Segesta

On our second day in San Vito we ventured out to Segesta.  The ride was breathtaking views of farmland and tree covered hills.  Every time we explore our island I am taken with all the beauty.  People complain about living here and are quick to mention "it's not Tuscany."  This is true, however, Sicily is beautiful and charming in its own way.  Our favorite guidebook describes Sicily as "well-preserved decay" which I think is most appropriate.  Anyways, I digress.  On to Segesta we go!

 

 

The temple was started in 424 BC, but was never completed.

 

 

 

We boarded a bus and took a short ride to the top of a hill near the temple to view some other ruins.  We made our way to the ampitheater and oh the view!  We sat down for a quick snack and made sure we were back down to catch the bus on time.

 

 

 

 

 

Memorial Day in San Vito Lo Capo

This is the second Memorial Day we have spent in San Vito Lo Capo, a beach town on the Northwest side of the island. 

We “camp” in a cabin that is equipped with a porch with a table, a kitchenette stocked with some basic cooking supplies with a small dining table, bunk beds at the other end of the kitchen, a separate bedroom, and a bathroom.

  We bring all of our own food, grill, and other toiletries and kitchen necessities.  The car is generally packed to the absolute limit because I haven’t figured out how to not pack “just in case” items.  Maybe next year!

We have been with friends and we stay on a little street in the back of the campground that has 3 cabins on each side of the street, facing each other.  At mealtime, tables are pulled in the middle of the street and we all pile our food out and eat family style.  The kids have a blast running around with water guns, playing hide and seek, and watching movies in each other’s cabins.  The parents have a blast sitting around the fire… sans kids… see previous sentence!

We arrived on Friday evening and took the time to get settled in and let the kids play.  Bright and early Saturday morning, we were off to the beach.   This year it was a little chilly which didn’t distract many of the kids, but mine aren’t fond of being cold.  They played in the sand and ate snacks.  Brady braved the water every once in a while, but then he would come sit next to me with a towel wrapped around him as his teeth chattered. 

After coming back to the cabin to rest for a few hours, we took a walk through town.  The beach is beautiful and the town is certainly charming with flowered terraces and various shops.  You can tell it is very much geared towards tourists which is ok when you are one!

Across the island to Cefalu

The views in Sicily change dramatically as you drive across the island.  Scenic rock beach views, to citrus groves, wide open farmland, vineyards, marble quarries, over to sandy beaches.  All of it is charming and beautiful.

 

 

For the long Memorial Day weekend, we hit the road across the island with our first stop in the town of Cefalu.  What a beautiful town it was!  A beach town with aqua and bright blue water, shops filled with pottery and various gifts, laundry hanging across the narrow streets, and vibrant flowers spilling off of balconies.    

We had seen on a Rick Steve’s video when he had visited Cefalu, he had eaten a fish baked in a thick salt crust, so we were on a mission to find a restaurant that served this kind of fish dish.  We wandered the streets reading menu after menu with no luck.  Finally we asked someone and were told a restaurant just up the hill would have it.  Umm, negative.  However, we didn’t read the menu before being seated, so we were stuck.  Turns out that even though the sought after fish wasn’t on the menu, our meal was absolutely fantastic!  We devoured every crumb!

After lunch, we headed out to take a look at the church and a much needed gelato break! 

 

After making our way back to the car, we were bound for San Vito Lo Capo!  The ride was smooth sailing until I spotted one of the only olive wood venders we’ve seen on the island (the other was at the Carnivale festival).  A friend had given me GPS coordinates for this roadside display situated in a scenic overlook, so I was on a serious lookout mission!  Thankfully Greg was with me, so together we spent A LOT of money (as opposed to me spending the money and him being informed about it later).  Our car was already packed ceiling high with bags tucked around the kid’s carseats, so finding places to stash cutting boards, bowls, serving pieces, ect., was no small feat.  I ended up riding the rest of the way to San Vito with wood packed around my feet and on my lap.  Totally worth it!

 

Noto- Infiorata Festival

After a last minute decision, we found ourselves in Noto for the Infiorata festival.  I’ve mentioned before that parking isn’t terribly user friendly for festivals, but the parking in Noto was hands down the best we have ever experienced (my previous post about Carnivale also mentions a pleasant parking experience… perhaps we are hitting a trend).  A large gravel lot was easy to access from the main road into town and the end of the lot opened up to the festival.  

From the start, festivals all look the same.  There are carts filled with a variety of toys that sing, walk, talk, squeak, or light up.  

Next to that is a giant balloon bundle with Mickey, Minnie, Smurfs, and who knows what else, and next to that is another toy cart.  

Guess what happens when you have a 2 and 5 year old bombarded with toy carts and balloon bundles?  It’s not pretty. 

We manage to all make it past the beginning of the festival alive.  Good news.  As we wandered down the street, we took in breathtaking baroque architecture and handmade wares from a variety of artists...and some fun cars!

We walked a bit of distance and I began to wonder where exactly the flower petal mosaics were.  I thought it was down the main street, but we kept walking and there were no flowers.  I also wondered where all the people were.  Generally festivals are crowded, but we had all the space we could possibly want while walking down the street.  Suddenly off to the right, we found what I had been looking for.  The flower mosaics and all the people!  Up a side street there was picture after picture created by various colors of flower petals, dirt, mulch, and rocks.  Along each side of the street, a walkway was roped off and people were crammed in walking up taking in each picture.  

 

 

We did not go up.  It was just a little too much for us.  And yes, I realize how sad it is that we went to the flower festival and didn’t actually go up to see all the mosaics.  We probably won’t do it next time either.  That’s just how we roll!


I love visiting Noto.  It is a charming town with what is said to be the best gelato bars.  I don’t know about the gelato, it was great in Noto, but it’s great everywhere!  I’ve blogged about the ancient ruins of Noto and I think both the ruins and current town are certainly worth the trip!