It was tempting to stay at the villa and relax but Frank and I wanted to see more of Sicily. We dropped Andy and Shannon at the airport and exchanged our monster vehicle for a little Audi. What a treat! Hairpin curves were now fun, not nerve wrenching. Armed with a map and notes of places that looked interesting, we set off on our adventure. We had no specific agenda or hotel reservations. We’d figure out where to sleep when we felt like stopping . . .
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- First order of business — smaller car.
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- Our route.
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- Siracusa on the sea was one of the most important of the ancient Greek cities in Sicily.
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- The remains of the Temple of Apollo are an example of its classical past.
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- Temple of Apollo
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- Siracusa is also a very modern city . . .
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- with great shopping . . .
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- and pretty beaches.
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- One of the prettiest squares in Italy is Siracusa’s Piazza del Duomo.
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- The Siracusa Duomo (cathedral) is the oldest church in Europe!
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- Siracusa Duomo
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- The Siracusa Duomo incorporates architectural fragments from the 5th century BC temple honoring Athena!
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- Noto is known as the “Stone Garden” because of its beauty. The city was destroyed in the 1693 earthquake and rebuilt in Sicilian Baroque style.
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- Although the Duomo collapsed in 1996, it has been restored to its former glory.
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- Noto Duomo
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- In Noto, we stayed at a charming B&B
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- Noto by daylight.
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- Dinner at a little restaurant featured one of my favorite wines, Nero d’Avola. Avola is a nearby region.
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- The southern coast was less mountainous with fertile grazing land and . . .
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- farmland.
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- The stone walls were built by hand to divide the farms.
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- Modica is another city destoyed and rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake.
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- Modica is famous for chocolate.
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- The centerpiece is the beautiful Church of San Giorgio
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- San Giorgio is the patron saint of people in comas
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- Frank had the coldest swim of his life at the Donnafugata resort
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- Donnafugata Resort
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- Beautiful Ragusa
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- Ragusa is one of the best preserved old towns in Sicily
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- Church in Ragusa
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- Ragusa public gardens
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- The town was described as a fairy tale town in the travel books and at night it was easy to see why.
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- We arrived at our Agrigento hotel, which turned out to be right next to the Valley of the Temples.
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- The Temple of the Concord ranks as one of the best preserved Greek temples in the world.
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- Temple of the Concord
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- Temple of Hercules at Agrigento
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- Agrigento
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- Next stop, the seaside town of Trapani.
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- The city is famous for its tuna fishing
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- Trapani has a lot of Arabic influence and has some wonderful kabob stands!
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- Trapani church
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- Trampani Cattedrale di San Lorenzo
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- Trapani Cattedrale
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- The pedestrianized main street, Corso Vittorio Emanuele. Its pretty empty from 1-4 when the city basically closes down.
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- Afterwards the street fills with people — the passeggio — until late at night.
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- Trapani sits along the sea. Erice overlooks it from atop of the mountain.
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- The enchanting medieval city of Erice
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- The mist added an aura of mystery to Erice. Frank is in front of the Castello Pepoli.
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- The public gardens of Erice.
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- The Chiesa Natrice or Royal Duomo of Erice was one of the prettiest churches we visited.
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- We left Trapani, drove past Palermo and then went into the center of the island through the Madonie Mountains
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- We stayed at Petralia Soprana, the loftiest (at 3,763 feet) and one of the best preserved villages in central Sicily.
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- Petralia Soprana
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- Petralia Soprana
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- Petralia Soprana
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- Petralia Soprana
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- Mount Etna dominates Sicily’s eastern skyline. We drove around the base of the mountain.
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- The stone walls around Mount Etna were volcanic black.
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- Buildings in the area were constructed of the volcanic rock.
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- Black Randazzo is the nearest town to Mount Etna’s summit but, amazingly, it has never been destroyed by an eruption or earthquake.
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- Randazzo
Waltzing Wanderers 
Wow, gorgeous photos especially enjoyed the churches!
Sent from my iPad
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