After the hotel breakfast we checked out and headed to Ragusa where we would be staying for a few days as a base for exploring the southeast corner. Before leaving the province of Trapani we thought the capital city deserved a look. We tried to see it last night but public transportation thwarted us. We parked near a small market and got lured into a sales pitch for preserved fish. The table was loaded with a huge assortment of canned tunas of varying grades and sizes, bottarga, salted fish, pastas, olive oils....this was not a bad sales pitch to get sucked into. After trying some samples we bought a tuna "sausage", spicy with cracked black pepper which they vacuumed packed for us, two different grades of canned tuna, and a bag of pasta.
The old center of Trapani is quite attractive with its narrow streets and views of the sea. We had to get back on the road so we didn't linger long. The guys who sold us the fish waved to us goodbye as we pulled out of our parking spot.
The drive into the interior of the island along the A19 was scenic with rolling hills, rocky mountains, and terracotta tiled farmhouses. No one but us heeded to the 40kmph signs although sometimes Ken does have a lead foot.
To break up the 5 hour drive we stopped in Caltagirone, famous for ceramics and the 142-step monumental Scala di Santa Maria del Monte. Each step is decorated with different hand painted ceramic tiles and from the top there is a great view of the city and surroundings.
la scala di santa marie del monte flanked with shops and homes
i like the fish detail
from the top step
We walked over the Ponte San Francesco, which is covered in ceramic tiles. On it was a curious entanglement of padlocks with love notes written on them.
locks of love
on the ponte san francesco
ken patiently waiting for me to take the shot
Next stop Ragusa. We booked an apartment for 3 days as a base for visiting cities in the Val di Noto: Ragusa, Noto, and Modica. The drive up to Ragusa Ibla was quite dramatic.
We booked an apartment called Residence Iusu and it was a trial finding it. We had a map but that was not very helpful as the streets were not well marked and so narrow that we had to pull in the side mirrors to get through. After a remarkably stressful experience, we gave up and parked in a lot outside the city walls, left the bags, and set about on foot to find it. I asked a man, in horrid Italian clutching my Google map, where the street is and we got a general direction. Halfway, we felt we lost the trail and wound up in a small piazza at the foot of a baroque church. Amped with adrenaline and a little sweaty, I asked two guys, who were watching us, amused, where the street was and very slowly and languidly they answered it was right in front of us. We were a source of amusement not only for them but also for a group of old men sitting on a bench enjoying the last rays of the sun.
the old guys
We found the apartment! We collected our bags and called the owner for meet us and in about 10 minutes he arrived. He was from Rome but had been living in Ragusa for a few years. We spoke broken languages to each other but got all pertinent information across. The apartment had a lovely little terrace with a view. The bed was comfortable and the kitchen a perfect size for making light meals. It was immaculate and had some character. We were given a permit sign to place in our windshield and were able to park just around the corner from the apartment.
trapani center
The drive into the interior of the island along the A19 was scenic with rolling hills, rocky mountains, and terracotta tiled farmhouses. No one but us heeded to the 40kmph signs although sometimes Ken does have a lead foot.
To break up the 5 hour drive we stopped in Caltagirone, famous for ceramics and the 142-step monumental Scala di Santa Maria del Monte. Each step is decorated with different hand painted ceramic tiles and from the top there is a great view of the city and surroundings.
la scala di santa marie del monte flanked with shops and homes
i like the fish detail
from the top step
We walked over the Ponte San Francesco, which is covered in ceramic tiles. On it was a curious entanglement of padlocks with love notes written on them.
locks of love
on the ponte san francesco
ken patiently waiting for me to take the shot
Next stop Ragusa. We booked an apartment for 3 days as a base for visiting cities in the Val di Noto: Ragusa, Noto, and Modica. The drive up to Ragusa Ibla was quite dramatic.
the old guys
We found the apartment! We collected our bags and called the owner for meet us and in about 10 minutes he arrived. He was from Rome but had been living in Ragusa for a few years. We spoke broken languages to each other but got all pertinent information across. The apartment had a lovely little terrace with a view. The bed was comfortable and the kitchen a perfect size for making light meals. It was immaculate and had some character. We were given a permit sign to place in our windshield and were able to park just around the corner from the apartment.
After a rest we sought dinner. There was a large selection and in the end we chose a modern pizzeria called Antares. It was a cavernous place and not crowded. We started with 2 salads: tuna, blood orange and fennel / anchovy, mozzarella, olive, tomato. Then there were pizzas one with smoked swordfish and the other tuna and onion. We were stuffed after eating half so we got them wrapped to go.
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