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Published: September 30th 2017
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So here's the sign for the bathroom ...Geo: 37.7986, 12.5715
Had to catch an early bus to Trapani. I thought that breakfast was offered at 8:00, but it was actually 8:30. In that case I could've quickly ate, paid, gotten my passport, and then ran off to the bus. I managed to track down the owner with the help of someone else staying there and practically ran uphill to the bus stop (15 minutes!) with my big-ass backpack. My legs felt like Jello after. I ran out of water last night ... I paid for the mistake of not having more this morning after the sprint to the station.
Used the "bathroom" when the bus made a rest stop. Not really a bathroom - see pictures. Bought a tiny little juice at the rest stop, but it wasn't enough. Of course, I was too cheap to buy another one so that was my own fault.
It was a long bus ride but I finally got to Trapani. Horrible Let's Go directions again! Terrible! It's frustrating because it would probably all make sense if they added one or two lines of instructions. An example? "Follow Via Scontrino until it intersects with Via Garibaldi at Piazza Emanuele." Well, Via Garibaldi is
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And here is the bathroom itself! Very nice and spacious bathroom. Wide open to the world! 3 blocks past the Piazza. If it just said "Take Fardella from the Piazza until it becomes Garibaldi ...."
This guidebook is useless! Anyway, I finally got to the tourist office after much difficulty. The guy suggested an apartment for 30 euros per night. He even drove me there. Then I realized that Agostino was the owner ... anyway, it didn't matter because it was a decent place. It was old, but with a kitchenette and a queen bed, who could complain?
Off in search of a laundromat and food. Agostino pointed out a laundromat on the map, but it turned out to be dry-clean only. Thanks! Good tip! I definitely have excess cash to burn on cleaning my beautiful backpacker clothing! Dry-clean only - that's the only type of clothing I buy for these trips, after all!
Difficult to navigate some of Trapani's streets in the old quarter. Grabbed a kebab and off to the bus for Erice. Lots of students were out during the lunch hour ... unexpectedly lively. There are lots of nice buildings, squares, and plazas here but really, the town itself is only worth a short amount of time. But it makes a good base to visit other
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View from Erice. destinations.
Got to Erice. It was an amazing bus ride up with incredible views. Cold at the top, way up in the clouds. Walked to some gardens that were unfortunately being restored. Also couldn't go into the castle. I like this place ... a lot like Arcos de la Frontera in Spain elevation-wise, and a lot like Sintra in Portugal, with the architecture and being way up in the clouds (especially with the cold temperature - just like last year, I had no pants or jacket, and it was also around the same time of year).
I walked to the Spanish quarter, but sadly I did not see any Spanish women! Disappointing ... anyway, I had time to kill so I browsed the dreaded souvenir shops. Pricey - 28 euros for a bag of capers?!?!?!?? It was difficult to navigate the crush of French tour groups.
Had a "Paradise" pastry. Like a macaroon with cake on the bottom and drenched in rum. Very sweet, but good if you eat only the bite-sized version. Browsed some postcards to help decide which day-trip I would do - San Vito Lo Capo, or Fauvignana. I think I will try for both.
Dinner was
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The Norman castle in Erice. at the famous Calvino Pizzeria. Busy! I waited more than 30 minutes for takeout. 4 flavours with an amazing crust. Crisp, chewy, and quite different from the Napoli crust. I had to stop and eat it in a nearby park (starving). Anchovies, prosciutto cotto, mushrooms, tomatoes, sausage, mozzarella .. unbelievable. Perhaps on par with the first Napoli pizza I had. The 4 sections were not cut properly so there were overlapping flavours. Delicious.
Walked around after. Sicilian women seem to be more beautiful than the mainlanders. But how? It must be hard to stay fit with all the good Sicilian food! Buildings are beautifully lit here at night. Too bad the town is pretty dead. It reminds me of Lisbon, in a way - it also had a busy pedestrian zone in the day, but it was very quiet at night. The pedestrian zone also went down to the ocean just like in Lisbon; but in Lisbon, it also led to the drug dealers at night.
Back to the apartment ... the door was wide open!!! Guess I never closed it properly, though I triple checked. Maybe it was the creepy doll hanging in the courtyard? See the pics ... scary
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e ... it kept me up all night!
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