Sicily

It is hard to believe it's 6 months since we left the UK but I'm finally getting around to putting up the last couple of trips we did. We'd finished up at work by this stage and really needed a holiday - and since this was the last time we'd be this close to the Mediterranean in a while, the Med was the obvious place to go and relax. Having established that the water was going to be too cold to dive off the back of a boat sailing between the Greek Isles, we went for Sicily instead.

The first thing we realised was that Sicily was big. In fact, it is just under half the size of Tasmania, and that rather than trying to see everything, we would only be able to see a small fragment of it. The second thing we realised was that our friends Daniel and Bree were going to be there at the same time - an unexpected bonus.

It says ‘Mafia may be hazardous to your health’ or words to that effect – but this was the closest we came to seeing Mafia in Sicily

We settled on the town of Cefalu, on the north coast, as our first stop. Cefalu clings to the side of a rocky outcrop, with restaurants perched precariously above the waves around the walls and narrow cobbled streets.

Cefalu

Dinner by the sea in Cefalu

Having spent the first day just resting and at the beach, on our the second day we climbed the outcrop for some spectacular views. Everywhere you went were ruins - whether from Greek or Roman times, or more recent (like the 16th century fort at the top of the hill). It reminded us how much history was on the island.

Looking back towards Cefalu town from the top of the rock

Looking down on the port from the top of the rock

Our other day-trip from Cefalu was to Enna, which has been nick-named by the locals "belvedere" (panoramic viewpoint). It certainly lived up to its name, as you can see from the photos.

The view from Enna

After our failed attempt to see a volcano in Iceland, we'd been told that the Aeolian Islands were our best bet to see one - and beautiful to visit as well. After parking the car at Milazzo we caught the ferry (my first ever hydrofoil - really fast but far bumpier than expected) out to Lipari, the largest of the Aeolian islands. Lipari was a typical Mediterranean island - a small town clinging to the port, a castle on the hill and plentiful delicious seafood.

The next day we took a boat trip out to Stromboli, an active volcano which erupts every 15 minutes, via two of the other islands - Salina and Panarea. Sadly, because the wind was too high, we weren't able to visit the summit of the volcano - the risk of falling lava and ash was too great - and were only able to circle it in the boat to watch the eruptions...I guess we'll just have to go back another time. Apparently this isn't unusual, so you need to plan to stay longer on the islands until the weather is right - but you wouldn't need to twist my arm to convince me :)

Sarah on the boat out to Stromboli

Stromboli from the sea

Stromboli as the sun sets

The church at Stromboli – I suspect it gets a good workout from time to time

On our way back to Trepani, the airport we were using, we took a 10 minute detour to Segesta - well, 10 minutes driving, but a couple of hours stopped to enjoy a fascinating Greco-Roman ruin. The temple half-way up the hill and the spectacular amphitheater perched on the top of the hill seem like such a surprise in such an out-of-the-way location.

The Amphitheatre at Segesta - I think I'd spend more time looking at the view than at the play...

The Temple at Segesta