We successfully picked Jude up from Palermo airport and took her back to our apartment in Castellammare. We let her settle in before taking her out on a day trip the following day.

We headed first for Segesta to see the Greek Temple.

It dates back to 5th century BC and it was built by an architect from Athens and is deemed to be the best surviving example of Doric architecture in Europe. It was pretty stunning.

We then headed to Marsala for a coffee, even though we had been before, but thought Jude would like a look. We liked the Church of Purgatory with its Baroque facade which was rather stunning and the Porta Garabaldi which was part of the original wall built in 17th century. It was where Garabaldi landed in Marsala on his unification of Italy.

We then drove the Salt Road around to Trapani, to see the windmills. The ancient windmills used to be the main instrument for pumping the water and grinding the salt.

We then arrived in Trapani and it was time for a drink , a rest and something to eat. The Cathedral of San Lorenzo is considered to be one of the most well-preserved examples of Sicilian Baroque architecture and built in 1421 but restored many times.

That night our “live in “chef cooked us a great dinner of Sicilian busiate pistacio pasta. It was sensational!

The next day we had to be up early to drive into Palermo to do a food and history walking tour with Dominico. He was a rather amusing tour guide which held our interest during the 3 hour tour. He took us through the magnificent Church of San Cataldo, erected in 1154 with Arab Norman architecture. It is UNESCO listed and we could certainly see why. The mosaics and tiles inside the church were amazing! The gold mosaics date back to the 11th Century and the tiles to the 16th Century.

Dominico then walked us through the Ballaro food market, the oldest in Palermo and we tried lots of different street food.

Another busy day for the knees, 10500 steps and nearly 8 kms!

We spent our last day in Castellammare relaxing and repacking for our next move. We went out for dinner and Greg had another vongole, he will look like spaghetti and clams soon! We took some last photos whilst wandering the streets at night after dinner. We really enjoyed our stay!

Next day we set off for Cefalu but had a stop at Monreale on the way. Greg and Tony did another wonderful job negotiating some very narrow streets and in particular driving into the Centro of Monreale. Jude and Rhonda kept their eyes shut! However, once we parked the car it was worth it to see the Cathedral.

It is considered to be one of Sicily’s top attractions and the greatest example of Norman architecture in existence today! It began its existence in 1174 by William 11 with beautiful mosaics and more than 1800 kgs of gold inside. It was worth the stress of the drive! Stunning.

We then made a memory stop to Sant Ambrogio , a small village that we had stayed at twice before. Greg was recognised by everybody! Not surprising as sometimes he is larger than life. The girl in the cafe where we went every day told him he had put on a bit of weight and looked older!!!!! How rude!! But funny! As he was always known as Mr Pistache, due to the fact he had a pistachio ice cream each night we were there, he had to re live the memory!

We checked into our accommodation in Cefalu after a loooong delay, but that’s another story for another day. We had a lovely apartment with a fantastic view BUT the road up to it was horrible, extremely narrow with lots of blind hairpin bends. Again, it was a “shut eye ” experience for Rhonda and Jude!

The next day we decided to spend the WHOLE day down in the old town of Cefalu considered to be one of the most beautiful villages in Sicily. It is tourist heaven with loads of souvenir shops but it was still nice to wander the narrow alleyways.

Cefalu has a beautiful beach, although we didn’t have time to swim , plus it was very busy.

The Duomo, in the centre of the old town is UNESCO listed and built in 1131 by Roger 11 after his ship found refuge in Cefalu after a storm. Apparently, it has beautiful mosaics, but it was under scaffolding and being renovated so couldn’t see them!

We spent the evening sitting on our balcony drinking Grillo , the local wine and taking numerous photos as the sun continually changed the colour of the view.

Greg does have more but he thought this was enough!!!!!!

We have now arrived at Lipari on the Aeolian Islands and loving it, but that’s another blog, it’s time for a drink, and we don’t mean water! The weather is heating up, and we see that in Melbourne it is rather chilly! Know where we would rather be!

Ciao ciao for now

Lots of love

Greg Rhonda and Jude!