Palermo, Sicily, Wednesday 11 June, Day 49

This morning we set off early to visit the Cappella_Palatina which was established by Roger II in the enormous Palazzo Normani which is built over the top of a Carthaginian then a Greek fortress. You can see the different layers of construction quite clearly down in the basement. When we arrived at the Cappella mass was in progress. In Italian, the mass is similar to the Latin of our childhoods. We knew where it was up to, and quite enjoyed the peace of the ritual, and that the church was still working as intended after so many centuries. The interior has its own magnificent mosaics, some of which seem not to be closely connected to any biblical theme. It was nice to spend some quiet time contemplating the works, until the mass finished and the tour groups flooded in, cameras flashing away.

Our next planned stop was Monreale, a town about 10 kilometres out of Palermo and perched up in the mountains. We had researched which bus to catch, and we did well buying the tickets and finding the stop. We came unstuck however when the bus, despite having its destination clearly marked as Monreale  Duomo stopped some 4 kilometres and one very steep mountain road short of the Duomo.  "On foot" the driver said, waving his hand in the general direction ahead as he kicked us off.  There were couple of shifty looking taxi drivers waiting who immediately descended upon us. The whole thing felt like a scam, so we declined their services and set out to walk up the hill in the very hot sun.

We discovered on visiting the tourist info centre in the town when we finally arrived that there is a shuttle bus, which our bus driver had neglected to tell us about. Whatever, we were a bit hot and addled, and running short of time thanks to the experience of getting to Monreale which rather detracted from our experience of the church, which really is magnificent.  The Christ Pantocrator mosaic there has serious presence.

The church is almost an illustrated old and new testament picture book but not well lit in the side naves, so a few panels are very hard to make out.

We caught the shuttle bus down the hill and after a long hot wait, the connecting bus back into Palermo, which gave us a chance to observe Sicilian city traffic habits which were sometimes hair raising. We saw one girl, mobile phone to her ear, do a U turn despite traffic bearing down from both directions, then park her car at right angles to the road, completely blocking the footpath, all without missing a beat in her conversation.

We had a tasty Sicilian lunch in a little restaurant in the park near Piazza Independencia, home for a siesta, then another walk around, then dinner in our favourite restaurant of the trip. Very, very good food.  The proprietor shook hands with us as we left and we wished one another well with great sincerity.

So, our last night in Italy. Tomorrow we fly to Rome then to Istanbul, another country and another completely different culture.

Palermo, Sicily, Tuesday 10 June, Day 48

After breakfast on the roof terrace of the hotel, enjoying the spectacular view over the domes and spires of the city, we set out to explore. First stop was Chiesa_di_San_Cataldo, said to be an example of Arab Norman architecture. Very simple and stark, with three very exotic looking red domes.

Right next door was the highlight of the day, the Chiesa Della Martorana. It has a fine bell tower with detail picked out in tiles, and you get the sense even before you go in that it is something special. Founded at the time of Norman rule it is as ornate as  the nearby San Cataldo is restrained. Martorana has some truly splendid mosaics created by Byzantine craftsmen.  The space is complex and there are many different zones each of which the artists have filled in unique  and different ways. There is a mosaic portrait of Roger II receiving his crown directly from Jesus, with whom he bears a strong family resemblance. There are wonderful angles with mighty wings and tiny feet. There is a charming annunciation, with the hand of God the father appearing just below the radiance of the central upper window. The nave has a beautiful nativity scene, which we really liked. As with all mosaics, it seems impossible to get a photo that is even close to what they really look like.

We wanted to visit the church of San Francesco de Assiza, but it was closed, but we did pass a restaurant that seemed to have a good vibe - Anne's antennae for this has become finely attuned over the trip - and made a mental note of the location. We headed onto Chiesa Della Magione, another stark interior Norman church, fragrant with many while lilies and roses, perhaps in preparation for a wedding.  At the back of the church was a remarkable 20th Century Pieta, that Anne particularly liked. Unfortunately the church closed for lunch ]soon after we got there so we thought we'd have lunch as well, and retraced our steps to the place we'd noted earlier.

Turned out to be one of the all time great lunches - 'street food' of arancini and caponata and potatoes with melted Sicilian cheese, with dolci of little ricotta filled tarts in short pastry and a sort of almond icecream, plus a lovely wine, in a lovely restoration of what looked like a medieval warehouse. The ambience and service were great and so was the food. I'm afraid Sicily is turning me into a foodie. Interesting that there were a number of youngish Sicilian men in the restaurant sitting at tables by themselves, earnestly enjoying the food. Eating is a serious business in Sicily. We assured the proprietor that we would be back for dinner, which he accepted as the compliment that it was.

Palermo is not a great pedestrian city. The streets are tiny, footpaths narrow or non existent, and the concept of cleaning up after your dog has yet to catch on here, so walking is not relaxing. We were glad to get back to our air con comfort for a siesta. A low key afternoon, some shopping and a wander, then back for dinner to celebrate our wedding anniversary.

Tomorrow we want to get out the door early to beat the tour groups at Cappella Palatina, and then get a bus to visit Monreale.

Palermo, Sicily, Monday 9 June, Day 47

Up early, checked out, left our bags at the hotel and headed off down the hill to the site of the temples and the remains of the Greek then Roman city below. Pedestrian traffic obviously isn't too common and we had to scramble along to avoid oncoming traffic. Most people seem to arrive by coach as part of an organized tour group.

A couple of the temples are very well preserved, one because it was taken over as a church, after the bishop had 'exorcised the pagan filth' the sign helpfully informed us. Other temples have been destroyed by earthquakes, but are still impressive as you get a good sense of how massive the component parts of the temples can be, and a new respect of the engineering capacity that was around in Greek society in 600 BC to build those huge structures. Other temples have been destroyed by human intervention, with stone carted off for other building projects.

It was great to be able to wander through the old city, to contemplate some of its chequered history, to look out from the remnants of the defensive walls, to explore the places where houses once stood, their layout still clear, and to see things like the plaster still visible on fallen temple columns. There was an ancient swimming pool, with the steps and the irrigation channel clearly visible.

There are some ancient olive trees around the site too, said to be more than 1500 years old. There was a Japanese tour group in front of us as we approached a particularly venerable tree, and each member of the group placed their hand respectfully on the tree's trunk as they passed.

It was very hot by the time we had traversed the city, so we decided to catch the local bus back up the hill to the Archeology Museum. While waiting we shared the extremely small patch of shade available with a senior Sicilian citizen and his little dog which was really feeling the heat. Anne offered the dog some water, which won the approval of the owner, and we had a good old chat while waiting for the bus. He had been to Australia and New Zealand, and was like many of the Sicilians we have met, very proud of Sicily and its culture.

The museum has an impressive collection of art and artefacts retrieved from the site. The city at its zenith had over 200,000 people, and was inhabited for hundreds of years, so the amount of stuff is not surprising. There are still large areas which have not been excavated. Walking back up the hill there were bits of pottery shard visible in the bank beside the path. But it was too hot to stop, and we needed to get to the station, get our tickets and some supplies, and catch the train.

Agrigento station is a strong contender for the Italian station of the trip award. It has a great bar, offering a fine selection of freshly baked Sicilian pastries.  We got an economical and tasty lunch from the friendly proprietor, it has helpful group of loungers who are very ready to provide useful information - get your ticket over there, the departures board is that one, silly, go down the lift there - it has a deliciously cool waiting room, and it even has its own chapel. Lost points for locking the door to the ladies. Overall score very high.

The train ride from Agrigento to Palermo traverses some really lovely Sicilian landscape. It is in parts a stunningly rugged and beautiful place. Geologists must love it, as it has some extraordinary features, massive plates of sedimentary rock pushed up at alarming angles to form mountains a bit reminiscent of some parts of the Grampians.  There were some thunder storm clouds around today which created wonderful patterns of light and shade on the grass and flower covered hills. The regional train was very comfortable too, with good air con, unlike our train from Salerno to Catalina. And it ran to schedule, so we got here in good time and found our hotel without any drama.  I think I have finally worked out the GPS.

The hotel has roof terrace restaurant so we tried it out tonight. The view over Palermo and the surrounding mountains was magical as the sun set and the city lights came on. The dinner was perhaps not so magical, but we have been spoiled by the fantastic Sicilian food so far. Lots to explore over the next few days.

Agrigento, Sicily, Sunday 8 June, Day 46

This morning we caught our first taxi of the trip from the hotel down to the bus station. Luckily yesterday I had identified where the bus left from and where to buy tickets as the Tourist information centre had given us incorrect info on both. But we were in the right place with the right tickets and soon we were sitting in a very comfortable bus heading off to Agrigento, about three hours drive away from Catania.

It was a nice change from trains. The landscape from Catania to here is very varied. There are the slopes of Mt Etna, lots of dry wheat country not unlike the wheat belts in Australia, craggy mountains often with crumbling castles grafted onto the summits, strikingly awful towns of concrete multi story apartment blocks that make housing commission look good, groves of olives, sudden green valleys, some wonderful stone houses that are very much like Spain ...

The Sicilian roads seem to be a series of roadworks linked together by confusing roundabouts. Luckily the bus driver knew the way, and we arrived on schedule. Being really lazy we caught another taxi to our hotel, so I feel a bit odd, as I did not do much to get here. We certainly fell short of our 10,000 steps today though I think we will make up for it tomorrow when we head off to explore the temples of Agrigento, which we can see waiting for us in the valley below. Here is a bit of the view that we contemplated while eating an extremely nice dinner on the terrace of the hotel.

The food and the people in Sicily have been memorable. Sicilians have a wonderful sense of humour.  The hotel and the fellow guests are a bit weird but in an entertaining way so far. Tomorrow we will explore the temples and then catch an early afternoon train on to Palermo, which is our last stop in Italy.

Catania, Sicily, Saturday 7 June, Day 45

Slow start today. We eventually got out the door round 10.00 and headed down the main piazza opposite the Duomo. Catania does not have a lot of very old buildings, as it has been devastated by eruptions of Mount Etna and by earthquakes at different periods in its history. The old city was the result of a rebuild after a major earthquake in the late 17th century, and the main square is very consistently of the style of the period, but with a uniquely Catanian touch in that the main building material is black basalt from the volcano, with white sandstone trim.  The city centre is UNESCO world heritage listed

Sicily was under the rule of Aragón at the time so the buildings have a sort of Spanish Baroque appearance. The Duomo has massive chandeliers, which I can't recall seeing anywhere else. But the thing I like best was the elephant in the square, u Liotru, who is the symbol of Catania.  It is not known with certainty how old he is, but certainly several centuries BC. He was placed in the square as part of an assembly of components by an artist of the day in the 18th Century. He has a sort of marble saddle cloth emblazoned with his own image and an Egyptian Obelisk with a dome and crucifix set on top of the whole thing. Bizarre but impressive.

Catania is an interesting place on many levels. It is totally cut off from the wonderful Mediterranean by its on port and train lines, but has more bikini shops than anywhere on earth. I made that last amazing fact up, but I would not be surprised if it was true. The impact of the GFC seems to have been very unequal here. The streets are full of well dressed people clutching shopping bags as the move from one luxury goods or high end clothing store to the next, and by wretched people begging, using various props - babies, dogs, kittens, crutches, annoying voices - or desperately trying to sell various bits of cheap trod. It still seems to have squares of housing damaged and derelict quite close to the centre of the city, perhaps a legacy of the bombing in World War 2.

After lunch of rice balls, arrancini - yum- I headed off to see if I could get some tickets for our bus tomorrow. This proved to be an experience straight out of Kafka's 'The Castle' as different people sent me in different directions, as there turned out to be two booking offices for the one bus company but one disdainfully refused to book tickets for our destination. I finally found the right office and the right counter, but was told I can only book a ticket on the day of travel.

We had a rest then returned to the great Trattoria from last night. They didn't start serving till 8.30 so we were both starving, but it was one of the best meals yet, great serve yourself antipasto, choose your own fish, caught that morning, from the selection, and how you want it cooked, and here's a mezzo of nice white wine and some freshly baked bread to get you going. Very direct but friendly service, fantastic food, all for 30 Euros for both of us.

Tomorrow, with a bit of luck, we will be catching a bus to Agrigento to visit the Valley of the Temples..

Catania, Sicily, Friday 6 June, Day 44

This morning we headed off down to the station bright and early to catch the train to Sicily. We had read some rather grim accounts of the trip so we stocked up on supplies. The train w's open plan, not one of the six in a little compartment with a sliding door to a corridor types, which was a relief.

The first part of the journey was great, interesting scenery, lots of little coves and ruins of castles and rocky crags and sleepy sea side villages - all very scenic and picturesque, and we ate our apples and paninis and felt quite smug.  Until the train arrived at the point where it gets loaded onto the ferry, Villa San Giovanni.

We creaked to a stop out in the hot afternoon sin, whatever aircon there had been while the train was moving stopped, temperature in the carriage started to climb. There was no announcement, and to add to the atmosphere, the conductor had thoughtfully locked all the toilets. We hadn't counted on the heat, and soon ran out of water. After about 50 minutes you could feel the general air of agitation rising, but eventually we crawled out into a shunting yard and after a few more stops or no apparent reason we finally were shunted onto the ferry. There was a general stampede for the loos - again, half the ladies' were locked, then another stampede for the bar, where only one person was serving.

With our supplies replenished, we could enjoy the approach to Sicily. Here is our first sighting of Messina.

The train was about an hour late getting to Catania, and it was a hot and wearing journey for the last couple of hours., the worst travel conditions we have experienced so far.

Catania really feels like somewhere else, a bit rougher round the edges than most of the Italian cities we've visited so far. The entry to the town  from the railway station is fairly desolate, with graffitied run down apartments and some pretty marginal lives in evidence.  I think we needed a taxi at this point rather than our usual determination to arrive on foot.

We found our hotel, in a nice location across from a park, and settled in to recover. We had a good dinner in a local Trattoria, salad, pasta, wine, bread. When we asked for the bill, the young guy running the place said 'you pay 20'.  So we paid 20, easily the cheapest and by no means the worst dinner so far.

Not sure what we will do tomorrow. We are feeling a bit weary after today so maybe a low key day, though we are mindful that our time is running out here and that every day is precious.

Salerno, Thursday 5 June, Day 43

After another leisurely breakfast on the hotel terrace, watching the sun burn away the morning mist, we packed up - so easy because we were packing so light - and set off to revisit the garden of Villa Cimbrone. Gore Vidal said it was the most beautiful view in the world, and I totally agree with him. It was just as stunning, fragrant, soothing, breath-taking, the second time round. It is an inspiring place.

We went back to the hotel, collected our bags, then visited the Ravello Cathedral, which has fine bronze doors, and a thoroughly impressive pulpit, encrusted with mosaics and supported by columns resting on the backs of six beautifully carved lions. You couldn't help but give a rousing sermon from that pulpit.
We wandered down to the bus stop which has the best spot for waiting ever, with a stunning view out over the sea and the town far below - but the bus came 5 minutes before scheduled time so we didn't have long to enjoy it. It was almost empty compared to the bus coming up, but just as exciting navigating the hair pin bends and the other traffic.

Visited the Amalfi Cathedral, which looks to me like a mix of Moorish, Byzantine and Noman architecture. As you can see from the photo, it is definitely not disability friendly. The faithful must be pretty fit in Amalfi.

The Cathedral museum has some fine artefacts. It is said to be the resting place of St Andrew (I think we have seen at least half the apostles on our trip so far), and his reliquary in the Cathedral is a piece of brilliant craftsmanship, as were the silver heads of some other saints.

Amalfi the town seemed super busy, with a lot of people and traffic funnelled into a small space. We watched one hapless chap in campervan circle the roundabout multiple times  while we had lunch, perhaps waiting for a parking spot to miraculously appear, or perhaps he was just totally lost.

We caught the ferry back to Salerno, a much quieter trip than last time, and the ferry kept much closer to the coast, so we could see the palazzos, the little towns and harbours, and  the ruins of various fortifications stretching back over the centuries right down to World War 2.  Back to Salerno which also seems but a bit less frenetic, or perhaps we have chilled out a bit thanks to our time in Ravello.

We are catching the train to Sicily tomorrow, a long trip and a big jump. We've been stocking up on supplies as rumour has it that the catering is non existent on the train. But we are looking forward to it, to be somewhere so historic and remote.