We departed Monforte and headed toward Sicily. We had an overnight stop at Orvieto, another typical town with the old town on the hill top and the lower newer town below.

The town was full of beautiful old buildings. It had been a rather hot day with temperatures hovering around 38 degrees, so we waited till the evening and took the funicular up to the old town for dinner.

We sat and cooled off with a drink in the Piazza Duomo, whilst admiring the facade of the magnificent Gothic Cathedral , with it’s colourful frescoes and mosaics.It was lovely wandering through the cobbled streets of the Old Town, however , for us it was a bit “too touristy”!

The next day we travelled again down the Autostrade in 38 degree heat , and we hit Calabria! Then Greg had to “put up” with Calabrian drivers! The speed limit went down from 130kph (not that they stick to that) to 60 kph due to road works. Greg was still travelling at 105 kph and was getting”flashed” and “beeped” by a woman in a beat up small car behind telling him to go faster!!!!! Unbelievable!!

Our next overnight stop was in the Calabrian town of Castrovillari,  again with an old village, and a newer part, but not hill top! The old town had a Castello ,(above) built in 1490, and not much else!

The water troughs in the main street are still being used today, and the old village is quite run down, but interesting to wander through.

The following day we put Pierre on the ferry to make our way across to Sicily!

Of course ,as tradition states, one must have an arancini ball on the ferry crossing!

We arrived at our little village of Sant’Ambrogio , where we had stayed 3 years ago. Not much has changed in 3 years and we are still remembered by some of the people , with Rhonda’s photo on the wall in Saro’s Bar!

The Belevedere still is “the place to be” for morning coffees and evening aperitifs!

The sunsets each evening are still magnificent also!

We have decided not to do much at all during our week here, as we head home on Thursday, so relaxation is the daily activity!

However we did take the train into Palermo for a day!

One of Palermo’s landmarks is the Fontana Pretoria, above. The story goes that the fountain which is surrounded by numerous “nude nymphs” proved a bit much for Sicilian churchgoers who called it The Fountain of Shame! We thought it was quite impressive!

 

 

 

Quattro Canti is a Baroque Square in Palermo with all 4 corners having near identical facades containing fountains and statues of the four seasons. Quite impressive!

 

We wandered through the markets and there were some interesting selections of food available.

 

The sea food was unbelievable , as was the tables and tables and tables of snails! The health Dept in Australia would not approve of the method of keeping the food fresh! There was heaps of sea food laying in the open air waiting to be sold, with flies buzzing everywhere!

 

 

The heads of swordfish were a sight to see!

 

 

 

The magnificent Cathedral in Palermo has parts which date back to 1184, when the construction began.

 

It was the time of the big religious festival in Palermo and mass was happening inside , hence all the people!

After we had been walking for a few hours, Greg needed that it was time to “ice” his knees and take in the splendour of the Cathedral’s facade!

We have ventured into the town of Cefalu, about 5 kilometres down the road on the beach!

We are enjoying great fish meals, and Rhonda is “in heaven” being able to eat her favourite spigola , or sea bass!

It is also Festival time here in Sant’Ambrogio , so there is plenty happening over 4 days with bands , theatre and the finale on Sunday with the procession, carrying the Madonna , and fireworks!

It is hard to believe that our 3 months is almost at an end! The time has gone extremely quickly.

So speaking of time, yep , it’s that time again!

Ciao for now

Love Greg and Rhonda

xxx