Josh and Colleen in Sicily

At the top of Via G. Fardella in Trapani is a cable car station, with cars running to the town of Erice 800 meters above the sea level port town. Erice shares a lot in common with the more famous hill towns of Tuscany and Umbria -- built entirely from stone, seemingly one church per house (officially, 64 churches operated at one time in this one small town), ludicrous driving and parking situations, and general old world charm. Erice was probably the most heavily-touristed sight we visited over the course of the trip -- four or five tour buses were parked at the lot outside town, and there was a lot of English and German echoing around the streets -- and for good reason. The town has a well thought-out itinerary from church to church, having rescued a number of them from neglect and delapidated circumstances in recent years. From Byzantine-era frescoes to Arab-Norman watchtowers, the art and history is pretty tightly packed in, and the views are, as expected, spectacular:

We had one of our best meals at La Pentolaccia, as detailed earlier, to wait out a rainstorm. It didn't work -- the cloud hanging over the mountain emptied itself onto streets that weren't really designed for drainage, and we walked back to the cable car completely soaked through.

My shoes (stupidly didn't wear my Gore-Tex boots) didn't dry until we got to Agrigento.

Our first day trip out of Trapani came on Saturday 11/3, to Segesta:

Segesta is a Greek colony in the hills along the western coast of the island, perched on top of Monte Barbaro, with a commanding view of the valley towards the Gulf of Castellamare. At war with Selinunte (which we would later visit), the Segestans hurriedly built an impressive temple to con representatives from Athens, hoping to earn an alliance. The roof was never finished, but the rest of the temple is very well preserved:

At the very height of the city's acropolis is a beautiful theater, which looks out over the sea in the distance.

By sheer size, Segesta was probably not the most impressive city in Greek Sicily, but it has a uniquely beautiful situation, and even on a weekend, it was quiet and uncrowded. Great start to the trip.

I leave this as a placeholder until I can upload photos and full journals:

• Friday: Settled in, walked around town, got pizza and gelato, crashed
• Saturday: Drove to Segesta to see Greek temple and theater, drove to Alcamo to see old Arab town, home for dinner
• Sunday: Took funicular up to Erice, medieval walled town above Trapani, saw churches, castles, phenomenal views, completely soaked in downpour, shoes still airing out
• Monday: Drove to Marsala, explored old town, visited cantina to sample Marsala wines, home for dinner
• Tuesday (today): Took ferry to Mozia to see unearthed Phoenician town and archaeological finds, home for quick break, about to take ferry out to Favignana
• Wednesday (tomorrow): Train into Palermo
  

What we've been eating:

Friday Night, small pizzeria, Trapani:

• Colleen: Pizza with mushrooms
  
• Josh: Pizza with eggplant

Saturday Afternoon, bar, Alcamo:

• Tuna panini, prosciutto and cheese panini
  

Saturday Night, Ristorante dei Frati, Trapani:

• Colleen: Pasta con le sarde, spaghetti with sardines, pine nuts, and bread crumbs
  
• Josh: Busiate allo scoglio, twisty pasta with mixed seafood - shrimp, clams, mussels, baby squid

Sunday Afternoon, Ristorante Pentolaccia, Erice:

• Antipasto: Fried zucchine, eggplant stuffed with ricotta, bruschetta with tomato, caponata of eggplant, fennel, celery, artichokes
  
• Colleen: Pasta with tomato, olive, prosciutto, and pine nuts
  
• Josh: Fish cous cous
  
• Dessert: Ricotta-stuffed fried dough, cannoli with chocolate chips
  
• (excellent lunch)

Sunday Night, small pizzeria, Trapani:

• Josh: Sausage pizza

Monday Afternoon, bar, Marsala:

• Prosciutto panini

Monday Night, Cantina Siciliana, Trapani:

• Colleen: Busiate alla trapanese - with pesto trapanese
  
• Josh: Busiate al tempio - with small fresh shrimp, oil, and garlic
  
• Secondo (split): Fried calamari
  
• Dessert, Colleen: Casatella Siciliana (like tiramisu, but with ricotta and chocolate chips)
  
• Dessert, Josh: Almond Semifreddo (ice cream/parfait)
  
• (best dinner so far by far)

Tuesday Afternoon, friggitoria, Trapani:

• Timballo - macaroni stuffed with tomato sauce and meat and fried