The final stage of my tour covered the western part of Sicily including the vineyards and salt production areas around Marsala, the hilltop town of Erice and the Segesta archaeological site. The road journey from the Central Region and Agrigento to Marsala on the West Coast looked to be straightforward – about 85 miles heading north-west along the main […]
Travelling inland along quiet roads after my exploration of Mt Etna and East Coast, my next stop was Piazza Armerina, almost in the centre of Sicily, and the Villa del Casale with its extensive and beautiful collection of mosaics. The scenic, hilly countryside in the central area of Sicily is dotted with villages and towns, many […]
Travelling down the East Coast from Messina towards Mt Etna (after my exploration of Palermo and North Coast), I came to Taormina, considered by many to be Sicily’s most picturesque town and hence a tourist hotspot. In my case arriving by car, I first had to negotiate, without any clear instructions, the system of parking […]
Palermo is a strange contrast – a fairly shabby, traffic-infested city with beautiful historical sites and buildings. It is well worth at least a day’s exploration before moving on. As mentioned in my previous post, Getting There and Driving Around, having driven in to Palermo centre from the airport, I decided to leave my car in the […]
Sicily in late February early March seemed to offer a lot: some of the best archaeological sites in Europe, Mt Etna, pleasant warm weather, off-season prices and few tourists! I’d also heard that Seniors are well treated in Sicily getting discounts at historical sites. So did Sicily lived up to this billing? Well the answer is […]
• For a £5 discount on new membership, use code STEW05 on the Historic Houses website.
• To get a £10 National Trust gift card with membership by direct debit, click on National Trust.
Rome in Autumn – Short Break
by Helen Edwards (A runner-up entry in the inaugural Travel Writing Competition) My husband and I arrived in Rome late one Halloween and found ourselves amidst a group of young, good-natured revellers dressed as witches and devils, sprinkling black and orange confetti everywhere. After several wrong turns we found our hotel, tucked discretely as it was down […]