of driving, as the apartment Mel had rented was a bit away from anywhere, really!
I would imagine in full season that wouldn't be a problem, as the resort would have everything you'd need - but for March, and everything shut, it required a bit of driving to find restaurants and supermarkets.
But we didn't really mind because there were amazing view everywhere you looked. Quite frequently we'd just pull up by the side of the road and explore a deserted beach. We were exploring somewhere new every day - we visited Modica, Ragusa, Siracusa, Taormina, Agrigento, Mt Etna...
One of my favourite places was a little fishing village called Marzamemi - again, incredibly quiet, but it was a lovely, changeable kind of day, with bright sunlight but heavy clouds, and the light was amazing. Pictures didn't do it justice. We actually visited there twice - I wish I could say it was for the views, but actually we had the best cannoli of the whole trip there, so we had to go back!
It also had this tiny little piazza that was deserted, and something about it felt very Mexican - I could just imagine the Magnificent Seven riding into it!
The highlights for me were Agrigento, Taormina and Mt Etna. Agrigento was one of those occasions when I was so glad we'd gone in March when it was so quiet, because there was times when we had the place to ourselves - and it is so nice to be able to take a moment in such an historic places. The ruins of the temples were so well-preserved, particularly the Temple della Concordia - it was hard to believe they could have stood for 2500 years! And it made us wonder at the contrast between Sicilian historic sites and British ones - there was a definite lack of information provided, and I'd like to find a book or guide on the Valley of Temples now I've been there, but it's made up for by just how close you're allowed to the ruins.
In places you could still see the traces of white on the pillars or the reddish hue from fire when the site had been attacked over 2000 years ago. You could almost squint and blot out the fence and the modern intrusions and imagine how impressive they must have been, back in the classical period, these temples stretching out across a ridgeline with the sea behind them.
Taormina was another amazing site - there's a Greek amphitheatre perched on the top of the cliff, with views to Mt Etna one side and the boot of Italy on the other. You can't see Etna in this picture, it's behind the clouds on the right - but I would imagine on a clear day it would be stunning. Those Greeks sure knew how to pick a location! Apparently in the summer they still put on torchlit performances and plays in the theatre, and you can sit your ass down on the very same stone seat where a Greek or Roman sat two thousand years ago. I think it would give me chills - I'd love to go back and see something like that.
And then Mt Etna itself was probably the third highlight of the trip for me. Left to myself I'm not sure I would have gone up - I don't like heights - but Mel is very into geology and seismology and desperately wanted to go up a live volcano. I was surprised at how much snow there was still, still lots of skiers and snowboarders on the ski lift and slopes. We took a ski lift half the way up the mountain, which was making very nostalgic for my skiing days. I haven't been in about 15 years, and can't really afford a skiing holiday these days, but I do miss it! Then they take you up on some kind of cross between a tank and a snowplough up to some of the craters near the summit. It was freezing cold, and neither Mel nor I were really dressed for the snow!
But the sight of it all was so amazing I forgot to be afraid of the height! We walked along the rim of some of the craters, and our guide explained how the volcanic activity and the history of eruptions and the volcanic ash. At some points you can see fissures and ruptures with steam emerging and the smell of sulphur, and at one point we all sat down in the ash and it was so warm - the world's best seat warmer! It's quite a novel experience to be up above the clouds when you're not in an aeroplane either!
One of these things I love most about Italy is how its towns and streets can manage to look shabby and dilapidated and yet still so beautiful. There's something about the way they age and wear that has such charm about it. I don't know whether it's the style or the architecture or the materials, or maybe it's just the novelty of it, so I can walk Italian streets for hours, utterly entranced. And I love the way you can walk along tiny little alleys, twisting and winding, and then suddenly emerge into a piazza with grand buildings and churches that will take your breath away.
Siracusa and Noto were particularly good for that. And at one point, we were lost in some streets near the duomo in Ragusa, no signs of life, no cars, and then we heard singing from a choir in the duomo and just followed the sound to the piazza. It was one of those moments where you just stand still and close your eyes and try and live in the moment.
And there was cannoli. Lots and lots of cannoli. For breakfast, lunch and dinner. I have probably eaten my own weight in sugar and ricotta.