From Palermo we need to make our way to Catania to catch our next flight. We have two days and one giant van to do it in.
Our first stop is Monreale, a hill town just outside of Palermo. Along with amazing views of Palermo, Monreale also has a pretty amazing cathedral with stunning mosaics. It’s a lovely town to stroll through, with cute historic buildings and the occasional cobblestones. It’s so lovely that it even tempts us to stay and eat a delicious lunch in the square.
We spend the night in a town just outside of Agrigento so that we can head straight to the Valley of the Temples in the morning. It’s a pleasant enough town, and although it has a beach were too tired to be tempted into an afternoon swim. Instead we take a quick stroll along the boardwalk before a pizza dinner and an early night.
We dedicate the next morning to wandering around the Valley of the Temples. The ruins are from the ancient city of Akragas dating back to 581BC. The museum there contains a lot of the mosaics and statues found amongst the ruins which are pretty spectacular, but the real show stopper is the Temple of Concordia. It’s mostly intact and absolutely huge, making it easy to imagine what the city might have been like many centuries ago.
After a long morning wandering amongst the ruins, we are all ravenous. We’re hoping for a roadside restaurant or cafe, but after what feels like hours we spy a shopping mall ahead and decide that it’s close enough. The mall is practically deserted, but there is one cafe open, making it an easy choice of where to eat. Perhaps somewhat strangely, they offer a meal of mussels, which despite being sold in a mall in the middle of nowhere turn out to be delicious. With full bellies, we’re ready to tackle the last of the trip to Catania.