Blogs from Agrigento, Sicily, Italy, Europe
March 23rd 2010
Thursday 11th March - Saturday 13th March (Luscious Lil) Leaving Avola we travelled up into the mountains towards the ancient city of Noto only to be thwarted 5km away by a sign stating no 3.5t, or vehicles over a 2.5m, we lost out on both accounts. We had a brief discussion about whether to leave the ‘magic bus’ and cycle in, but as it was an isolated spot we didn’t fancy returning to an empty van! So we pushed on towards our next planned stop. Travelling in the interior of Sicily is a very different experience to the coast, the interior of the island is beautiful and apart from large towns that appear from nowhere it is sparsely populated. This is refreshingly different from the coast which has been disappointing in its scruffiness. The down side ... read more
September 24th 2008
Tuesday 16th September Licodia - Agrigento We had planned to leave Licodia three days earlier to spend a few nights at Agrigento, but between ourselves decided to spend the extra time in Licodia. So we planned to make Agrigento a day trip. Katelyn was given more panadol for her fever and off we set to Agrigento. Although the road was o.k it was a little curvy and so poor Katelyn threw up. We went to the Valley of the Temples, a huge ridge of land that had a few temples along it. The three main temples we saw were Temple of Hercules which was believed to be the oldest temple, Temple of Concordia which was the best preserved and Temple of Juno which we were able to work around. There was a bar in the middle ... read more
August 29th 2008
2008 Summer Holidays in Sicily. Week 1 in Villa Collina messing about in a hire car to Cinisi, Sciacca, Ribera, Scala dei Turchi, Agrigento and Eraclea Manoa.... read more
July 5th 2008
(June 14th) After Caltagirone, all of us loaded up into our Fiat Puntos and made the rest of the drive across the island to Agrigento to visit the Valley of the Temples. This is one of the most important archaeological sites in the world and a Unesco world heritage site. We got there fairly late in the day, only 2 hours before closing time. We got to walk around and see all the temples here, which are fantastic! Myself and my small cohort of friends (yeah, I did actually make friends here...for as weird as I can be) walked around together. What we have noticed about many of the places we have been visiting on the weekends, is that there are a lot of stray dogs and cats (or even if they are "pets", they are ... read more
May 23rd 2008
May 22, 2008 AGRIGENTO, Sicily, Italy Thursday morning we drove north through the country side and along the Sicilian coast to Agrigento. Another nice drive. This is a small city on the west coast of Sicily and is a resort town with some beautiful beach areas and resorts. ( and some very nice private villas ). Some of the rather rocky beaches are being filled with truckloads of nice, fine, sand. Someone is spending a lot of money !! It is obvious that the tourist business, with all the coastline and beaches, is a very important part of the Sicilian economy. And OH !!! The Gelato. In a small gelateria in Agrigento they have the best Ice Cream we have ever had. The other interesting thing is the amount of vineyards. They really like their wine ... read more
February 22nd 2008
Bonjourno for the last time from Italy. Alright so we traveled from Naples on an overnight train to Palermo, which is on the northern coast of Sicily. Paul and I had a sleeper car, which we payed way too much for, but on the plus side we did get a good nights rest for our day in Palermo as compared to Kam who was an angry beast until he got his Fanta. We walked through the city, finding ourselves at the Theater Massimo, which is the 2nd largest Roman theater in Italy, and where they filmed one of the final scenes for Godfather III. We meandered the streets, witnessing a rally, smelling the fresh fish of an outdoor market, admiring yet another church, catching a bus to a small town on the outskirts where we ... read more
August 31st 2007
Ed alla fine siamo tornati :( Come richiestoci da alcuni pubblichiamo un pò di informazioni utili a chi volesse visitare i posti in cui siamo stati. DOVE DORMIRE: ATENE: Hotel Pergamos: Prezzo per una doppia con bagno 25 euro a persona. Prima colazione e aria condizionata inclusi. A 15 min. a piedi da Omonia (Metrò) e stazione ferroviaria. Ambiente pulito, staff gentile e disponibile. MILOS: Camping Achivadolimni: Prezzo 7 euro a persona per notte, con una tenda. Per chi non ha o non vuole portarsi dietro una tenda, il camping offre anche tende gia montate in affitto x 10 euro a persona a notte. Ben collgato via autobus e navetta col resto dell'isola. Ristorantino con prezzi convenienti all'interno. Bagni scadenti. MOSTAR: Miran: Camere in affitto nella casa privata di Miran. Prezzo 10 euro... read more
June 29th 2007
Our visit to Agrigento and tour of the Valley of the Temples was our first introduction to the ancient Greek cities in Sicily. The ruins in Agrigento, or Acragas of the ancient Greeks (Agrigentum, to the Romans) were impressive. The archaeological park is best experienced with the aid of knowledgeable guide such as Luigi Napoli who guided us through the park and museum for over six hours. His knowledge (and enthusiasm) of history gave us a sense of ancient life and made our visit to Agrigento most enjoyable. The size and scope of the ancient city was a clear indication of the significant role that Acragas must have played in 5th century BC western civilization. According to Luigi, it is estimated that at it's peak the population of Acragas was probably close to 200,000 and as ... read more
