Hi friends and welcome to Day 42 of this monumental, inconceivable and definitely memorable blind sightseers tour….!
Buongiorno amici (Good morning friends)
No way…We’re in Sicily! One of our favourite places to eat is Sicily Restaurant and we always say when speaking to Grace or Dora “We come to Sicily but we’ve never been to Sicily!” Now that has changed, yay! 😀
Now we’re here let’s see what we’ll be doing…
To see the best of Sicily, you have to climb to great heights. And on this trip you’ll do exactly that. After a coach drive to the cable station, you’ll take the cable car up to the top of a mountain. Take in the view out over the Trapani salt pans, the turquoise sea and all the way to the Egadi Islands – it’s breathtaking. While you’re up here, you’ll explore the Medieval town that is Erice. Wander the winding cobbled streets. Visit the Mother Church that’s stood here for over 700 years. And admire the Castle of Venus where the son of Athena, goddess of love, built a temple in his mother’s honour. But save some sighs for the gorgeous Balio Gardens in all their rainbow bright glory. Last but not least you’ll have time to enjoy the atmosphere in Erice’s dinky plaza, before you take the cable car back down to the ship.
Yay…I love cable cars, and we’ve already been on 2 during this lockdown memory tour (see Gibraltar and Matlock Bath).
Leaving the ship…🛳
The breakfast on the Thomson Majesty didn’t disappoint and we stepped out into the warm sunshine. It’’s September so it’s not boiling hot (28˚C) but it’s much warmer than England. 😀 Boarding the coach was fine and it wasn’t long before we we’re driving through the beautiful Sicilian streets and hills.
The cable cars…🚠
The cable car seated about 10 people (all in a circle) and we all instantly started chatting about our experiences on cruise ships, other cruises and if we’d been to Sicily before? As this is now our 4th cruise (unbelievable) we sounded like seasoned professionals, lol! 🤣
Then it fell silent as we climbed higher and we all caught sight of the view…😲
I’m not sure i’d like cable cars half as much as i do if i was fully sighted. I think it’s because i can’t really tell how high i am as i’m actually a bit scared of heights! 😀
Sarah said “Steve stop looking out of the window, face me and have your photo taken”.
☢️ HEALTH WARNING…
Surely it’s not that time already?? It’s much to early to be stunned by another blisteringly stupendous Sarah panorama…
Hang on…Here’s another…
Eris…
Wow this place was incredible. It was quite surreal to have climbed so high in the cable car to get to this beautiful town. The colours were so vivid as the bright buildings contrasted the deep blue sky.
Following the guide was hard work as the narrow lanes/walkways had large stones (about 4 inches) and were fantastic at tripping you up or stubbing your toe on, if you were lucky you’d do both. But the blind sightseers don’t let little details like that stop us, lol! 😀
Once we’d walked (and walked) to the very top of the town a Sicilian man came with a horse (maybe donkey i can’t see it or remember, lol) and carriage and played some traditional Sicilian music on his Harmonium.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ-DTxVZ8m4
The plaza…
We had about half an hour free time and Sarah & i quickly went to find a souvenir shop. The main item of sale was the Sicilian nougat which we didn’t really want as Sarah is diabetic. The plaza was beautiful and we spent some time wondering around until we got to sit down.
Eris was a stunning place and we’re so blessed to be able to visit…But now back to the cable cars.
Back at the dock…🛳
After a quick refresh on the ship we were ready to explore! The dock was nice and flat and had lots of multi coloured boats in long rows so we looked around here first. Wait a minute…Did Sarah buy one of these little boats in the souvenir shop at Eris, lol! 🤣
Of course we can’t leave Sicily without Sarah’s Sicilian victory pose…
Trapani town…
We left the dock and started walking along the first street we came to. We noticed that the streets were in a big square and if we walked all the way round we’d end up back here without getting lost…Here goes.
“Oh it looks like all of the shops and cafe’s are closed” Sarah said sounding a little disappointed. We continued along the second street and still nothing was open. “We might as well return to the dock” Sarah said “I only wanted to try some Arancini in Sicily” We always order these in ‘Sicily Restaurant’ back home so i thought whilst we were here i’d try one too.
Turning right again onto the 3rd street of the square i was increasingly despondent and crestfallen.
But suddenly…
Sarah says with plenty of excitement “Steve look, i think…Yes i’m sure it is…Let me go and see if i’m right” Sarah walks quickly ahead and upon her return says “Steve you’re going to love this” taking my hand (as i was heartbroken) she led me into a little shop (which is the only one open around here) which only cooked Arancini!! I simply couldn’t believe it! We ordered a couple of different flavours and an espresso too! 😲
Wow…Now all that is left is the taste test…
Awww unbelievable now that tastes great! Yet another moment i won’t stop talking about. 🤣
After a lovely time relaxing, eating Arancini and drinking espresso in the sun it was time to head back to the ship. walking around the last corner of the square we noticed a tiny market stall selling hats. I said “I wonder if they sell a hat with Sicily on for Vini (Nephew) who loves collecting baseball caps?” They did (i holding it in the image below).
Yay the ship is here…
☢️ HEALTH WARNING…
Oh no i don’t think i have enough energy left to be able to take another stupendous, Magnificent and sublime Sarah panorama… She keeps top trumping my photography, lol! 🤣
Back at the ship…🛳
Sorry guys but no towel folding creatures on this ship! 😭
The blind sightseers had a lovely time in Sicily and we’d definitely return (if we get the chance after lockdown) as there are many more shore excursions for us to try all over Sicily.
Hope you’ve enjoyed the adventure today…Let me know your favourite part?! 🤔 We’ll meet tomorrow…Same time…Same place for another adventure! 😀
⬅ Previous Day 🌴 Next Day ➡
🏝 Join us:
- Tuscany Tour
- Transatlantic Sunset Cruise
- Matlock Bath
- Mayan Treasures Cruise
- Classical Greece Cruise
- Treasures of the Mediterranean Cruise
- Seven Isles Cruise
- Barbados – Southern Palms #1
- Tough Mudder 5K
- Tropical Delights Cruise
- Barbados – Southern Palms #2
- Aegean Shores Cruise
- Ancient Kingdoms Cruise
- Ultra Step Challenge
Rebus Photography 