I arrived late last night and checked into my wonderful B&B Bquadro, staying in this room: The friendly young couple had two other rooms in red and blue. They lived in another part of the house. Breakfast was in their dining room which opened onto a balcony.The room and bathroom were spacious and comfortable. They set out a good selection of pamphlets and maps which included a few leaflets on addiopizzo, a grass-roots organisation dedicated to stamping out the pizzo which is the protection money businesses in Palermo must pay to the Mafia. My hosts were proudly defiant of the Mafia’s crippling hold on the Sicilian economy. My first evening I headed out to a nearby wine bar, Buoni Vini, to enjoy the house cocktail in their urban garden, munching  on chewy bread and fresh tomatoes. As I was to discover, every little bite of food in Sicily is prepared with care. The B&B was in a rather upscale neighborhood a little walk from the town center. I set out today to explore the town, strolling down the Via Settimo, lined with major-brand shops. Around the opera house, the street became pedestrian only. Although I had always heard that Palermo … Continue reading →

I packed up bright and early and headed to the train station to pick up my rental car. Although I had initially planned to take public transport, I reluctantly concluded that it was impossible to execute my itinerary without a car. Segesta was particularly inaccessible but there were other places where public transport seemed dubious. Upon arriving at the Maggiore desk  I was immediately confronted with a hard, hard sell to buy extra insurance. “Uh-oh. I really should have researched this. Should have read the contract more carefully. What exactly is included?”, thought I. But isn’t a vacation supposed to be, I dunno, a vacation? I declined the extras and was then informed that €1800 was to be blocked on my credit card in case of damage that was supposed to be covered by the CDW I already bought. I started to feel kind of stupid particularly when I drove off without getting clarification on how the radio worked. Or if there was one. I saw no dials or numbers or anything really indicating a radio. Oh well. The GPS got me to Segesta without too much difficulty. First up was the ruins of the ancient city which, cleverly enough, … Continue reading →

From Agrigento, the lovely people at Doric B&B were kind enough to drop me at the bus station for the journey to Catania. Travelling along the southern coast, I found the scenery somewhat boring. Every square metre was cultivated as we rolled along gentle hills, valleys and plateaus. At least I saw where the fruit and vegetables I buy at Ventimiglia come from. If there are small farms in this region, I didn’t see any. The agriculture was on a monumental scale. As it was Sunday afternoon in Catania, the streets were nearly empty. My B&B was XXMiglia in a neighbourhood that I would describe as “seedy-trendy”. It reminded me of Tribeca in the 70s. The owners of the B&B had bought several apartments on various floors of an older building. The breakfast room and a few others were stunning. Ten-foot domed ceilings were adorned with 18th or 19th-century frescoes of cherubs and country landscapes. I stayed in several rooms but mostly this one: Dig the crazy ceiling! It dates from the 19th century. Although I had planned to stay a couple of days and then move to Syracuse, I was so comfortable there I decided to stay four nights. … Continue reading →