Friday, 10/23

We departed Palermo and got a taxi to the airport to pick up the rental car, then drove to Castellammare del Golfo.

We had lunch at Egesta Mare, which was recommended by my barber, who is from Castellammare and goes back every summer.

He said the seafood risotto was a must. We started with canolo of sardines, which sounded better than it tasted, and a caprese with mixed salumi, which was very enjoyable. Then we had the risotto, which lived up to expectations, and spaghetti with sea urchin, which was tasty but didn’t see to have much urchin in it. Coffee, oddly, was served in paper cups. With water and a bottle of Nero d’Avola, the bill was 96 euros.

After lunch, we proceeded to Trapani, taking the secondary road rather than the autostrada. It was very scenic and took no longer. Arriving in Trapani we easily found parking 3 blocks from Albergo Maccotta, a lovely small hotel in the heart of the historic district.

We strolled along Corso Vittorio Emanuele, the main thoroughfare in the old town, and stopped into the duomo, which is quite simple.

Dinner was a short walk away at Il Moro.

This is an elegant restaurant with a very imaginative menu, quite different from what we have experienced so far in Sicily. Service is formal but not stuffy. Dishes we had were veal cheek meatballs, marinated amberjack, fettucine with pork cheek, stuffed quail, pork cheek confit, and for dessert a lemon shell filled with white chocolate and served on chocolate crumbs. This doesn’t begin to describe the many ingredients in each dish. With cocktails, an excellent nero d’avola and water, the bill was 240 euros.

Saturday, 10/24

Leaving early from Trapani, we drove to Agrigento, to see the valley of the temples, where we spent an enjoyable and interesting 2 hours.

We had a quick bite at the snack bar and headed on to Ortigia (the old city of Siracusa) where we stayed at Ortigia Mastrarua Rooms, a nice inn close to the waterfront and very convenient to the parking garage. Our room was 2 flights up (no elevator). In addition to the king-size bed there was an another twin bed. The only complaints I have are that the bathroom floor was dirty, and the bathroom had an unpleasant smell, like sewer gas (tolerable but weird).

We strolled around the old town and stopped for cocktails at Cortile Verga, a charming bar in an open courtyard, serving creative drinks along with traditional ones.

We dined at the restaurant on the ground floor of the inn (not related).

Food and service were excellent, and great value. We shared squid to start, then paccheri with pistachio sauce, cherry tomatoes and swordfish. For mains, Stanley had baby chicken and I had swordfish. With a good bottle of nero d’avola and water, the total was 100 euros.

Sunday, 10/25

First we walked to the Duomo.

Notice the columns along the outer wall. This was obviously a Greek temple before it was rebuilt as a cathedraL

Then we drove to Ragusa. The 2 things to see here are the Ebleo Garden and the Duomo.

After these, we had lunch at Cucina Sincera, and we could not have been more pleased.

Great value and delicious food. I began with grilled caciocavallo cheese, and Stanley had bruschetta with tomatoes and mozzarella, which I also ate part of. Next, he had lasagna with spinach and sausage, and I had 2 dishes (because I couldn’t decide between them), gnocchi with sicilian pesto, and eggplant parmigian stuffed with vegetables and ham. With a half liter of house wine, water and coffees, the bill was 77 euros.

After Ragusa we went to Noto which is notable for its duomo and other elaborate baroque buildings.

Back in Ortigia, we had cocktails at Barcollo, a beautiful bar with outdoor tables and comfortable chairs, and a choice of creative drinks, just 3 blocks from the inn. It was also better value than Cortile Verga, with much more generous sized cocktails.

Afterward we strolled the short distance back and had dinner at Ciauru Anticu next door.

We ordered too much food because we wanted to sample a number of dishes. I started with the tuna pasta, and Stanley had caponata with tuna. Then I had a filet of orata and he had pasta with sausage and mushrooms. We could only eat about half as the portions were huge, but it was all delicious.

With this excellent bottle of nerello mascalese, and water, the total was 130 euros.

Monday, 10/26

We got an early start to Taormina.

The big attraction here was the ancient Greek theater, which is remarkably well-preserved.

We took a look into the church in the center, but is wasn’t worthy of photography. We had lunch at L’Arco dei Capuccini, which in my careful research I had determined would be wonderful, and indeed it was. It’s a bit off the beaten path so was not at all busy, which is a shame.

Stanley started with a beautiful plate of grilled vegetables, and I had an excellent caprese. Then I had almond crusted grouper and he had mixed fried fish. For dessert we had a pistachio semifreddo, which was superb. With a bottle of Nerello Mascalese, water and coffee, the total was 130 euros.