Swinging Sicily

In summary, if you're going to Sicily my advice would be to spend more time in the smaller seaside villages rather than in the capital, Palermo. Palermo is a weird city - it's not very welcoming or friendly as a place, and although it is on the coast it is quite industrial so there is no waterfront area or beach. There's a working port, a marina and then a concrete pathway along the water. No restaurants or anything. I guess it's just not a town that is set up for tourism.

However, they know how to rip tourists off! The cab driver from the airport charged us 60 euros!! Even though, seconds beforehand, the metre had read 34.50. AND he drove around and around in circles, pretending he didn't know where he was going. So actually the metre should have read 28 euros. Mofo. Ben also got pick-pocketed by three men on the same bus! A crowd of people got on, pushing and shoving, and Ben felt 2 men put their hands in his pockets and I saw another. Thankfully he didn't actually have anything in there, so they achieved nothing. Then a Sicilian woman started to yell at one of the men (who acted very innocent, but she wasn't fooled) and all three of them got off after one stop.

Having said all that, the place we stayed in was amazing. A 14th Century converted paper factory that this old couple now lives in. High ceilings, slate floors. Admittedly the house was pretty cold! Sicily is not set up for winter, many of the cafes only offer al fresco dining and when it's pissing with rain and 14-15C that's not how one feels like eating!

Outside of Palermo we went to Cefalu, which I would definitely recommend. A small coastal town that features a great sea-front walk around the old city wall, a 12th Century Cathedral and a huge rock/hill (La Rocca) which provides not only great views of the terracotta-rooved houses, sea and surrounding mountains, but also has an Ancient Greek temple and numerous 6th-9th Century Byzantine forts. So something for everyone!

Ben also made us trudge up to Alistair Crowley's house, which is run down and overgrown and tourists are discouraged from going to visit. I suppose that's because they expect lots of occultists to go there and conduct rituals and have sex. But if there's one thing that's going to add to the mystique of a place to occultists, surely it's banning it! They probably wouldn't go if it was glossy and done up and pristine! Anyway, Ben felt brave and snuck in and took some photos. I sat nearby and kept a look out.

That'll probably do for now. We saw heaps of other churches (as you can imagine) and so on our trip up north to Scotland tomorrow I might make Ben go and see the Brontes' house as payback! So many churches. Some pretty amazing mosaics though, I must admit. Just don't tell him that.

Will upload some pics shortly.

And congratulations to my friend Johanna, who has had a baby girl named Sylvia!