Naples, Italy

We walked Naples seeing the city's sites.  There was graffiti on all the walls and trash everywhere we went.  It needs a power wash from top to bottom. It was packed with tourists and two cruise ships were in port when we were there. 

There is a castle and also many grand buildings in the city.  Lots of picturesque statues and fountains that Italy is famous for.  There is also this galleria with covered glass dome that was pretty cool.

The pizza...oh the pizza! It is soooo good in Naples. We ate it everywhere we went. Most of the pizza is only 6-9 Euros each.  Every restaurant serves them and they are delish!!! Did I say the pizza was good?  It was great.

Outside our hotel room ( which is really a B&B in an alley) is this cute vegetable store that sells baskets. This is the cutest thing in the city.  Rick helps me as the editor of Bonaire Bobs.  Here he is hard at work in our B&B editing the blog.

 

The main reason we came to Naples was to see the artifacts from Pompeii in the National Archeological Museum. It was fascinating to see the mosaics, statues, brass utensils, silver kitchen ware, glass, jewelry and frescos recovered from the excavations of Pompeii. Some of the mosaics are done with pieces so tiny that they provide amazing details into life in Pompeii.

The running boys and Hercules were our favorite statues. One is made of brass and the other is marble.

Two statues photo-bombed our selfie. 

San Vito Lo Capo, Sicily

We love beach towns! We really loved this one called San Vito Lo Capo.  It's mid-October, and the summer season is winding down, but it is still the greatest weather...soft breeze, perfect 78 degrees, lots of sand, and a small surf.  The town is vacation rentals, hotels, restaurants and tourist gift shops.  

 

There was just the right amount of people to make the beach interesting but not crowed.  It was the perfect time of year to visit here and not contend with the summer crowds.

On the drive back to Palermo (completing our tour around the whole island of Sicily) we discovered the most perfect bay.  The water was crystal clear, and the water was so smooth...not a ripple or a wave.  Snorkelers where exploring the shallows and others were sunning on the beach.  We needed to catch a plane back to Italy's mainland, or we would have been there too....we would still be there if we could.

We were sad to leave Sicily.  It was a wonderful trip around the island with our travel partners.  We will remember the great food (really great food), beautiful cities and countryside.  Sicily is one of the most beautiful islands we have visited.  

Trapani and Marsala, Sicily

Sunset in Trapani. It's a beautiful laid-back town on the sea with miles of coastline to walk and enjoy.  This was one of our favorite towns in Sicily located on the west side of the island.  We hope to visit it again.

The salt pans in Marsala are very interesting, but they don't compare to the salt pans on Bonaire.  Windmills are used to pump the water from the sea into the pans for drying and harvest.

Marsala has an archeological museum which houses the Punic war ship recovered from the waters north of Marsala and west of Trapani.  It's from the third century BC. The museum is continuing work to salvage and restore the boat and the artifacts found in and around it.  It was a fascinating exhibit.

Marsala's calm bay has boats tied to plastic bottles as anchored buoys in the "harbor".  From here we could see the Egadi Islands off the coast. The water was super clear but a little chilly at 72 degrees.

There is an ancient city near Trapani called Mt. Erice located at around 750 meters (2,460 ft.) above sea level. It doesn't seem high compared to Colorado mountains but the walk is straight up the mountain and the town is built on steep inclines. It usually has a tram to go up the mountain but it was closed for the season so we drove up a winding road to get to the city to eat dinner. Amazing views from the top.  This photo is of the lights of Trapani from the top of Mt. Erice.

This is another "visit again" city.  We loved the area, the sea, and most of all the fabulous weather. 

Agrigento, Sicily

We visited the Valley of the Temples outside of Agrigento on the southern portion of Sicily. The ruins of the temples date from the 3rd to 7th centuries BC. Really beautiful to see so I will just show you the pictures.
 

Two oldies standing in front of even older things.

Isola de Ortigia, Sicily

 

The Island of Ortigia is an easy walking village without many stairs or steep inclines. It has a beautiful church and we took this photo at night while there was almost a full moon.

We loved eating appetizers on the seaside with cocktails. The food in Sicily is amazing.  We overdosed on Gelato, pizza, cannoli's, pasta, seafood and bread.

Cave ruins dating back to the 7th century BC were in a park off the island and in Syracuse, a city near Ortigia on the mainland. All through the park were these cool sculptures in giant sizes.

Hundreds and thousands of tiny birds filled these trees at sundown and made the most racket you have ever heard.  You could see them flying in from all around the city.

The tiny streets in Ortigia are full of restaurants, shops and residences.

 

Taormina, Sicily

Taormina is a hill top village with an ancient Greek amphitheater.  From the top of the amphitheater there is a gorgeous view of the city and Mt. Etna in the background.  We waited all day to catch a picture of Mt. Etna without the clouds. Be sure to see "Wine Tasting" to see what it looks like when the sky cleared.

 

Taormina has a village on top of the hills and another one is down by the beaches.  From the amphitheater this view was spectacular.

Eating brioche and granita is a tradition for breakfast in Sicily known locally as a "Sicilian breakfast". We went to the Bam Bar and ordered breakfast. Sounds awful but it is so delicious to put the fruit flavored icy granita (with whipped cream) on to the brioche and chow down. Yum!

The church square at night. 

This is the view from our AirB&B patio.  this town built on the mountain requires everyone to have billy-goat strength because there are stairs everywhere and a lot of them.  When there are no stairs, the roads (which double as sidewalks) go straight up.

Incredible views everywhere we went.  We love Sicily.

Wine Tasting

 At the foot of Mt. Etna is a thriving and growing wine industry.  Apparently the volcanic soils are good for growing grape vines.  Our neighbor in Bonaire has a vineyard  outside of Taomina,  Sicily.  He invited us to visit, so we did. This is a view of the vineyard with Mt. Etna in background.

We drove up the mountain on a road with hairpin turns that snaked through tiny villages. the views were spectacular. 

 

We had lunch and lots of wine all compliments of our Bonaire neighbor. I thought you might enjoy a photo of us  before and after the wine tour and tasting.