lisaonthecape
10+ Posts
While I often read trip reports posted by others, this is my first time to actually write one. Mea culpa, with amends. By way of introduction, my husband Matt and I have been traveling to Italy since we married in 1990. At that time, Matt was working for a U.S. company that manufactured specialty paper, and the company purchased a small factory in tiny Bagnasco in Piemonte, near Mondavi. Matt traveled back and forth, spending the equivalent of about a year spread over 4 years. Back then, we were still paying off my law school student loans, but whenever we accumulated enough frequent flyer miles, off we went to Italy.
Fast forward to 2023: we've gradually worked our way further and further south, with trips to Puglia and Calabria, with one glaring omission--Sicily. Matt had always been skittish about Sicily because he remembered those days in the early 90's when the Mafia was blowing up bridges to take out the prosecutor determined to stop them. Thirty years later, things have definitely changed and, finally, off we went to Sicily. Delta had previously cancelled our direct Boston-to-Rome flight, so it was a long trip, first from Boston to JFK, then JFK to Rome, and Rome to Palermo. I actually managed several hours of sleep on the flight, which is rare for me, so the sleep and two espressi at Fiumincino left me reasonably rested for the final leg of our journey, a drive from the Palermo airport to our rented apartment in Trapani.
We would have arrived in Trapani too early to check into our apartment, but too late for lunch, so we stopped in Terrasini for a lovely lunch at Kalos: tagliatelle with a ragu of coniglio, followed by a pancetta-wrapped port tenderloin with greens. One more espresso and off to Trapani. We picked Trapani for our base on the first leg of the trip because we thought it would be more restful than Palermo, and it was well-located for day trips around the area. Our rental was right on the water, with plenty of windows and a balcony overlooking the sea. Our host Alberto showed us where to find free parking, just a few minutes from the apartment. After unpacking, we strolled into the bustling historical center of Trapani and found a pizzeria for our first dinner in Italy.
The weather forecast for the next several days was a bit iffy. Since Saturday looked to be the most reliably sunny day, we decided to take the hydrofoil to Favignana, one of the Egadi islands just off the coast and visible from our apartment. We arrived at the port a bit early and shared a bottle of prosecco at an enoteca across from Liberty launch site before boarding for the 40-minute trip to Favignana. With just a bit of trepidation, we rented bikes at the port (we hadn't been on bicycles in 30+ years) and wobbled to a nearby beach, where we had a picnic lunch of meats and cheeses, bread and wine. The water was beautifully clear, and the brisk wind kept us cool. We continued riding to the next beach, also lovely, with blue, blue water. Although the beach was rocky, not sandy, the views were superb. We could easily see Trapani and the tower near our apartment there.
Bicycling proved to be more of a challenge than we expected, as the paved road quickly ended and was replaced by rocky, and sometimes sandy, hills. Mountain bikes would have been more suited to the terrain. At the stunning Bue Marino, there were more gorgeous views and also a food truck, where we rewarded ourselves with a cold beer. We decided that we'd biked quite enough at that point and pedaled back into the center of town to surrender our bikes and explore the town on foot. We had hoped to try some Sicilian street food at Scialae, but they didn't open until 6:30 p.m., so we headed back to the main piazza for Campari spritzes instead. After a walk along the lungomare, we caught the boat back to Trapani. There, we ducked into a trattoria for a quick, though not particularly memorable, plate of pasta before taking our sunburned selves back to the apartment for the night. Reminder to self: reapply the sunscreen!
Fast forward to 2023: we've gradually worked our way further and further south, with trips to Puglia and Calabria, with one glaring omission--Sicily. Matt had always been skittish about Sicily because he remembered those days in the early 90's when the Mafia was blowing up bridges to take out the prosecutor determined to stop them. Thirty years later, things have definitely changed and, finally, off we went to Sicily. Delta had previously cancelled our direct Boston-to-Rome flight, so it was a long trip, first from Boston to JFK, then JFK to Rome, and Rome to Palermo. I actually managed several hours of sleep on the flight, which is rare for me, so the sleep and two espressi at Fiumincino left me reasonably rested for the final leg of our journey, a drive from the Palermo airport to our rented apartment in Trapani.
We would have arrived in Trapani too early to check into our apartment, but too late for lunch, so we stopped in Terrasini for a lovely lunch at Kalos: tagliatelle with a ragu of coniglio, followed by a pancetta-wrapped port tenderloin with greens. One more espresso and off to Trapani. We picked Trapani for our base on the first leg of the trip because we thought it would be more restful than Palermo, and it was well-located for day trips around the area. Our rental was right on the water, with plenty of windows and a balcony overlooking the sea. Our host Alberto showed us where to find free parking, just a few minutes from the apartment. After unpacking, we strolled into the bustling historical center of Trapani and found a pizzeria for our first dinner in Italy.
The weather forecast for the next several days was a bit iffy. Since Saturday looked to be the most reliably sunny day, we decided to take the hydrofoil to Favignana, one of the Egadi islands just off the coast and visible from our apartment. We arrived at the port a bit early and shared a bottle of prosecco at an enoteca across from Liberty launch site before boarding for the 40-minute trip to Favignana. With just a bit of trepidation, we rented bikes at the port (we hadn't been on bicycles in 30+ years) and wobbled to a nearby beach, where we had a picnic lunch of meats and cheeses, bread and wine. The water was beautifully clear, and the brisk wind kept us cool. We continued riding to the next beach, also lovely, with blue, blue water. Although the beach was rocky, not sandy, the views were superb. We could easily see Trapani and the tower near our apartment there.
Bicycling proved to be more of a challenge than we expected, as the paved road quickly ended and was replaced by rocky, and sometimes sandy, hills. Mountain bikes would have been more suited to the terrain. At the stunning Bue Marino, there were more gorgeous views and also a food truck, where we rewarded ourselves with a cold beer. We decided that we'd biked quite enough at that point and pedaled back into the center of town to surrender our bikes and explore the town on foot. We had hoped to try some Sicilian street food at Scialae, but they didn't open until 6:30 p.m., so we headed back to the main piazza for Campari spritzes instead. After a walk along the lungomare, we caught the boat back to Trapani. There, we ducked into a trattoria for a quick, though not particularly memorable, plate of pasta before taking our sunburned selves back to the apartment for the night. Reminder to self: reapply the sunscreen!
