Exploring Sweden: Uppsala

When we started to explore Sweden Uppsala - the fourth largest city in Sweden and located about 70km north of Stockholm - was the obvious choice. It is a very nice town with the castle and cathedral being two of the main sights. Uppsala, which was once called Östra Aros, has always been a religious centre and it has one of the oldest universities in Europe. Carl von Linné lived in Uppsala at the end of his life. It was a short trip and we should definitely go back.

The little one was very excited about going!

The cathedral is built in Gothic style and is one of the largest in Northern Europe with its towers reaching almost 119 metres. 

The castle, which was once the home of Sweden's first king - Gustav Vasa - was a reminder of Swedish history! Very special place!

Gustav Vasa is buried in the cathedral, a magnificent place. 

Outside the train station there is a gigantic bike parking. Everyone bikes in Uppsala. 

Agrigento and Valle dei Templi

Next stop was Agrigento on the southern coast, which is known as the site of the ancient Greek city of Akragas (or Agrigentum in Latin). It's a fantastic place, definitely one of the highlights of the trip. It had 200-800 thousand people at its peak around 400 BC. The temples are relatively well preserved and are spread over a large area. It was scorching hot so it was good we brought water!

First off is the Temple of Juno or Temple of Hera Lakinia, a 38m long, 17m wide and 6m tall temple.

Temple of Concordia is one of the best preserved of its kind and I also read somewhere that it has given UNESCO its face (I haven't been able to confirm though). 

Temple of Hercules

Temple of Zeus, that has been almost impossible to rebuild an image of the temple, was massive - it was over 110m long. 

After Valle dei Templi we decided to try to find Scala dei Turchi or "Stair of the Turks" which has become a tourist attraction due to its unusual white colour as well as by its mention in Andrea Camilleri's series of detective stories about Commissario Moltabani. The rock is formed by mari, a sedimentary rock with a characteristic white colour. 

Scala lies between two sandy beaches and is accessed through a limestone rock foundation in the shape of a staircase, hence the name. In 2007 the municipality of Realmonte applied for the inclusion in the UNESCO Heritage List. Unfortunately we never got to use the actual beaches - next time!

Browsing brands at Sicilian outlet store

One of the days we went to the Sicilian equivalent to Bicester Village, an outlet store with high fashion stores. It was much less people than Bicester and it looked very nice...

...but except for some clothes and some shoes for the little one we didn't buy much.

Taormina - fantastic but too busy in high season

A Taormina is one of the key places to visit in Sicily and as we were on driving distance we had to go. There were some amazing views on the way there. Below is the hill top village of Castlemola, which we unfortunately never had a chance to visit.

Before heading into Taormina we drove a bit in the mountains around to find a good place for lunch. We found a good place and the views were magnificent. 

Taormina is perched on a cliff overlooking the Ionian Sea, which is unusually warm and salty (which has probably helped its beaches' popularity). We parked down below and took a bus up to the city. Taormina is is one of the most popular destinations in Sicily, which was obvious from the amount of people. The city is gorgeous so definitely worthwhile a visit but next time I will definitely avoid high season. Below a typical Taormina street.

There were plenty of portrait painters on Taormina's main square.

The cathedral.

Noto - another Sicilian pearl

Next stop was Noto, a lovely little town 32km southwest of Syracuse with a magnificent cathedral. The city and its cathedral has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002. But first, the beach. We found a little beach not far from Noto. Because it was a public holiday all beaches were packed!

After a short swim we went on to Noto. Below the cathedral. 

Maria and the little one resting on the steps of the cathedral. 

Inside the cathedral:

Typical Noto street:

Messina was not our favourite place

After having gone south for several days we decided to head north, starting with Messina - the natural passage to the main land as it's very close. Have to admit we did not really like it. It's very industrial as it harbours one of the key ports and there was garbage everywhere. It might have been that we were unlucky - it was the day after a major holiday - but still... There are some magnificent parts of the city and it could be made really beautiful.

Below the entry to the port. In the background, Calabria - the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. 

As many port towns it seems to be a violent city.

Many cruise ships still go to port here. 

On the way to the beach promenade we got stuck in traffic but turned away as soon as we got a chance - the "Italian way".

The beach promenade was a mess, which is a pity because they could make it so pretty! Hopefully, if we come again it will be nicer!

Etna - my first volcano

Our second day trip went to Etna, an active volcano between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate. At 3,329m it is the tallest active volcano on the European continent and it is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps.

View from the hotel terrace in Catania:

The volcano:

The site is of course a tourist attraction with many visitors. 

A crater.

If coming here in the winter you can ski down the slopes. 

Syracuse - narrow romantic streets and a huge amphitheatre

Our first day trip went to Syracusa or Syracuse in English, the city where Archimedes was from. A wonderful little gem with romantic narrow streets and beautiful buildings. The key attraction was the old city - Ortygia. This is where the beautiful cathedral was and there was a beach which was naturally packed. There was a long flight of steps to get down to the beach and with the buggy we decided not to go down but went on to the cathedral and the main square, seen below.

Some tourists taking a selfie in front of the cathedral.

Ortygia was full of narrow romantic streets. 

Maria in front of the Temple of Apollo in the heart of Ortygia. 

Syracuse is maybe best known for its Greek Theatre, one of the largest the ancient Greeks ever built. It is still in use - every year the Greek Theatre hosts a summer programme of classical theatre. It was build in the 5th century BC, has 67 rows and is divided into nine sections with eight aisles. 

Close by is the tomb of Archimedes. 

Catania is a lovely city on the east coast

After three days in Palermo we went on to Catania, which would be our base for the rest of the trip. Catania is a lovely city. We stayed centrally at Il Principe hotel, a fantastic hotel close to everything. Compared to Palermo Catania is old and fairly organised (to be Italy). There were restaurants everywhere and the food was really good! 

The town is close to Etna and on a clear day you could see the volcano mount over the city. We rented a car to use for day trips, and we have to admit that driving was a challenge! One way streets everywhere and sometimes it seemed impossible to get back into central town. After a couple of days we learned the best way to get in and out of town but until then... Still, Catania is one of our favourite places in Sicily and we might very well use it as a base again!

Below is a view from the central square. In one corner there is a really good breakfast place where we ended up having breakfast most days. They loved Alexander and had the best freshly squeezed juices. 

The cathedral.

Having a coffee in front of the cathedral. 

The evening light was beautiful and made the buildings glow.

Out on excursion in the surrounding parts.

Palermo - first stop in Sicily

This year's holiday went to Sicily. I flew into Palermo where I met up with Maria and the little one. We spent three nights in Palermo, a chaotic city. It suffered badly in the bombings of 1943 and it was then rebuilt chaotically - the result of political corruption and the Mafia.

One observation about Palermo is that we had difficulties to find good restaurants (well at times any restaurants really) - much harder than we had in the rest of Sicily. It's not supposed to be this way - according to the articles online it is a gastronomic centre. We also observed, however, that there was no shortage of, nor was it difficult to find, funeral homes.

We stayed at the classical Grand Hotel et des Palmes on Via Roma, where the famous 1957 Palermo Mafia summit allegedly took place (it has been questioned whether it really took place). Very nice hotel right in the middle of Palermo. Right down the street was San Domenico. Very nice basilica - both outside...

...and inside

Typical Palermo flat....

...and street

Motorbikes were unsurprisingly common.

Although we had problems finding restaurants there were plenty of markets around.