Thursday, May 11
We’ve left Palermo and are on our way to Trapani. Along the way we explored the remains of ancient civilizations. First we went to Segesta, where the Elymians lived in the time of ancient Greece. Little is known about them, but they seemed to be wanna-be Greeks and left behind a wonderful Greek-style theater and an unfinished Greek temple. These are magnificently situated on tall hills that provided us with a hill-climb workout even with buses to get us most of the way there.
Next we went to Erice, also founded by the Elymians and built up in the middle ages—the castle in the upper left in the photo marks the edge of town. You wouldn’t think a bus could get up there, but it somehow did. We enjoyed wandering the twisty streets, though we weren’t sure we’d ever find our way back to the bus.
Next the bus took us to the nearby Pasticceria Maria Grammatico, where we had a lovely buffet lunch. Then Maria herself taught us how to make pastries. We started with sweets called nun’s boobies. The trick is to roll the dough ball around until it comes to a nice point that will get browned in the oven. Jerry managed to get a point on his, but mine were a complete bust. We also learned how to make “beautiful uglies” and how to stuff cannoli (not as easy as it looks).
After all that, a nice aperativo spread in the hotel’s rooftop bar was enough for dinner.