Tuesday, October 26th
Today started at a very early 2:30 AM. At 3 our cab arrived at our hostel and took us to the bus stop because the train wasn't running that early. I slept a little on the way to the airport. There was quite a line for check-in when we arrived, but we had plenty of time. With the last of my pounds I bout "My Sister's Keeper" and read 2/3 of it on the plane, which was good except that meant I wasn't sleeping.
We got into Trapani and took a bus from the airport into the city. What a trash-hole that town is! There is really only one main street that is clean and has shops. It reminded me a lot of Mexico. We found our B & B pretty well and checked into our small, but comfortable room. Then we walked for a long time and found a place to eat. After seeing at the bus station that the last bus to Erice (the town on top of the mountain) didn't give us much time to be there, so I gave up grumpily and returned to our B & B. When I got there I decided to look again to try to find the cable cars that go to the mountain because I figured there had to be an easier way. Well, I was right and I found where they were located and that I would have about 4 hours on the mountain.
Paige wanted to rest so she stayed at the B & B and I started my very long walk through the entire town of Trapani to the life. I was tired when I reached it, but it was worth it. Only 6 euro to get there and back. I shared my cable car with a very kind old Italian man who has always lived and worked in Erice. He was very talkative and when we reached the top he showed me a church where I could buy a ticket so I could go into a bunch of churches.
When I was heading to the last church, I rounded a corner and thought to myself, "I bet there is going to be an amazing view" and when I rounded the corner I literally lost my breath it was so beautiful. I saw a church with an ocean and an island behind it with lush green bluffs to its sides. I hurried through the last church as it wasn't very exciting and I wanted to get back outside to see the view. Once outside I found a random little path that was mostly green from overgrown weeds, so of course I decided to follow it. The path led me to ruins of part of a castle. I think the door was supposed to be locked, but it wasn't so I went in! It was pretty worn down and some of the stairs were missing in places so I couldn't go all the way to the top, but it was still pretty cool. I tried to walk down another overgrown path after that castle but it led me to a really high wall so I turned around. The other big part of the fortress/castle was closed so I wasn't able to go in. The weather also started taking a turn for the worse so I headed back down the mountain.
On the way home I stopped to get a bite to eat. I found a place that had a piece of pizza type thing. It was shaped like a slice of pizza, but the crust was on top and bottom and was really flaky like a croissant. Then inside was cheese, turkey and spinach. It was really really good! I've seen them in florence too but have never tried them, I guess I will now! The rest of the night consisted of my finished my book and going to bed.
Wednesday, October 27th
Today Paige and I woke up and packed our bags to check out. The B & B allowed us to leave our bags there while we went and bought a bus ticket and also while we ate breakfast. I had a croissant with marmalade which was pretty delicious. After we bought our bus ticket to San Vito lo Capo we had some time to kill so we walked around the town a little and found a bread shop we had seen the day before. We stopped in and met the sweetest old man. He gave (well, sold) us these amazing pieces of bread rolled in sugar and then took pictures with us.
We went back to the B & B, checked some stuff on the computer and headed out. When we got to S. Vito lo Capo we found ourselves in a ghost town. We managed to find our hotel, but nobody was there. Finally, after calling the number on a card on the front desk, a lady showed up. Apparently she didn't know we were coming (even though I made reservations...found out later she is the sister of the lady I corresponded with by email). She told us to leave our luggage there, go look around for an hour and then our room would be ready.
So we set off on a journey to find something to eat. It was about 3 PM so we didn't really think twice about being able to find something to eat. However, apparently everything is closed between 2 and 6 in this town. We finally found a restaurant that said they would take us. We both ordered pizza, but when mine came out it had fish on it! It was not very good so I pushed the fish to the side and ate the rest. When we went back to our hotel we found our room but the lights didn't work. The lady told us that the weather was bad and the power was going in and out. Awesome. I tried to take a shower but the hot water heater wasn't working, so finally I just gave up and we both took naps. We both woke up a little happier and went in search of dinner before we missed our window of opportunity.
While we were walking to the restaurant the street lights all turned off! Not only the street lights, but every light in town, except cars...obviously. Luckily I had put my flashlight in my purse, I knew that would come in handy! We found a nice restaurant and I got pasta with shrimp and zucchini. There were cats in the restaurant too (it was outdoors, in a tent thing). The staff would yell at them, but not too badly because Paige and I didn't mind. They were cute! There was even a kitten! After dinner it was straight to bed!
Thursday, October 28th
Go, go, go and then go some more! Today we got to sleep in a little more which was nice. The people at the hotel weren't very busy (it's off season...hence the ghost town) so they let us stay as late as we wanted. We were able to leave our bags to look for the bus station and get some breakfast. I got a croissant filled with nutella that was really really good! Then we looked for the bus station but couldn't find it. We talked to a tourist lady who informed us that there is not actually a station but just the stop and you buy the ticket on the bus. We went back and got our bags and headed to the stop. We ended up having to wait about an hour, but finally the bus came. The ride was also kind of long, but the scenery was really pretty. We arrived in Palermo around 4 but didn't get to our B & B until between 4:30-5.
The lady who runs the B & B was really nice! Turns out there wasn't room in the main part of their B & B for both nights so we got an entire apartment to ourselves that they just bought and are working to fix-up. Since we had a stove we headed to a market that the lady pointed out to us and bought fresh food to make dinner and breakfast the next day. We found chicken, zucchini, carrots, potatoes, onion, garlic, soy sauce, bread, eggs, cheese, butter, salt and sweets! And it was all really cheap too! We made stir fry and it was delicious.
Friday, October 29th
We were starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel at this point of our trip. Nothing very exciting happened today. Got up and showered and when Paige woke up we made breakfast. She made french toast and I made scrambled eggs. Then I went to the internet cafe to check my emails and such. When I came back we went to the market to buy a few more things to make dinner again. For lunch though we had chicken and hashbrowns. Then I returned to the internet cafe to skype with a few people, which was really nice. I went back to the apartment and napped for a little while. When I woke up I started preparing dinner. After dinner we played cards for a little bit and then went to bed. It was nice to lay low for day :)
Saturday, October 30th
Today was the last day of fall break! We had to be out of our B & B by 11 but she let us leave our stuff in a room. We went and saw the catacombs which were really freaky. It was 3 euro to get in and it was just several different sections of dead people with their clothes still on. Some of them still had very distinct facial features and even hair, so it was really creepy.
Then we went to a restaurant that the lady at our B & B recommended. We both had spinach and riccotta ravioli in tomato sauce and a piece of bread. It was super good, and really cheap too! After that we went to a sweet shop and Paige tried 3 different types of cakes. I was way to full to even try a bite though, so I didn't have any. Then we headed to the theater but we didn't tour or anything. I actually just sat in the sun for a while (it was probably 75 degrees) while Paige went into a Sephora. We stopped in a couple tourist shops and I found a thimble and a ring. After that we went to the market yet again so I could buy some sweets for my host family. We were tired of walking around by that time so we burned the rest of our remaining time at the internet cafe just hanging out. Our flight was late and we didn't get back into Florence until around 1 AM.
I definitely had an amazing trip and I am so glad I was able to have this opportunity to travel. It is still really surreal to be here sometimes. I am loving this experience but I am also getting more and more excited to come back to the US as the days go by :) Also, I updated my online photo album with LOTS of pictures, so make sure to check them out here: Bridget's Italy Pics Much love to all!
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