|
||||
|
||||
| Our Alitalia flight is only about half full, so there are a lot of empty seats---we get to sit in the same row with an empty seat between us...a rare occurence recently. In addition, the seats are comfortable (the plane is a 767) and the food is the best we have had in many years. Downsides of the flight--queuing up for almost an hour to get through security at Dulles Airport in Washington DC and some loud talkers on the plane who talk all through night. But we do get some sleep and we arrive in Milan on time...in the rain.
The transit time at Malpensa is spent mostly in lines...the first to go through security--apparently we have to leave the secure area in order to get to the domestic terminal for our flight to Palermo; the second is at passport control. Passport control is additionally slow because of the intense scrutiny of people who appear to be African. I do take advantage of a wireless hotspot zone in the departure lounge and log on to the internet while waiting to board. The plane to Palermo is full and we have to take a bus to the plane and scramble up narrow stairs in the rain. There is an extra complication because the board is from the front and the rear and the confusion in the plane is intensified. People are in the wrong seats and I shuttle from seat to seat until I end up next to Diana. But we sleep some more and land in Palermo on time--the sky is overcast but there is a strong wind blowing. Next drama--getting the bags. We are directed to three different carousels (in different rooms) and have to wait a while before the bags start arriving. To make a long story short, only two out of three arrive so we have to wait on another slow line to report the missing bag to the lost luggage office. Luckily we have packed a change of clothes in our carry on as well as our toiletries. Unluckily, we hadn't followed the sage advice of Dean Gold and had packed our clothes in separate bags. It was my suitcase that is missing. We make the report and after two hours, we take the shuttle to the car rental office. It starts to rain just as we make our way to our car....a VW Passat, and we pack the luggage and start on our way. We decide to take the local road to Trapani...it is about 60 miles...but we stop first for a coffee and cornetto in the town of Cinisi. We had seen a movie called "Cento Passi" that was set in the town--about the heroism of a local youth who stood up against the Mafia--so we take a short drive up and down the main street. The scenery is very varied.....ranging from stark rocky cliffs to rolling farmland planted with grapes--the fields alive with the amazing profusion of Spring wild flowers. At times there are good views of the water and beachfront towns. We drive through Castellammare del Golfo (I had once had a client stay here); the town has a beautiful harbor and view of the rugged headlands extending up the coast to the north as well as an old Arab castle that dominates the harbor. We continue heading west towards Trapani...the weather seems to be getting worse as get closer and at times it is raining hard, but as we crest the last hill before the coast, the sky brightens and we get a good view of the city of Trapani stretching into the sea as we descend to sea level. Trapani is a good sized city...official population about 60,000. It was heavily bombed during World War II so the eastern section is dominated by blocks of new apartment buildings. The main road into town is the main shopping street of the new town and the traffic (at 4 pm) pretty heavy. We learn quickly that the Trapanese are aggressive drivers.....whenever there is a chance to cut into the flow of traffic, they will grab it, no matter whether it is a timid American or a savvy local driver. Many streets do not have traffic signals and there seems to be an anarchic system in place which allows vehicles to cross the traffic with what we Americans would call "the right of way" with impunity. It makes for an interesting trip into town as we are looking for our hotel at the same time. We get our bearings and immediately have to put our knowledge of Trapani traffic to the test--we have to make a left turn across the oncoming traffic without benefit of a traffic signal. We pass the test and pull up in front of our hotel...the Hotel Crystal. The Cadogan Guide to Sicily describes the Crystal as something that might be more at home in Texas than Trapani....it is in a modern glass and aluminum building right across from the train station and about a five minute walk from the beginning of the "centro storico". We check in, explain to the very sympathetic desk clerk about our lost bag (she promises to follow up on it for us) and head up to the room--which is large, bright and modern with a large bathroom. I head out for a short reconnaisance trip around the town (while Diana, who slept much less than I, takes a short nap)....checking out places to eat and getting myself oriented. The town is quite flat, laid out in a grid for the most part. It is a narrow pensinsula perhaps half a mile wide and tapering to a few blocks as you reach the end. The centro storico is closer to the narrow end. I walk through a nice public garden, along the southern waterfront which is a busy shipping port and through the old Jewish quarter (there was a large community here until the Spanish expelled them in 1492.) I finish my scouting expedition with a stroll along one of the main pedestrian streets...the Via Garibaldi, lined with grand old buildings and sophisticated shops. I make a stop at a sandwich shop for a local speciality....deep-fried chick pea fritters served on a fresh roll...very delicious. It is still light at 7 pm...one of the advantages of traveling in the late Spring and Summer--in mid-October, it is dark by 6 pm. Diana and I set out to explore the town and have dinner. We find more elegant small streets in the old town and pass a number of ornate churches and public buildings. We check out a couple of resturants en route and stop to look at the Palazzo Ciambra, the last surviving building dating back to Jewish Trapani. We turn a corner and we find that we are now on the main pedestrian shopping street in Trapani....the Corso Vittorio Emanuele...with the Duomo, the Collegio dei Gesuiti and the Palazzo Senatorio sharing space with hotels, restaurants and shops...a very grand street indeed. One of the restaurants on our list appears on our left and since we don't want to fall asleep at dinner, we decide to eat there at Tavernetta Ai Lumi. You have to knock to enter and the proprietor lets us in and seats us. The restaurant is decorated in a rustic theme and the waiters wear matching shirts and leather aprons. There is an attractive looking antipasto display in the middle of the room. There is only one table occupied but he shows us to a table in the back corner, next to the other couple in the place--also non-Italians.. We are not about to quibble...we want to eat and get back to the hotel. In any case dinner was excellent. We both have the local pasta specialty--busiate (local twisted pasta) with pesto Trapanese (tomatoes, almonds, garlic); it is not as thick a paste as we remember it but it is quite tasty. Diana has a antipasto plate that she picks out herself--various types of eggplant, frittata, olives,etc--which she likes fine. I have the frittura del pescatore (fritto misto)--a very nicely fried assortment of sea creatures--small anchovies, delicious firm strips of octopus and some tiny calamari called cappucceddo (sp?)--very small with lots of flavor...a wonderful dish. We drink a local white called La Segreta from the Planeta winery, which has lots of character. Diana has a strawberry tart for dessert. A very nice dinner...and by the time we are in the middle of our meal, the restaurant has just about filled up. Total cost.....Euro 55...about $66.00 US. We leave and walk back to the hotel rather quickly....the effects of the trip are catching up with us and I barely make into bed before I fall asleep. |
||||
|
||||