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!

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.