Agrigento and Palermo

Just outside the bustling city of Agrigento lies the Valley of the Temples, which was our reason for seeking out this hilltop city on the southern shore of Sicily.  We thankfully were blessed with a sparkling blue sky for our visit.  We opted to take the taxi to the other side of the site in order to cut our walk in half since we had plans to drive to our next destination.  It turned out to be a wise decision as the sun was quite warm while we were visiting.  But the views were amazing!  This archaeological park consists of eight temples (and various other remains) built between about 510 and 430 BC.

After our visit to this magical place, we headed to our final stop while in Sicily…Palermo. Palermo is located in the northwest of the island of Sicily, right by the Gulf of Palermo in the Tyrrhenian Sea.  Just when I thought I’d seen the craziest drivers, we arrived late afternoon to this crowded and active city!  Our B&B was just inside the old city so we elected to have our car parked.  After getting our bearings, we headed out to explore the city.  The streets were lined with shops and bars and lots of people!  We explored a church and got cursed at (in English even!) by some of the local kids.  Ah, the charm of Sicily!  The next morning we headed to the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo. Unfortunately, photography is forbidden in the catacombs.  However, it was an eerie and surreal experience that I would recommend to anyone who visits Palermo.  From the catacombs, we drove back to Messina to catch our ferry back to the mainland for our next adventure.  Up next, Positano!