Determined - Sicily [Day Three]

There were four of us on the flight to London that did not fly. Three of us rebooked on RyanAir flights out of Trapani, and one managed to get on the EasyJet flight out of Palermo. The three of us decided that we would go to Trapani and spend the night there, just to make it easier the following day. So most of the morning was spent trying to book accomodation as well as calling insurance companies etc. By 11am we had ourselves sorted - the other two were going to go straight to Trapani and take a look around. Whereas, after yesterdays failure, I was deturmined to get to Cefalu.

I looked at the timetable in the hostel which told me there was a train leaving at 11:30am. I turned up at about 11:25... no train. The next one seemed to be at 12. So I went for a wander, got some food, printed my boarding pass for my flight. I tried to get on the 12:00 train, but apparently it was a sleeper train. Thats right, a sleeper train leaving at midday. AND it was calling at Cefalu, but they wouldnt let me on! GAH! I was well and truely over the public transport.

The next train left at 1:10pm. One thing I had wanted to do in Palermo was check out the catacombs - a huge underground burial chamber lined with skeletons and mumified corpses - really gruesome stuff. If I had known the train wasn't until 1pm I could have gone that morning, which really annoyed me. But sh.. happens...

Determined to get to Cefalu, I amused myself for an hour or so, then finally got on the 1.10pm train. It really was a stunning little seaside town. It backed on to a huge mountain that still had remains of an ancient city. I walked most of the way up the hill, which gave amazing panoramic views over the town. I then wandered down along the beach, passing a massive cathedral that was beautifully decorated, before heading back to the train station. Surprisingly I had no trouble getting back to Palermo.


I quickly made my way back to the hostel to pick up my gear, then made my way to the bus station to catch a ride to Trapani. The trip was about two hours, in which time I met a very friendly (too much so) Italian guy. I can't speak a word of Italian, and he couldn't speak a word of English... yet he kept talking to me. I have no idea what he was saying, but he kept on going. To the point where it got a bit weird and I was looking forward to the end of the journey. When it finally did, the guy kinda followed me for a bit. I'm sure he was just being friendly, but the whole thing was weird... very weird.

I met up with the other two, had a shower, then headed out for some dinner. We ate at this cool pizzaria, which had a big outdoor area. We ate the most amazing pizza, and followed it up with gelato. Perfetto!


The following morning I was up early and off to the airport. My flight went ahead with no ash clouds getting in the way, which was nice, and I was back in London mid-afternoon.

On the whole, Sicily was... an experience. Some really high points, and some really low points too. I dont think it is somewhere you HAVE to visit, but it was cool, so if you get the chance then certainly take it.