Without further ado, Sicilia 2013:
Waiting to get on the ferry! How exciting!
Departure at sunset.
Departure from the boat and into Palermo the next morning. Our ferry ride was great! We had a nice cabin with four bunks and the ferry was equipped with two restaurants, a game room and ball pit/playground for the kiddos, a movie theater, and very nice details. I was very impressed!
First views of Palermo driving from the port.
Sunrise in Palermo.
We got lost on our way to the gas station. :)
Where to go, where to go?
Palermo is a port city, sea level, but surrounded by bluffs.
Excited to get on our way!
Our first stop and our first view of the Cathedral of Monreale, a large church built on the site of a former Arab fortified palace at the highest point in Palermo.
The outside of Monreale. The site was built up in 1071 and the cathedral was founded by the Archbishop of Palermo in 1185. Remains of the original mosque and Arab foundations still exist, as do pieces of the original Norman cathedral.
Across from the cathedral, the district of Monreale (meaning "Hill of Kings" - Mon [mound] Reale [King])
The clock tower behind us is original to the building (especially the other side of it). This is the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele.
Neat little millipede climbing on the wall outside.
Looking towards the Apse Mosaic of Christ and the Apse Mosaics of Martyr Saints. One of the wonders of the medieval world, the catheral's spectacular decorations constitute the most extensive and important mosaic cycles of its kind.
The Apse Mosaics of Martyred Saints, all in tiny mosaic.
The Apse Mosaic of Christ Pantocrator, embracing his followers with curved arms and outstretched hands (or, as David says, he's flicking a booger).
Church organ!
The ceilings show the most Arab influence of any part of this building. The nave ceiling was restored after being destroyed by fire in 1811, but is otherwise original.
Every part of the mosaics depicts a story of the bible (originally done to impress stories from the bible upon those parishioners in the audience who could not read - this was, afterall, the Middle Ages). This is the release of animals after the landing of the Ark.
Noah sending out the dove to check for dry land after the flood.
The creation of heaven and earth.
The cloister. This attachment to the cathedral combines Arab-styled arches, intricately carved capitals (in corinthian-Greek style) and a 12th-century fountain.
Standing at the 12th-century fountain. Lovely!
A pomegranate tree in the middle of the cloister courtyard, with fruit almost ripe for picking (another month or so and they'll be in season!).
Weddings are very popular here, for obvious reasons.
The Conca d'Oro (Golden Valley) overlooking Palermo.
Selfie!
On our way over rough, winding, switchback-covered dusty hillsides to the ruins of Segesta.
Lunch (panini) at Segesta. We had some kits who were agreeable to nibbles of our cheese and sandwiches!
Candid of my MIL outside Segesta.
The ruins of Segesta are located on a peaceful and beautiful site and comprise the ruins of one of the most important cities of the Elimi, the Hellenized Sicani peoples, and the temple is one of the most perfect Doric temples ever constructed. Built in approximately 420 BC, it stands on a gentle slope. The ungrooved columns, missing "cella", and still-attached studs around the stylobate hint that it was never completed.
The temple's purpose is unknown, adding further mystery to this already dreamlike place. Historians are currently debating whether it was built to impress the Greeks in order to gain their military support, or whether it was to decorate a sacred site.
What a beautiful place. Must have been magnificent when the roof was still standing!
Candid of the parents walking through the hillside.
Bluffs while driving to the hilltop medieval village of Erice.
Look who greeted us when we arrived at our hotel in Erice!
The buildings and streets of Erice are paved with locally-quarried white stone, adding to a storybook appearance. The town has also paved the streets in really interesting patterns.
The walls of an abandoned baroque church in Erice (see next picture).
Moldy church doors to an abandoned church. I got yelled at here - I started climbing a decrepit set of steps to a barely-locked, easily-pulled door to the church roof, but D was not happy with that plan.
Streets of Erice at riposo.
Next morning - sunrise over the nearby hills. This was the view from the patio of our little cabin - absolutely astounding.
Our neighbor cabin at La Pineta.
View of Capo San Vito - a wildlife refuge nearby.
I went for an early-morning walk through Erice by myself. The streets were quiet, with low-hanging clouds rolling over the village and through the alleyways. Lovely!
That little black spot is a cat. :)
The castello di Erice.
The cathedral through the clouds.
Street dogs snoozing in the middle of the road - a bad spot to lie down!
Looking down the bluff to the valley below.
Walking towards the Castello di Venere - The castle of Venus. Dating back to prehistoric times, this was the site of a sex colony of Venus - a place where local sailors would go to commune with the goddess via sex with priestesses. I kid you not, this is true.
The entrance of the Castello di Venere.
The castello di Venere has always been open-air, with baths and rooms devoted to carnal pleasures. Some underground rooms indicate religious activity, but most of the "action" was held above-ground.
View from the Castello.
Looking towards the torri del balio.
A local family has purchased the ruins of the castle below on the cliffside and is renovating it.
Sitting on the steps of the duomo of Erice, next to the Torre di Federico.
The ceilings of the Duomo were magnificent.
D in front of the Torre di Federico.
Evening in our next location - Cefalu, on the northern coast of Sicily.
The duomo of Cefalu.
C heading into the Duomo, to mass.
Dinner out! Saute di cozze - il mio favorito!
Morning at the beach in Cefalu - there had been a thunderstorm the night before and the seas were kind of rough.
The duomo in daylight.
Heading through one of several dozen tunnels towards Taormina.
The view of Vulcano Etna from our hotel in Taormina. Two steaming volcanic vents on this side! Wild!
Walking through residential central Taormina on the way to the Corso Umberto - the main street.
One of the medieval-era city gates on the Corso Umberto.
Romantic dinner out - fancy shmancy and delicious wine!
My pasta alla norma with roasted eggplant - senza glutine! Gluten free pasta!
View of Taormina at night.
Next morning we headed up to Vulcano Etna. Halfway up the mountain, we were in the midst of a lovely pine forest.
LOOK! LAVA!
Freshly-paved road across a cooled lava flow from April 27, 2013! Practically still hot!
Pine trees sprouting from lava ash!
NERD!
I loved being amongst the trees. Napoli doesn't have pine forests like this, so it was so therapeutic for me. I collected a bunch of pine cones for my brother A and a bunch of lava rocks!
The parents standing on the edge of an extinct volcanic crater.
Sulfur!
Crazy beautiful clouds condense at the top of Etna - it's almost 11,000 feet high in elevation (over two miles).
Taking a tour up to the top of Etna!
Skeletal trees and new undergrowth on the way up.
Farmers graze their sheep herds on the slopes of Etna... Next to cooled lava flows.
Out first stop was to the 2002 eruption crater.
The 2002 craters.
Haha! The wind was so strong! Here we are trying not to get blown over!
Exhibiting the wind strength!
Candid of the parents heading to the van to continue up to the summit!
Next stop and as high as we went on our adventure - just a short hike from the top crater of Etna! It was FREEZING!
A break in the clouds looking down to the sea.
D standing in front of the Etna 4WD Research Vehicle.
Brrr!
British researchers with the Mt. Etna Research Team across the mountain (this is high zoom).
Research facility.
Total moonscape!
That is ICE underneath the ash! Crazy! It was probably only 40 degrees F up at the top where we were!
What a bunch of goofballs!
We stopped at another crater on the way down. I love the color striations! You can tell what layers contain more carbon and which contain more iron from the color. Other minerals are present too, including lead, but I'm not very good at identifying them (that's D's forte!).
Prior to the April 2013 eruption Etna had a cool chairlift that brought people almost to the top. Most of it was swallowed by the lava flow. Here's the end of what's left.
Absolutely gorgeous. See the newly-formed crater dome in the background?
Pictures from April 2013.
Back in Palermo! Catching the ferry on the way home!
Ciao Palermo! We will miss you, Sicily!
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