Summer in Sicily – Copious amount of Gelato and Sunshine! Palermo, Cefalu and Siracusa

Palermo (3^rd - 5^th July)

 

The bus ride from Trapani to Palermo was very scenic and we passed some lovely wine growing regions along the way.

 

 

We found Palermo to be quite a large city with magnificent architecture and a vibrant street scene throughout. Wandering through the city, we passed many famous landmarks such as Norman Palace, Palermo Cathedral, Teatro Massimo and a lovley crossroads, each corner with beautiful wall decorations.  We also liked the many other interesting buildings and constructions throughout the city.

Norman Palace

  Teatro Massimo

 

Palermo Cathedral

Palermo Cathedral, interior

 

We wandered through the Capo markets and Bollaro markets, which both had reasonable prices for the produce, however both were quite small with limited selection. We purchased some vegetables, meats and cheese and made a delicious Antipasto plate for dinner.

 

We wandered down to Palermo's marina and stopped for Brochette (fried mashed potato) and Panella (fried potato pancakes).

The Marina

Brochette (fried mashed potato) and Panella (fried potato pancakes)

We had to have Gelato Con Brioche while in Sicily and were even told by a Sicilian - three doses of gelato per day was recommended... We tried this amazing Sicilian treat twice in Palermo so didn't quite reach the three per day requirement. We tried Pistachio, Fiore Di Latte, Nocciola and Chocolate flavours.

 Nocciola

 

 Pistachio

 

Fiore Di Latte

Cefalu (Day trip from Palermo)

 

Cefalu was a lovely city to wander around for the day – traditional streets branched off the main street which was full of shops, restaurants and cafe's.

 View from the train station, down to the esplanade

 

 

 

 

The Duomo in Cefalu was a lovely building, and inside was beautifully decorated with gold mosaics.

 

The beach was full of people enjoying the warm weather, umbrellas and lounges covered the sand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A local seller offering lupini beans and fresh coconut

 

We had a lovely Italian lunch at a restaurant which had a terrace over the ocean.

 

Penne Norma (a traditional Sicilian pasta with eggplant, ricotta and tomato)

Siracusa (Ortigia) (6^th - 9^th July)

 

Siracusa has an adjoining island – Ortigia which is reached by crossing a small bridge. The port and surrounding buildings are lovely to see when entering the beautiful island.

 

Wandering through Siracusa, the narrow streets are cool and shady and there is always something to look at.

 

 

There is an amphitheatre right in the middle of Ortigia town, making this city truly rich in history.

 

Many beautiful squares and churches are placed throughout Ortigia, these in particular looked gorgeous with the sun beating down onto the light sandstone.

 
 

The coast of the island has a couple of small swimming beaches, but we found that most locals would hire a boat for the day, and set up in one particular area together, enjoying each others company and the beautiful sunshine.
 

 

 

The lively markets in Ortigia are held each morning and are great to see. Fresh fish, fruit, vegetables, cheeses and meats are on offer and you can even sample the fresh produce with an antipasto plate at two particular stores here - Caseificio Borderi had a delicious antipasti for just 10 Euros for two people and next door – Fratelli Burgio had a more elaborate antipasti filled with various vegetables, meats and cheeses for 24 Euros for two people.

 Freshly caught Tuna being filleted

 A beautifully decorated market stall

 Caseificio Borderi

 

10 Euro Antipasto from Caseificio Borderi

 

25 Euro Antipasti from Fratelli Burgio

 

 

 

Sicily was an amazing place to spend some time exploring and taking in the culture and cuisine.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time here.

 

Summer in Sicily – Copious amount of Gelato and Sunshine! Trapani, Favagnana Island and Erice

 

 

Trapani (30th June)

We landed into Trapani late at night and after dropping our bags off at the hotel, ventured out into the streets which were full of people enjoying the warm summer night. We were surprised at how busy the streets were, as intially Trapani looked very quiet, with very little traffic on the road. The buildings were lit up by old style lamps, which emphasised the beautiful architecture.

We enjoyed a traditional Sicilian pizza which contained anchovies, pecorino cheese and tomatoes.

 

After a much needed nights rest, we ventured out into Trapani during day light, which was just as impressive as the night before. We wandered around the narrow streets and admired the beautiful churches, monuments and fountains along the way.

 

 We started our day with a satisfying and pocket friendly breakfast

 

 

 

 

We walked through the streets and made our way to the beautiful coast line of Trapani.

 

 

 

The marina and ferry port was a beautiful place to stroll along, taking in the sea air and sights and sounds. From here, ferries to the Egadi Islands depart.

 

 

Favagnana Island (2^nd July)

We arrived into Favagnana Island at 9.30am and made our way to the bike hire store, and hired two bikes at 5 Euros each for the day. We began our day by riding to Lido Burrone beach. The beach was quite small with sand – however was very busy and full of umbrellas. The water was quite clear.

 

 

Next stop, was a small cove which would have been lovely for a dip, however upon closer inspection – was home to hundreds of small jellyfish!

 

 

 

We continued riding, and arrived at the beautiful Cala Azzura beach. With only a small amount of sand, but crystal clear water – this beach was not very big and there were not many people swimming here.

 

 

 

A little further on, we reached Bue Marino beach. This beach was reached via a little path down to caves cut into the sides of the rock and once again, there were not many people swimming, due to the difficult access to the water. The water was also crystal clear. We had a refreshing granita drink here from a small drinks stand, made from half lemon juice and half, freshly squeezed orange juice.

 

 

 

The last stop on Favagnana Island was the very famous Cala Rossa beach. This water was absolutely stunning and there were hundreds of people here, sprawled out on the rocks. Space was limited here and it was quite difficult getting down to the water. No sand at this beach.

 

We had an amazing day on the island and would definitely recommend hiring bikes for the day as you are able to see a lot more this way, than on foot or with the bus/tourist train service. We found that the 9.10am ferry and 4.10pm ferry were good options for us.

Erice (1^st July)

 

Erice was a lovely little town, filled with beautiful cobblestone streets and was our first real taste into the way of Southern Italian life. The city became deserted in the afternoon, when all the locals rest and then reappear later at night for dinner.

 

 

There were some amazing views from Erice of the ocean, out to the Egadi Islands and over the town of Trapani.

 
 

There are many lovely shops and well known pasticceria's around Erice, and we tried 'Mamma Gramattica'. We had a beautiful Genovese – crumbly pastry filled with a delicious rich custard, and a traditional Italian Cannoli.

 Traditional Italian Cannoli

Genovese