Advertisement
Published: April 11th 2013
Todays gelato flavours - GMB - Torroncino(nougat,honey and nut flavours) GLB - Bacio (chocolate and hazelnut)
The aromas of pastries somehow drifted up the three flights of stairs from the breakfast room to our room and got us thinking about getting ready for the day as the sunlight streamed into the room when we opened the shutters.We are becoming fans of the shuttered rooms we have had as it not only reduces any outside noise but also keeps the room dark and aids sleeping.The shutters come in different types and the ones in this hotel are very easily opened by pulling on a drawstring and hey presto you have light.
We have scored well with this hotel and we have a room as well furnished as the Best Western and even a bit cheaper at €32 which includes breakfast.So the toilet layout with a fully screwed down toilet seat is part of the deal.The shower though will again be a challenge as we are back to the one metre by one metre approx size which will make it restrictive for arm movements as one washes oneself.
I was given the honour of sussing it out and it actually
wasn't too difficult although perhaps I am getting used to moving my frame in confined spaces.One thing that I wondered if Gretchen would cope with was the door arrangement after the lift drama of yesterday.It was a concertina door coming from the two open side and meeting to close.Closing it was relatively easy but opening took a bit of working out although at least there was air circulation in the space above.As it happened Gretchen said she had no problem which was a relief to me!
A thought for the day.
You discover when you are travelling in various countries that there are very few words that are spelt or sound the same as in English.
One we discovered at breakfast that is the same over at least the 5 different languages on the breakfast menu is the word 'crepe'.The word omelette almost made the grade too but there was one language on the menu that had the word beginning with an 'h' although we haven't been able to identify the language.So there is a starter for ten points if a reader can identify in what language the word omelette starts with an 'h'.The again it might
have been a spelling mistake on the menu.
Breakfast was very good value again and the Costazzurro will score highly in this regards in the Trip Advisor review.The coffee was strong and hot.
As we returned to our room after breakfast we noted that we passed 4 other people using the stairs from at least the second floor.Where they like us and not willing to use the lift or where they just getting their morning exercise.?
We are sounding better using the little Italian that we know and we think our 'bonjourno' to the oriental couple we passed on the stairs was intelligible but perhaps they hadn't been in Italy very long and were still picking up the lingo as they stared blankly at us in a 'do not understand you'way.Never mind we shall keep it up as it is all part of travelling and it pleases the locals when you give their language a try.
The sights to take in today were The Valley of the Temples which reportedly has the most complete and well preserved Greek temple in the world.And then a walk through the old town of Agrigento and a visit to a
couple of churches worthy of note from the guidebook.
The main entrance to the attraction was busy and there didn't appear to be any car parks available so we drove onto another entrance and found lots of room for parking and no one in the guard box to take any Euros from us.Well this was going to be a cheap day on the BBA V2 if this continued as we have discovered that generally you pay to park anywhere in Italy except between 1pm and 4.30pm which is siesta time and parking is free.Shame we don't have this siesta time in NZ too at least for the free parking!
However,Gretchen thought it wise to check with someone if a fee was payable and a vendor selling plastic temples and just about everything else that represented the attraction we were about to enter,said you paid when you paid your entry fee at the ticket office just up the road.
So being honest Kiwis and forgetting the principals of the BBA V2 for just a moment we owned up at the ticket office that we did have a car in the car park and so paid an extra €3
only to be given a receipt that we didn't have to place on the dashboard of the car to prove we had paid.Mugs......well maybe,as no one appeared to be checking where we actually arrived at the ticket office from and for all they knew we could have walked up the road.However we left to walk amongst the temples safe in the mind that we had paid and Cindy better be there when we get back.
The temples are actually on a ridge and the term 'valley' we guess refers to the fact that the area is below the hillside city of Agrigento.And we chose the right place to enter to get a full impression of the layout of the attraction as we started at the higher end of the ridge and could see the line of temples or what was left of them ahead of us.
The first temple is named Juno and was built in 450BC and only partially intact which we guess is not surprising given that it was constructed nearly 2500 years ago.It was used principally for the celebration of weddings.
There was an excellent road surface to walk on as we strolled to
the next and most famous one of the site,Concordia.The name itself is interesting in that it was also the name of the Italian cruise liner that sank last year off the coast north of Rome.Not that that has got anything to do with this temple we are sure.
The temples are all in doric style and this one,Concordia, is described as the most notable of the Greek civilisation existing today and it was impressive in that, so much of the structure is how it was when it was built in 450BC.It certainly was an amazing sight and there were many angles you could admire it from and take photos to get different impressions of its style.It was used as a church at one stage in its existence and had had changes to its interior.Just seeing this example of ancient history on its own would have been worth the €10 entrance fee.
Next was the Temple of Heracles dating back to the late 6th century BC and it was much smaller than the previous two.The 8 columns that were standing and visible had actually been re-erected in the 1930's by an Englishman who settled in the park area before
it became the tourist attraction it is today and he clearly had a love for the Greek history of the area to build his home here and do restoration.
We then passed through the Olympian field which was the Temple of Zeus which was essentially an area of the blocks from the temple scattered as they fell or had been moved at some stage over the centuries.Pictures of what the temple would have looked like showed it too was an impressive sight in its day.
The last temple for us was Dioscuri which is in fact a more modern construction from the 19th century of blocks from other temples.On the site in Greek times though it had been a place of sacrifice and there was some bloodthirsty reading of what went on there in those ancient days.
There were two other temples off to the side of the main path and we didn't get to those as there wasn't a map at the ticket office and little in English in directional signage and we didn't notice them as we walked the 4km distance from one to the other of the 'valley'.
However we had had our
moneys worth and were filled in our minds with ancient Greek history that we felt fulfilled and we took it all in again on the way back to the car and especially the modern bronze sculpture we had missed on the way down at Concordia of a man resting who had a VERY impressive........well you know what,don't you!
Cindy was there when we got back and we had a boot lunch of fruit etc waiting for 1pm to come around so we could park for free in Agrigento where we had planned the afternoon walk to see the churches and the old town.
As it turned out we found all day free parking as we drove up the steep road to the city and decided to take it and walk the rest of the way up to the main square where we would start our walk from.
We had anticipated using an ATM to stock up on Euros today but the guard outside the first bank we came across looked menacing with his aviator sunglasses and gun on his hip that we gave that bank a miss and continued up the main road which was chaotic with traffic as people headed home fro their siesta and parents picking kids up from school.
As we walked up the road following the zigzag of the road direction we found that where we had started at one end of the road where we were at the first floor level of an apartment block.by the time we reached the second zigzag we were equal to the 6th floor of the apartment block such was the rise in the height of the road.
The road intersection just below the main square was full of traffic controlled by two policewomen,one in high heels(!),with their lollipop 'sticks'being waved in all directions to keep the traffic moving.It did seem to be working,it was just the sheer volume of cars,buses etc making it look like a shambles.
After a trip into the local tourist office to pick up a city map,and a walk off in the wrong direction.we got ourselves back on track and headed down the main narrow street of the old town.By now the traffic and people had all but gone as they headed home for their siesta.
We followed steps and narrow streets only wide enough for motorcycles and pedestrians, up to what was supposed to be the prettiest church in Sicily only to find the gate into the courtyard firmly padlocked.A couple who looked and sounded German had been at times trailling us and at other times been ahead of us as we zigzagged our way up the hill from the main street and they beat us to the destinations both times.Had we been in The Great Race we would have been second both times!
The Duomo was also supposed to be worth a look and it was just a few more steps and passageways away but it too was closed,this time as a notice stated,for restoration!
So we had been foiled completely having walked all that way and finding the churches not open.We felt like going back to the Tourist Office and updating them on what they should have known and told us.
As we reached the main street again we came across a woman from Tasmania and told her ot to bother climbing up to the churches as they were closed.Another couple came along as we stood there chatting to the Tasmanian woman,looking for The Valley of the Temples as their TomTom had directed them to this point in the city.They were some kilometres off course so we gave them a map we had and they set off to find what they were looking for.
On the way back to the car we had our daily gelato and with the traffic and people virtually all gone we were soon back ready to drive back to the hotel for a rest before dinner which we decided to have out again. Hauling the microwave up 3 flights of stairs seemed too much effort to worry about doing to eat in.
The planning committee got together(well that is just the two of us of course)to plan the course up the east coast of Italy when we cross over from Sicily next week.We want to get up to the Lucca area of northern Tuscany before we head east again to the Dolomites and then down to Venice and onto Croatia.An outline was agreed and a booking made for the first night after we cross back from Sicily and will work on the rest over the next couple of days.
The area down by the beach about 400 metres from the hotel was busy last night with several restaurants and pizzerias were open and looking for patrons.
However tonight it all looked very different with just a couple of places open and we opted for a restaurant which had a varied menu.
Pasta sounded like a goer but there wasn't anything that looked better than a pizza so we both went for one each along with a half carafe of house wine.The service charge at €2 each was 25% of the total bill !We have read that this service charge is non negotiable and there is no need to tip any further if you don't want to.The BBA V2 doesn't tip unless the service is absolutely top class and we haven't come across anything like that yet.
With the drive to Monreale near Palermo on for tomorrow and a side trip to The Godfather territory of Corleone we watched about half of The Godfather Part 1 movie to get into the flavour of what was ahead before sleep overcame us.
It had been a day of feeling involved with ancient history in the Valley of the Temples and then feeling a bit cheated with the churches closed up in the city area.
As we
Advertisement
Tot: 0.061s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 10; qc: 25; dbt: 0.0386s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Chris
non-member comment
Word starting with "h"
I'm taking a punt here. I think your word for omelette starting with "h" is Spanish 'cos the word for egg is huevos. So as a winner with ten points do I get an all-expenses-paid trip to the local omelettaria.