Getting to know Sicily

We’ve only scratched the surface of Sicily, but we had a great week of exploration when our dear friends, Pei-San and Daniel, came to visit all the way from Texas. We were thrilled to have them aboard and enjoyed exploring what Sicily has to offer. We collected Pei-San and Daniel in Palermo, Sicily’s largest city and capital, then ventured forth via rental car to see some of Agrigento, Licata, Siracusa as well as countryside and sea in between.

A bit of background: Sicily is the largest Mediterranean island with a population of five million people. It has roughly the same population as the Republic of Ireland, but it is only slightly more than a third the size. Being rich in natural resources and strategically located along trading routes in the Med, Sicily has a long and varied history. Different empires controlled it at times – among them Carthage, Athens, and Rome. It was also conquered by Normans, Arabs, and Spaniards. It had its own indigenous groups but became a melting pot of the many ethnic groups who found their way here. As a result, Sicily’s culture is rich in all these different influences. It also has some of the most well preserved ancient monuments in the Med.

In no particular order (because it depends upon your interests), here are some things we highly recommend doing in Sicily:

Visit a vibrant city

So far, we’ve experienced a bit of Palermo, Catania, and Siracusa – three of the four largest cities in Sicily. They each have beautiful Old Towns rich in history, amazing architecture, and impressive cathedrals. They are also very lively in the evenings, especially. Palermo was new to us and we definitely need to go back with more time as there is so much to see. Palaces, unusual churches, and wide pedestrian streets as far as the eye can see lined with restaurants, markets, shops, vendors roasting chestnuts, etc. Enjoy the history, the buzz, and the amazing variety of food. We loved the energy!

Walk through history

One of Sicily’s most famous sites is the Valley of the Temples (Valle dei Templi) in Agrigento. It is definitely a must-see for anyone interested in ancient history as it’s truly one of the best examples of Ancient Greek art and architecture outside of Greece itself. It is an UNESCO World heritage site with eight incredibly well preserved Doric temples dedicated to Greek gods. (Doric temples were the first style of temples made from stone, not wood, and are identifiable by the tapered, fluted columns and a superstructure atop.) They span across a ridge (not actually a valley) along with other ruins and provide an amazing view into Ancient Greek culture and traditions. I was especially taken with the Temple of Concordia – supposedly one of the best preserved Doric temples in the world. Amazing. 

Experience the sea

Being an island, Sicily, of course, has a plethora of sandy beaches. Enjoy a stroll or a swim or get out on a boat. Come visit us. 🙂 With Pei-San and Daniel, we enjoyed a day out motoring over to a nearby anchorage for lunch and a swim. (Swimming still possible in October!) Hard to beat.

Appreciate nature

Driving through the Sicilian countryside you see such a beautiful, varied landscape. Rolling green hills turn into browner ones then rockier ones then greener ones again. The island is mostly mountainous and is heavily cultivated as much as possible. You see endless vineyards, olive groves, and citrus groves, along with a variety of other agriculture. We even have a pomegranate grove nearby that continues to remind me of the childhood game “Hi Ho! Cherry-O” with its bright red fruit right now. Take a hike, along the coast or around a volcano (remember Mt Etna?). Rent a bike and go for a ride. Or just climb high to get a great ocean view. (**These photos were hard to take in a fast moving car.)

Tour a winery

I think it would be difficult to find a more authentic experience in Sicily than going for a wine tasting. Sicily supposedly has at least 450 wineries, so there’s no excuse. You also want to experience the local varieties – most notable is the Nero d’Avola grape. We visited the beautiful Principi di Butera (about 45 minutes away from Licata) and had the most amazing experience. Irene gave us a very informative tour (she’d been working there for 19 years!), then we enjoyed a private, delicious three-course lunch with three wonderful bottles of wine – a bubbly, a white, and a red. All for an incredibly reasonable price. Principi di Butera’s winemaker has done something special – he’s used the red Nero d’Avola grape and successfully made a sparkling white. Delicious. Can’t recommend enough a visit here!

This leads into the next item…

Eat well

I think it’s hard to have a bad meal out in Sicily (or Italy in general, for that matter). With Sicily being such an agricultural island, everywhere we’ve been so far, the restaurants serve fresh, local foods. That’s the way to eat! Also as an island, seafood is a main focus. Pei-San was in heaven! If you’re eating out for breakfast, know that breakfast is mostly served in the bars (remember those?) and consists of a coffee and a pastry. Maybe a granita (scraped ice with pureed fruit and sugar). Italians tend to eat light breakfasts. That’s because lunches and dinners are large multi-course meals that span relaxing hours. Generally, there are starters, first courses (namely a pasta dish), second courses (a meat / main), and dessert. Interestingly, I’ve learned that the tradition here is to eat like this in courses instead of putting several things on your plate at once. For example, you won’t find spaghetti and meatballs served together. Meatballs on their own, yes. Pasta with a sauce and maybe a vegetable or protein (but never chicken), yes. Italians will drink water and wine with their meals. Maybe beer if they are eating pizza or fried foods. I’ve been finding the cuisine rules here fascinating and may just have to do a single blog post on that at some point! Some Sicilian specialities include granita (as I mentioned), cannoli (tube shaped fried pastry stuffed with sweetened ricotta), and arancini (rice balls that can be stuffed with a variety of fillings, then fried). We’ve tried them all so far. I wouldn’t be clamoring for any but maybe the arancini again, but when in Sicily…! Oh, don’t forget all the local wine and olive oils. Yum.

Side note: I’m quite grateful that Italy is extremely aware of the needs of those who require a gluten free diet. They don’t have a greater population in need than other countries, but gluten is everywhere in their foods and their meals are such a central part of their lifestyle. Thus, they make a huge effort to include everyone. Many restaurants are certified by the Italian Celiac Association.

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What to bring if you come to Sicily:

1) Lots of patience. Two examples I can give – riposo and public transportation. Riposo is Italy’s midday siesta. Everything closes down for the afternoon (anywhere between 1-5pm) so everyone can take their lunch, take naps, or enjoy leisure activities. I generally think it’s the former two as every town seems to be a ghost town during these hours. The exception is, of course, restaurants that will generally serve lunch until they close down around 3pm to take a break before dinner. For Americans, especially, who are used to being able to run their errands, go shopping, do activities, etc. during the afternoon hours, this is a big adjustment. If we have things to do, we have to consciously plan to do them before or after the riposo hours. 

Secondly, you need to have patience with any public transportation. We’ve only had one experience so far with the bus system, traveling via bus from Licata to Palermo. The schedules were not very clear, and what we thought would be a three hour trek turned into at least four and a half or more. The bus schedule said the bus was due to arrive and leave from Licata at 2pm. We made it to the station early just in case. Another local gentleman was there to confirm we were in the right place. The bus didn’t arrive until 2:20pm then it hung out for another ten minutes just in case there were more stragglers that wanted to join the ride. On our way to Palermo, I think we stopped three or four times. I lost count. The first time, everyone got off, including our driver, and moved over to another bus. We just followed the crowd who confirmed we were still going to Palermo. I think we stopped a second time and some of the people got off. A third time was just a pit stop break. A fourth time was literally on the side of the road. But, I think it was then so we could turn around, go backwards, and collect some new people from yet a difference bus. We finally were arriving into Palermo and according to my map I could see we were only about fifteen minutes from the central station. I notified our AirBnB host, who was kindly planning to collect us. After what seemed like a long time, I checked my map again. We were now thirty minutes outside of Palermo in the other direction! We arrived at the airport only to turn around and head back into town again. Have I mentioned yet that few people speak English? Our bus driver didn’t know a lick. Our Italian was still pretty minimal. Google Translate is helpful, though. I was sitting up at the front seat next to our driver trying to communication as he was driving. Italians even use their hands to talk while driving! He was very kind, though, and tried to be helpful. Long story, but we simply had to go with the flow and get there when we got there. Speaking of driving…

2) If you’re going to drive in Sicily (or Italy in general), bring your nerves of steel. The interesting observation here is that, in general, Italians are quite laid back and are never in a hurry. Such a relaxed pace of life. Until you put them behind the wheel of a car. Then they become quite impatient, aggressive and in a great hurry. Bizarre! They ride your tail. Rules of the road also seem more like recommendations. Stop signs are optional. Lanes are optional (or just create your own). No passing zones are optional. Roundabouts are like a free-for-all or game of chicken. Oh, and pedestrians don’t typically have right-of-way, so watch out.

Stay tuned for more sights of Sicily…

*Thanks to Pei-San for her wonderful photos!