San Vito lo Capo

We landed at the Palermo airport late Wednesday morning, picked up our rental car, and drove to San Vito lo Capo, about an hour west from the airport.  It is known as a beach town and in the hot summer months is crowded with tourists and Italians enjoying the sea.  It is also known as a rock climbing area, having many large and beautiful cliffs.  Ben and Lotus are both climbers, and though they weren't climbing on this trip they enjoyed looking for routes as they sat on our patio with its excellent views of the rocks.  

On Thursday we drove to nearby Trapani and took the funicular up the steep mountain to the medieval town of Erice, which is perched high up above Trapani.  

Besides interesting stone streets and buildings, Erice well known for its fabulous pastry shops and we had our first taste of cannoli and pistachio filled crescents. 

We didn't tour the castle but did enjoy great views of it and of the countryside below. 

And I made a new friend!

Later in the evening Lotus and I went into San Vito to check out the couscous festival the town was having.  It's believed that the dish was introduced to the Trapani area by Arabs from North Africa in the 9th century and its been a local food ever since.  San Vito was in a festive mood, selling a variety of  couscous dishes and hosting a "battle of the couscous."  There were art vendors, live bands,  and festive lights. We didn't care too much for the couscous we sampled but had fun anyway. 

This was what Ben and I saw from our balcony the next morning. 

The guidebooks warned us against driving into Palermo, but it offered much in the way of sightseeing.  Lotus accepted the challenge of driving into its bustling center since she loves to drive and has a lot of experience driving in Europe.  We had already learned that driving in Sicily was a very exciting business, but we were still a bit shocked by just how wild and crazy it was to drive in  Palermo!

It was worth the trouble. Again the guidebooks warned that Palermo was "chaotic" and "decrepit," and indeed it was, but the historic area it turned out to be fascinating and intriguing.  We toured the Cathedral and the Royal Palace, both showing blending of Norman, Islamic, and Jewish architecture and crafts.  

We did a lot of walking and I enjoyed seeing the alleys and streetlife of this busy city.

On our way from the parking lot to the Cathedral we ended up walking right through about six blocks of a vibrant market, which was unexpected but fun. 

On Saturday morning we visited the Zingaro Nature Preserve, a sort of big state park along the sea.  After doing some hiking we took a dip in the beautiful blue Mediterranean.

In the afternoon we drove to Segesta to see the Greek Temple and Theater.

.

We loved being in the San Vito area, but it was time to move on.  Sunday we packed up and drove three hours southeast to Naro, stopping in the fishing harbor of Sciaccia for a delicious lunch.