First, the note to self: remember to pack snacks when you're headed
to a little hotel in the middle of nowhere far from a Sicilian town,
you had breakfast at 8am, skipped lunch, and were laughed at when you
asked if you could have dinner at 6:30 (no - the hotel restaurant
doesn't open until 8:30). I scarfed down the one Luna Bar I had with
me about 2 hours ago. Should have packed a whole box of 'em! I
should know better by now, but I'm having a hard time adjusting my
eating hours as I can't seem to sleep past 7am, even if I go to bed
late. Ack.
Today - my first in Sicily - has been great. It is ranking ten times
higher than Rome for me. The latter was just too much of an
impersonal big city: noisy, crowded, hectic, dirty, too many people
(many of you know how I feel about crowds - and there were a lot of
them in Roma). Sicily is a bright breath of air - beautiful
contrasting landscapes of sea and mountains, ruins and modernity, lush
vines in valleys and scorched earth on hilltops. Ahhhh....
So, I have to say that I was a little proud of myself today. Why, you
ask? Well...
1. I found my way to the train station in Rome, purchased a ticket
from the machine, validated it properly (100 euro fine if you don't),
got on the correct train (always helpful), made my way through the
airport, checked my bag, etc. It probably doesn't sound like much,
but when you're on your own, and almost everything is in a foreign
language, it's a little daunting.
2. In Palermo, got myself to the car rental agency, picked up my
vehicle, and navigated my way to Segesta, an hour away and the site of
an amazing Doric Temple and theatre (photo to come).
3. Forgot I had rented a stick shift - good thing that type of skill
comes back to you pretty quickly :)
4. I was NOT the slowest driver on the Autostrata.
5. I drove an hour and a half through the tiny extremely windy roads
of central Sicily to make my way to the opposite coast. I think I
heard my GPS man snoring once or twice - but seriously, those roads
were like switchbacks so I took them a little slowly.
6. There was no crying with numbers 1 through 5.
7. I'm speaking Italian quite a bit (albeit slowly and not always
properly), as I really enjoy the challenge of learning it. I've also
come across a number of people who don't speak much English, likely
because I'm seeking out restaurants and places to stay that aren't as
frequented by American tourists. I can't imagine coming to a country
without having learned some key phrases. I had to help an American
couple last night at dinner - they wanted to order house wine, but the
waiter didn't speak English, so there was back and forth and finally I
jumped in. Grrrr. How difficult is 'vino de la casa'??
Well, I've prattled on long enough! Tomorrow I'm headed to Selinunte
and Agrigento, sites of other amazing ruins, then to Siracusa, a town
on the southeast coast where I'll spend the next three nights...
Love to all!
Sent from my iPhone
No comments:
Post a Comment