Sicily

Just back from a cultural package tour of Sicily and feel I should still be on the bus listening to Franco the Guide saying ‘Alora, I am not Italian. I am Sicilian…..’ It was curiously refreshing having no responsibility, like being on a school trip. All we had to do was get up at dawn and be at the bus stop on time. Not as easy as you think as in Lettojani we had to go up in the lift five floors, down in the funicular and then down in another tiny lift. (See second photo) Then we had to be sure to use the ‘Comfort Break’ when it was available, photograph the sites when advised to do so, eat lots of pasta, pork and swordfish, and generally do what we were told. As all 40 of us were well behaved, the tour was a great success.

What did we see? Taormina above, plus wonderfully preserved Greek temples at Agrigento (below), a huge Roman villa with mosaic floors (one depicting girls in bikinis), beautiful churches and macabre Palermo catacombs. Most amazing of all was Mt Etna. The black lava fields of this high and dangerous volcano were strange and impressive. I’m so glad I saw it – I probably would have given that part of the tour a miss if it had been possible. If they are any good, I’ll post a photo or two when I’ve had them developed. I decided to take my non-digi camera because it can take panoramic views and anyway sometimes one can become too preoccupied with photography and fail to absorb the atmosphere.