My Parents' European Adventure: Sicily
- Jack Bogniak
- Apr 21
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 29
Day 4: Overnight Ferry to Palermo, Sicily
It’s common to take an overnight Ferry to get from Rome to Sicily. It was not a luxurious option. It took me 4 hours of trying to fall asleep on the boat. After trying my audiobook, then music and sound killer earphones. I finally gave in and took a pill. That worked.
We had to wake up early to leave the room 2 hours BEFORE departure from the boat which didn’t make sense. There were hordes of people crowded in a lounge area that is already populated with people that slept on the couches. Getting back into your car is a challenge as all the cars are packed in without enough room to get through the aisles, let alone open your door. Then you have to sit in your car and wait another hour. I would give second thoughts to the 12-hour drive or a flight to get to Sicily if I had to do it again.
Oh, and not to mention getting wet feet when using the bathroom because someone took a shower at 4:00AM!
But Palermo was beautiful!
We drove from Palermo, which is on the north side of the island, to the south across the hills on a 2 lane blacktop road for about 2 hours to Agrigento. Lots of sunshine and vineyards and a bit bumpy. As a backseat rider I caught up with sleep.
Arriving at our next stay up in the southern facing vineyard covered hills. This place is an agrotourismo – which is more like a B&B and a small motel with a restaurant. Very quiet and sunny with great views in every direction.
The first thing Nellie found was a friendly cat, then another, and more. At least 7 so far. She is totally occupied by the cats. We sat outside in a gentle breeze with a bottle of wine. Nellie and Elan walked to the barn about a quarter mile away. She was surprised by the very loud donkey. I heard it too from my room. Elan brought a tick back.
Dinner was a little later than our normal 5:00, starting at 7:30! There were 2 options meat or vegetarian. I took veggie because Elan thought it looked good. He was right. The first course was an appetizer plate, it was my favorite. Then the pasta course and then the main course with a side salad. I was way too stuffed to go on to dessert. It was 9:30, way past my bedtime! We might share a plate tomorrow night.
Day 5: Agrigento, Sicily
We both slept so well we woke up just in time for breakfast at 8:00 AM. It was very Mediterranean and all very good. I misplaced my fanny pack with my wallet for a while. It was on the floor of the car. I couldn’t see it as it was black but Jessie found it. I’m thinking maybe not good having both credit cards in any one place is a bad idea.
First up today is the Turkish Steps. Very windy roads to the shore then a downhill walk to the shore.
The next stop today is “The Valley of the Temples “.
As usual Jessie and Elan had bought tickets ahead of time and they included a guided tour. The guide only spoke Italian, but that wasn’t a problem as we have our own translator (Jessie). We didn’t have anyone else in our tour group and she took us into the locked underground Christian tombs. Very cool and spooky.
Back at the ranch that evening the owner was cultivating his vineyard with a bulldozer pulling a 5 tine plow and we decided to check on the animals in the barn. Nellie was a bit concerned that we might run into one of those ornery donkeys, but I assured her that I understood donkeys.
One of those critters challenged us when we pulled in the driveway. We won. Haven’t seen them since.
Dinner was great again. Deb and Jessie shared a vegetarian meal. Elan and I went for the lamb chop option. The lamb chop was very good, but we all agreed the eggplant parm won hands down. I still enjoyed the appetizer plate best.
We had some local red wine and an after dinner shot that Elan ordered. I can’t remember what he called it, but it was home-brewed, tasted like all the lime from a key lime pie with a tablespoon of sugar and a big kick in the a**. After that they got me going on old stories. We laughed till we cried.
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