Paris & Sicily

Paris and Sicily

October 17 through November 5, 2025

This trip started with our nephew’s destination wedding in Paris. 2025 has been a great year for weddings, beginning with Costa Rica, followed by upstate New York, and ending in Paris! Taking advantage of these destinations, we turned the celebrations into longer trips, and Paris was no exception. Because we had visited France multiple times in past years, and because we crave warm weather, we decided to travel to Sicily after the wedding. Sicily had added meaning for us given some family roots in the tiny mountain town of Petralia Soprano. 

Paris: (October 17-20)

October 17-18

We left the United States on the night of Thursday, Oct. 17 on a bumpy but overall fine overnight flight, arriving around 11:30 AM in Paris the next day. After meeting some of our family at the airport, we took the metro to our Airbnb located in the 14th Arrondissement near the Denfert-Rochereau RATP station. We took a short nap, showered, and then Ubered over to Madame Pervenche for pre-wedding celebrations. After returning to the Airbnb, and being quite exhausted from the travel and 6-hour time difference, we managed to have a good night’s sleep. 

October 18

As the wedding was not until the afternoon, we woke up, had wonderful croissants, French bread, and pain au chocolate for breakfast. Then we walked to the Jardins Luxembourg where we enjoyed a beautiful morning. Then we headed over to the Marché Raspail to buy some food for lunch. The vegan Middle Eastern options at the market were a great find! 

After lunch, we showered, dressed,and Ubered to the wedding. The wedding took place on the Henri IV boat with the ceremony docked and the reception floating along the Seine. The passing scenery of Paris was stunning as we passed by the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral all lit up. The whole event was wonderful! 

October 19

The next morning we met family for brunch and then walked through the Marais including Place de Vosges, past Notre Dame Cathedral and Sainte Chapelle, and back through the Luxembourg Gardens. We really wanted to go into either Notre Dame or Saint Chapelle, but the crowds and lines were crazy! After dinner at an Asian restaurant near our Airbnb, we packed up and prepared for our travel to Sicily the next day. 

Sicily: (October 20-November 4)

October 20

We Ubered over to Orly for our flight to Palermo (via Milan), arriving mid-afternoon. Flying into Palermo, we could see the mountains touch the sea. Having previously researched car rental options, we chose Car Motion, one of the more affordable companies, despite some poor reviews and short distance outside of the airport area. We rented a small hybrid and manual Lancia, which ended up working just fine for our needs. We then drove into downtown Palermo as our first Airbnb was in the heart of the Vucciria old town. After mistakenly driving into the forbidden ZTL, a restricted zone meant to minimize and control vehicular traffic in the older sections of town, we finally found a parking space on the corner of Via O. D’Aragona (Sez Mola) and Via T. De Vigilia, about a 20-minute walk from our Airbnb. We were a little nervous about leaving our rental car on a very crowded street for two days, but were happy to have found a free parking spot in the area. 

Our Airbnb was called the Pilly House Vucciria on Via Ambra, right in the middle of the Vucciria section of town. Vucciria is one of the old neighborhoods in town, with a small day market and a vibrant night life. The first night there, we walked around the area and happened upon Voglia di Pizza, a small, understated, affordable restaurant where we ate really good pizza and drank decent beer. 

A NOTE REGARDING THE ZTL: The first mistake we made was to drive into a ZTL and past one of the cameras. Driving in the ZTL not only means you need to pay a fee, but it also means driving down narrow, winding streets where no car should ever drive. We drove out of the ZTL as quickly as we could but the damage was already done. The second mistake we made was to not immediately tell our Airbnb host about driving into the ZTL. Had we done that, we would have quickly learned that we could pay a 6 Euro day pass online before midnight with no extra worry or cost. Instead, we waited two days to mention our mistake to him. He was very helpful and suggested we pay for a day pass, take a screen shot of the pass, and email the ZTL authorities asking for forgiveness. We used Google Translate to help write the email in Italian, trying to be as humble as possible. Thankfully, the authorities responded kindly and forgave us, allowing us to escape with a 6 Euro payment instead of a many hundreds of Euro fine. 

October 21-22

Over the next two days in Palermo, we walked most of the city, visiting all four markets: Ballarò, Capo, Vucciria, and Borgo Vecchio. Our favorite market was Capo, with lots of food and other items to explore. We also really loved Vucciria as that was our local market. And Ballaro was also worth the visit. We tried to go to Borgo Vecchio but arrived too late in the afternoon so most of the vendors were already closed down. 

Each of the markets were surrounded by larger neighborhoods that were fun to explore. Capo Market is in Capo District where we also visited Teatro Massimo and the Palermo Cathedral. In the Kalsa District we walked past the Chiaramonte Steri and the Martorana Church. The main street in the district is Via Nicolo Cervello which we found less interesting than other parts of the city. In the Vucciria District, we saw Santa Cita and the outside of San Domenico in the main square, which was unfortunately covered with scaffolding. Ballarò Market was in the Albergheria District with the Palatine Chapel and Quattro Canti, which was by far one of our favorite spots in the city. We also really loved walking down Vittorio Emanuele, particularly at the intersection with Via Maqueda that creates in Quattro Canti, the epicenter of the old city. And we loved Via Maqueda, which was a vibrant street with lots of shops and activity. 

Because we were able to walk most of the town in a day, we also visited the Botanical Gardens, enjoying the many citrus trees and walking among the HUGE banyan trees. Villa Giulia, the free park next door to the gardens, was also interesting, as was the walk down to the water to see the area. Having packed humus wraps, we walked to the water to eat lunch and admire the view.  

A few notes about Palermo: We loved the city, with its ancient streets, vibrant markets, and incredible history. Crossing the streets was challenging and a bit scary as you just have to cross and hope cars stop for you. To see most of the city in two days, we walked about 10 miles each day, stopping for beer, fries, and bruschetta. We drank our first Aperol Spritz in the Vucciria area at I Love Alcolisti Per Passiones, a touristy but fun restaurant near our Airbnb. The weather was in the high 70s and sunny, which was wonderful! Other than the first night, we ate dinners in the apartment, having pasta one night and veggie burgers and salad the next. We also found great vegan and main staples shopping at Lidl, which are located throughout Sicily, and the Familia Superstore for main staples (and really good whole wheat taralli), as well as fun shopping at the local street markets. 

One area we intended on seeing but chose not to make the trip as Montreale, which is located just outside of Palermo. We could have taken public transportation but decided not to take the time. And we didn’t want to move the car given the parking situation.  So once we got in the car, we wanted to drive east instead of west toward Montreale. 

October 23-24 (Cefalù)

After an awful night’s sleep due to both prolonged jet lag and street noise, we left Palermo and drove to a small town called Santa Flavia to hike up Capo Zaffferano. We really enjoyed Palermo but were ready to leave and continue our journey. The hike up Capo Zafferano was a steep and hot .8 mile up a narrow scree- and cacti-ridden trail. The views were wonderful from the top - definitely worth the hike! 

We were going to stop in the small village of Caccamo on the way to Cefalù, but we decided to drive directly to Cefalù to maximize an already short stay there. We arrived around 1:00 PM and finally found a free parking spot about an 8 minute walk away from our Airbnb. All of the Airbnbs we reserved said they had parking available, but that was not really true. Rather, they had some parking in the area that was very difficult to find and navigate. 

We left our baggage in the car and wandered toward the Rocca di Cefalù but because we were tired, decided not to hike up to the Temple of Diana at the top.  So we walked down part of Corso Ruggiero and enjoyed mango gelato, which helped cool the heat of the day. Then we schlepped our stuff to the Airbnb, a clean and adequate place to stay located on Via Giglio across from a school. After settling in and drinking a beer, we headed back into town, a short 5 minute walk stopping at the Cefalù Cathedral in the Piazza del Duomo. The cathedral is beautiful! Then we walked throughout the streets, along the water, happening upon the Giudecca Geological Trail, a walk along the sea rocks embedded with fossils that follows the shore for a short distance. 

After the walk, we returned to Sfrigola Cefalù, a store that only sells arancini, that we had passed earlier in the day. Hot out of the oven, we enjoyed a vegan Misto Grill, with zucchini, mushrooms, eggplant, and onions. We immediately ate the hot arancini sitting on the steps of a nearby church. YUM!! We also went to the water’s edge to feel the cool water of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The sun was setting over the water, giving a silvery glow to gentle waves. After walking along the sea for a bit, being hot, tired, and in need of a shower, we headed back to the Airbnb, eating a lighter dinner of grapes and apples that we purchased at a nearby fruit store, as well as white wine and cookies we purchased in Palermo. Other than the parking and schlepping, we are really enjoying Sicily thus far! 

October 24-25 (Petralia Soprana)

While most of our trip to Sicily brought us to major tourist spots, we veered off the beaten path to visit Petralia Soprana, a mountain town where one of grandfather’s and his brothers grew up. We had tried to find relatives in the area to no avail, but we had limited information about where in town they might have lived. All we knew was that they could see Mount Etna from their bathroom window. 

The drive to Petralia Soprana was beautiful as we wound our way up through the mountains, ending on a crazy cobbled steep uphill road to reach the town. Having not carefully read the instructions from our Airbnb host in advance, I mistakenly put the wrong directions into the GPS, bringing us through insanely narrow twists and turns on “roads” that were made for carts but not cars. We ended up in a tight bind behind our Airbnb only to be greeted by a lovely elderly man who we “talked to” by using Google Translate.  He shared a bit about the town, told us about his relatives in New York and Philadelphia, and then pointed us in the direction we needed to go.  A bit panicked by the narrow roads, we literally hit a second road block as we tried to navigate through a particularly narrow passageway where we almost got stuck. Between two Sicilian men trying to direct me in Italian and us examining the angles of the car and walls around us, we finally managed to back the car up, reposition a bit, and make it through the passageway unscathed. 

We found a wide street and parking along Umberto 1 which is where we were originally supposed to drive, and checked in early to our Airbnb on Via Rizzo, 11. Given the tiny size of the town, there were very few hotel or Airbnb options. We were originally a little concerned about our Airbnb as it included a shared living space with no access to the kitchen, and supposedly shared bathrooms.  The space turned out to be great, in part because no one else was staying there and in part because we had an en suite bathroom all to ourselves. 

Coming from the large city of Palermo and the tourist town of Cefalù, we didn’t realize that in smaller towns, everything except the bars close down between 1-4 PM, exactly when we arrived. So we walked all over a very quiet town for several hours. 

After 4 PM, we were able to enter the Church of San Pietro e Paola (aka the Mother Church) and the Church of Santa Maria di Loreto. All the remaining churches were still closed. We also stopped by Alimentari Federico di Albanese Giuseppe to see what they sell and purchased a huge container of fresh oyster mushrooms for 3 Euros to eat over pasta the following evening for dinner. We also purchased two small loaves of bread for 1.5 Euros at Panaficio Agliato, a small shop on Via Collegio, staffed by a friendly older man. And we stopped into the Piccolo Bazar di Vaccarella Concetta, a little shop near our Airbnb to purchase a gift for a family member. After returning to the Airbnb to relax before dinner, we ventured out to A’ Soprana for a wonderful dinner of bruschettina pizza, grilled veggies, and panelle. Then we walked back to the Airbnb, relaxed, and planned the next few days. 

October 25-27 (Castelmola/Taormina)

October 25

We left Petralia Soprano around 9:30 AM and drove to Sperlinga, a beautiful town with an old castle. This was a town we discovered on the Sicilian Traveler website. We purchased our tickets from the bar next to the castle and were able to park there easily as well. The castle was worth every cent of the 5 Euros per person! We had the castle all to ourselves and the views and visit was excellent. 

Then we drove to the town of Cerami because the town shared a family name for us. The roads to Cerami were winding but offered a beautiful view. We walked to the old castle ruins on the edge of town and then walked around the town, entering two churches that were open, lighting candles in the Sant’ Antonio Abate. We were in Cerami on a Saturday, which must have been a laundry day as many people had hung their laundry over the balconies to dry. 

After leaving Cerami, we drove past Randazza, another town we had read was worth visiting.  But we decided not to visit as we wanted to arrive in Castelmola at a reasonable hour. So we stopped for gas and drove through Linguaglossa which looked like a lively town. After driving through a VERY tourist-crowded Taomormina, we met our Airbnb host near Villa Pace in Castelmola and followed her to a lovely Airbnb with an amazing view of Castelmola, the Ionian Sea, and Taormina. We enjoyed some beer and wine overlooking the sea on our balcony, and then cooked a wonderful dinner of zucchini, eggplant, sun dried tomatoes, oyster mushrooms, oil and garlic over pasta. After dinner, we did some laundry, hung out, and considered how best to spend the next day. 

October 26

We woke up to a beautiful sunrise. After a pancake breakfast, we walked 40 minutes on a very narrow and overgrown path from the Airbnb to Castelmola. We knew that Taormina was touristy but were unprepared for how touristy Castelmola was. Despite the crowds, we climbed the short walk up to Castello di Mola with a view of Mount Etna and the Ionian Sea. We also saw the Piazza Sant'Antonino, a central square with black and white mosaic floor. We stopped into the famous Bar Turrisi but were a bit turned off by the number of phallic-shaped items and the high prices. And of course we saw the 15th Century Chiesa di San Giorgio and the main duomo, the Chiesa di San Nicola di Bari.  

After walking around Castelmola, we walked down the steep hill into Taormina. We spent a good part of the day walking all over Taormina, walking Corso Umberto (the heart of the town) and Piazza IX Aprile with its elegant plaza and historic square where buskers were playing classic Italian music. We didn’t go into the Greek Theater as there was too long a line to purchase tickets. But we ate gelato, walked to the Roman Odeon and around the Public Garden, and passed (by chance) the San Domenico Palace, the Four Seasons hotel where part of season two of the White Lotus was filmed. Then we decided to take a cable car to Isola Bella where we hung out by the beach for a couple of hours. The beach was very crowded and small, making us think that perhaps we missed the best part of Isola Bella.  Getting back to our Airbnb required traveling 2.5 miles uphill. We considered taking a bus or taxi but for some reason, we decided to walk the 1.5 hours back up along a winding and fairly trafficked road. Over the course of the day, we walked almost 11 miles. When we got to the Airbnb, we were happy to sit on the balcony and drink beer and wine, and have a big refreshing salad for dinner.

October 27-28 (Catania)

October 27

We left Castelmola around 9:00 AM and headed to Mount Etna. Our Airbnb host sent us off with yummy traditional Sicilian almond pastries which we ate along the way. We arrived at Mount Etna around 10:30 AM and walked around the Silvestri Craters. These craters are near the Rufigio Sapeinzo on the south side of the volcano. The whole area is amazing to walk around. Having not pre-prepared lunch, we ate pizza and had an espresso at the local restaurant, and enjoyed walking around the many craters. It was a beautiful sunny day but very windy. Oddly there were a lot of lady bugs near the volcano. Being on the volcano was stunning, as were all the more distant views of the whole volcano that we saw in Sperlinga, Castelmola, and driving throughout the area.  

After lunch, we left Mount Etna and drove to our Airbnb on Viale Marco Polo in Catania. As we arrived a bit earlier than expected, we purchased some fruit and veggies from a local vendor down the street, went shopping at Lidl, and returned to the Airbnb around 3:30 PM. The Airbnb was an entire apartment with an enclosed and safe place to park the car; a definite added benefit. It also had a beautiful view of Mount Etna (when sunny out), although the rest of the view was very down-trodden. And the kitchen was dirty and not very well appointed; and the dishes and pots and pans were greasy and not well washed. So while the apartment was very nice and we appreciated the free parking space, the neighborhood was not very interesting. We hung out for a bit, took showers, drank some beer and Aperol spritzer that we had purchased at Lidl, spoke to some family members via What’s App, and planned our trip for the next day into downtown Catania. Our host gave us suggestions as to how to pay for parking using the EasyPark app, which came in very handy in Catania and throughout Sicily. 

October 28

After a rough night’s sleep due to nearby barking dogs and street noise, we took the car and headed downtown, parking outside the ZTL near the market in the Piazza Carlo Alberto di Savoia, aka Fera 'ô Luni. This was a huge and wonderful daily market that made the trip to Catania totally worthwhile! We tasted some olives, and purchased both used and new items from the amazing array of food, souvenirs, clothing, and other goods. 

Having spent a good part of the morning in the market, we then walked all over the old part of town, including going to the Anfiteatro Romano (a Roman amphitheater below the city), Teatro Massimo Bellini, and visiting Piazza del Duomo, the center square with a huge cathedral. We also walked down the Via Etnea and then down Garibaldi Street, ending up at Porta Garibaldi, which led us to the second reason to visit Catania: We found La Caffetteria del Fortino where we ate the best chocolate and pistachio granita of the entire trip! Then we returned to the car, drove back to the apartment, and sat on the balcony for an afternoon drink. Sadly, the clouds obscured our view of Mount Etna. 

October 29-30 (Siracusa, Ortigia, and Noto)

October 29

After a better night’s sleep but still not great, we decided that we had seen everything we wanted to in Catania except for the La Pescheria or local fish market. Because we were concerned that we had not left enough time in Sircusa and Ortigia, we cancelled our last night’s stay in Catania, made plans to stay at an Airbnb in Siracusa, and booked a boat trip in Siracusa for the next day. Then we packed up, drove to the fish market, purchased roasted eggplant and onions for dinner, and drove to the public beach area where we hoped to eat a quick lunch (humus sandwiches) before heading to Siracusa. Finding the parking area to be a bit sketchy, and not wanting to leave all our belongings in the car while we walked to the beach, we drove to a nearby Lidl, ate lunch in the parking lot, went in to purchase a few more vegan items (yogurt and ravioli), and then drove the short 50 minutes to Siracusa, stopping at a rest stop along the way for a bio break and espresso. 

After checking into our Airbnb (that had very easy parking nearby), we walked the 25 minutes to the Neopolis Archeological area to see the Greek and Roman amphitheaters, Dionysus’ Ear, and the rest of this amazing and ancient area. We then walked back along Via Genone to see the Forni, around the harbor, and then headed back to the Airbnb, drank beer, showered, and ate dinner (vegan ravs with the roasted veggies from the Catania market) that we made in the microwave because our apartment only had a microwave and sink but no stove. 

October 30

We got up, made a simple breakfast, and then headed into Ortigia, passing by a huge cruise ship and a bunch of RVs parked nearby. We walked around the edge of Ortigia stopping to see the Ionian Sea where people were swimming and relaxing on the rocks. We walked through the streets and to the Nymph fountain. We ate pb&J sandwiches for lunch and then went to see if we could take an earlier boat ride. The boat ride was fun but lasted only 45 minutes because no one wanted to swim given the cloudy and slightly chilly weather. We boated around Ortigia and then headed into three different small caves. After the boat ride, we ate another granita (pistachio and mulberry) recommended by our captain. Sadly, this granita was not nearly as good as the ones in Catania. Then we headed back to the car to drive the 40 minutes to Noto. 

We arrived in Noto around 2:30 and met our Airbnb host there. Luckily he was able to help us park the car in a very tight but free spot right just outside the home. The Airbnb was great, despite the upstairs toilet not flushing very well. The home was three stories high, with a terrace and great view from the roof. We walked around town (just outside our door), walked down Victor Emmanuel street, came back and had a drink on the roof and then ate dinner in the kitchen located on the first floor. Noto is a beautiful town with a vibrant evening street life and gorgeous architecture. 

October 31

We walked all over Noto and purchased a 10 Euro ticket to visit four main churches: Basilica Cattedrale di San Nicolo’, Chiesa di Montevergini and its bell tower, Chiesa Di San Domenico and the crypt, and Chiesa Di San Carlo and its bell tower. Noto is beautiful, very touristy, but definitely worth visiting. We really enjoyed having the Airbnb so close to town so we could go in and out, use our bathroom, grab a snack, and then go back out. We ate  another granita (almond), but still not as good as the ones in Catania as these were very icy, more like the ones in Siracusa. We were also able to find a post office to mail a postcard home to a friend. After standing in town watching the sunset light up the buildings, we relaxed on the roof, ate a homemade dinner, and enjoyed listening to The Sicilian Inheritance, an audiobook we had borrowed from our local library. Then we packed up for our drive to Agrigento the next morning. 

November 1-3 (Agrigento)

November 1

After eating breakfast and turning the car around so that we could drive out of the very narrow street where we had parked, we were very happy to see our Airbnb host come help us back the car to a main street and avoid the ZTL. We were going to stop at a beach or nature reserve along the way, but we weren’t sure about parking and theft, and our Agrigento host said we could check in early. So instead of stopping, we drove 1.5 hours to Gela hoping to find a good market there. The market turned out to be very small with mostly clothes, although one stall sold many different desserts. We purchased some almond cookies (which were very good) and a cannoli (which turned out to be terrible), then drove down the street to a fruit and vegetable stand to purchase oyster mushrooms and an eggplant for dinner. 

Then we drove another hour to Agrigento, arriving around 1:30 PM. After checking into a very nice Airbnb with a small balcony with a view of the sea, we walked around town, enjoying the wonderful street art along the roads. Arriving back at the apartment, we had  a drink on the balcony, a shower, and a delicious oil, garlic, and veggie pasta meal for dinner. We also purchased tickets for Monday to go to the Valley of the Temples. We didn’t realize that tickets to the Valley of Temples are free on the first Sunday of every month. Otherwise we might have decided to go on Sunday instead of Monday. 

November 2

We spent the morning walking around Agrigento, down Via Aetena where a lot of fun shops are. Many shops were open even though it was Sunday. Agrigento is very pretty and we walked all over town. Our Airbnb was located on the top of the hill near the Agrigento Cathedral. So walking into town was downhill, but walking back required trekking up many stairs and steep roads. In the afternoon we drove to a very pretty beach called Capo Rossello, just beyond the Scala dei Turchi which we could see from where we sat. The water was beautiful but a bit chilly. We drove back before it got dark but got turned around in the directions and ended up on VERY small streets in Agrigento, just like in Petralia Soprana. At one point, in an extremely tight spot, inching back and forth to fit through a narrow walled street, we thought we’d never find our way home, but finally did. We enjoyed a drink on the balcony, took showers, and walked to dinner at the Pizzeria Lampo where we sat outside and ate a veggie pizza and salad, both of which were really tasty! Then we hiked back up the hill to our Airbnb home, hung out, and got ready for the next day. 

November 3 

All of the Airbnbs we stayed at had very nice moka pots for making espresso, except for the apartment in Agrigento. Our Agriento apartment, which was otherwise lovely, only had one tiny, single-shot moka pot. So we spent a bit of time making four pots of espresso with our breakfast. Then drove to the Valley of Temples for our 9:15 AM tickets. The park was pretty empty when we got there, which was nice. The park is huge and beautiful and peaceful, with lots of ancient ruins and fruit trees, particularly fig, olives, citrus, and almonds. While there were olives and almonds on the trees, we were sad that there were no figs. We walked by many temples and monuments that ancient Greeks and then Romans built in about 600-450 BC. We saw the Temple of Juno, Temple of Concord, Temple of Hercules, Tomb of Terone, Temple of Olympic Jupiter, Temple of Castor and Pollux, Temple of Volcano (from a distance), and then we walked through the Garden of Peace and another little sensory garden with fruit trees. We also went into Villa Aurea that had religious paintings dating back several hundred centuries. 

After walking about 6 miles over 3 hours, we headed over to the Scala dei Turchi. We walked on the beach but it was windy and not a very nice beach. And while we read on several websites that the Scala was free to enter, there were three “official looking” people asking for money to enter. Not trusting these people, we headed back to our apartment, hoping to find a granita store along the way. Sadly, there were none. We were very careful about not missing any turns and made it back to the apartment without incident. Then we headed out on foot in search of a sweet treat, landing on limoncello gelato and cookies. Back home, we enjoyed drinks on the balcony, showered, and ate dinner. A very nice day overall! We packed up and prepared for our next day’s drive back to Palermo and flight to Paris. While the trip was wonderful, we were ready to be traveling home. 

November 4

Our original plan was to drive through the mountains and countryside to Palermo. We thought it would be fun to stop at the town of Mussomeli where they sell $1 houses and where there is a Tuesday market that we thought would be fun to visit. However, when we realized that we had most of the day before our evening flight, we decided to drive to Trapani on the west side of Sicily. We had read about salt pans and flamingos near Trapani. Unfortunately we were too late to purchase tour tickets for the salt pans, but we found a stop right outside of town called Salina Maria Stella, a World Wildlife Foundation site, where we saw the old windmills, small salt flats, and a flamingo in the water. Then we drove into town, parked in Victor Emmanuel Square, and walked through the town. At first we were sorry not to be spending more time in Trapani, but in truth, there was not a whole lot to see: A few interesting streets with some stores, walks around the harbor, and passed by the Church of San Francesco d'Assisi, a church with a green dome. We stopped at a small cafe for some espresso at Nuova Nuova Birreria Italia, then headed to Palermo. 

We returned the car to the rental place in what we thought was impeccable condition. They said we had two new dents and we negotiated that down to one, which double the cost of our rental. Even so, the car rental was worth the expense. Our flights from Palermo to Rome and then Rome to Paris were uneventful but we arrived in Paris close to midnight. We had previously made reservations at the Premiere Classe Roissy Aéroport Charles De Gaulle as it was cheap and near the airport, but turned out to be one of the worst hotels we have ever stayed at! 

November 5

Our Uber dropped us off at the hotel. Our room looked like a dorm room, with dirty sheets and a shower with minimal drainage. But because we were only there for less than 10 hours, we slept for a few hours, took very short showers, and Ubered back for our flight home. 

Our trip to Sicily was amazing! Here are some overall reflections and things we learned: 

• There are so many churches, all with different styles. Many have beautiful artwork and marble, but not so many have stained glass windows.

• There are a lot of pigeons and pigeon poop, a lot of stray cats, a lot of dog poop, and most cities are pretty dirty or strewn with garbage. 

• The granita was different in every town.

• We didn't realize that daylight savings time ended on October 26 in Sicily. We wondered why the clock in the car was different and it was getting dark so early. But because we used our cell phones and no watches we didn't notice the time difference.

• In the smaller towns, including Agrigento, many stores, shops, attractions, and restaurants close somewhere between noon and 4:00 PM for a riposo. And many restaurants open after 7PM and stay open late. There is often a vibrant night life even in the smallest of towns because of the long riposo. 

• There is not much green space in the little towns because so much of the towns are made of rock and stone. However, people try to have individual gardens and greenery on their balconies, which brightened up the streets. 

• People are very friendly and nice. They seem to really enjoy having tourists visit their beautiful island. For example, I asked in the market how to eat a prickly pear and she peeled it for me. They just seem very eager to please. 

• The population was more diverse than we expected, with a mix of Italians and Africans in many towns. 

• In every town, we noticed that many older men hanging out together on street corners and cafes. They looked like old friends hanging out together, something we have noticed elsewhere. 

• Many people smoke in Sicily, particularly tiny cigarettes. 

• We tried two new fruits: persimmons and prickly pears. We liked the persimmons a lot, particularly the harder ones, but were not overly impressed with the prickly pear as they had a lot of seeds and not much flavor.

• For Airbnbs, unless the listing specifically states “designated parking” available, don’t believe that free and easy parking is really available! 

• Pivot as needed. We left Catania a day early because we wanted to spend more time in Siracusa. We were very happy about that decision!