BelTib

I don’t really have a good reason for not posting any trip reports in the past many years. It’s not for a lack of travel. DW and me (DH) have been on a dozen recent trips including Oaxaca, Mex City, Cabo, Croatia, Austria, Switzerland, Australia, Hawaii (3x), Colorado, Utah to name a few. Maybe it’s because good reports that actually benefit readers take a bit of work to get right. Regardless, here’s an attempt to pass on some reflections of a trip to Sicily that we are currently on day 12; I think. Unusually hot weather for this time of year can make it hard to do just that, lol.

Handy Travel Apps

WhatsApp:
Made sure our account still worked. Never use it in the States, but hugely important on this trip. Used to communicate with guides, hotels, restaurants etc Far more prevalent in Italy than iMessage. Sometimes it’s just easier to text vs talk due to language barriers.

EasyPark:
I thought this would come in handy as it did on many trips to the Italian mainland. Used to help avoid any potential shady characters that I have met at those pesky parking machines. So far in Sicily I haven’t even seen a parking lot that uses EasyPark so it’s necessity has yet to be proven.

Google Translate:
The best. Use it everyday. Can be used offline. Used the camera feature today to help decipher parking restrictions in Ragusa Ibla.

Google Maps:
Of course everyone uses Google Maps, but maybe everyone doesn’t know that you can download a map to use offline. I’ve heard people still urge traveling with paper maps. I wouldn’t bother, plus I have yet to lose cell contact for long on this trip.

Rental car:
I love driving in Europe. Can’t even imagine not using a car to get around. Of course we didn’t have a car in Rome and we’ll give up the car in Palermo. Renting a car is definitely expensive, especially these days. I recommend larger companies like Hertz or Avis. Our Citroen C3 Aircross has been the perfect compromise between size and comfort.

IMHO driving in the Centro Storico’s of Ortigia, Ragusa, Noto etc is just not that big a deal for me. I actually find it more difficult jockeying with drivers in the “modern” downtown areas of places like Siracusa. If you are spending more than a day in Ortigia, I highly recommend paying the 20€/day for the in-out privileges at Autopark Ortigia di La Mesa Maurizio. They will put your car license into the parking system so you won’t have issues with the ZTL. It’s retroactive so if you arrive on a Sunday before they open at 6:00 pm the ZTL scan is forgiven. Most days at underground lot is open from around 7 to midnight and is 100% safe.

On the whole, driving is very manageable as you gain experience. When driving on two lane highways I tend to cheat to the right a little since Italians going the opposite direction tend to pass in any situation. Btw, the road conditions in Sicily are better than my area of California. I did opt for the “super” insurance coverage from Hertz. I usually don’t, but DW insisted this time so happy wife = happy life.

I do understand that others may loathe to drive. At the beginning of our trip in Siracusa we had a slow tire leak due to a nail. A stressful situation quickly turned into an amazing travel experience when the family that owned the tire shop took us to an wonderful local deli and shared some homemade dessert wine with us while the tire
was being fixed. Only in Sicilia!

Itinerary:

Rome 5 nights Martis Palace
Ortigia 5 nights VRBO
Ragusa area 3 nights Silva Suri Resort
Agrigento 1 night Doric Boutique
Trapani 3 nights Le Cupole Suites
Palermo 3 nights Palazzo Natoli
Salina Island 4 nights Priciple di Salinda/Hotel Signum
Taormina 4 nights Villa Belvedere
Rome Airport 1 night Hotel Tiber


The flight:
Lets’s just say things happen when you travel these days. I believe all airlines are still scrambling to figure out life with COVID. Our KLM leg from Amsterdam to Rome was cancelled due to “staffing” issues. Our short layover turned onto a nine hour marathon. Luckily we were able to secure a sleeping pod in the business class lounge (the airport short term lodging’s were full) and took a snooze and showered, so we came out of the ordeal literally smelling like a rose, lol.

Hope to include lots of food rec’s and cooking school experiences in future posts as we love eating well.

Ciao for now.

kleeblatt

Great ideas and looking forward to your report.

I use maps.me for an offline map too.

whitehall

WhatsApp:
Made sure our account still worked. Never use it in the States, but hugely important on this trip. Used to communicate with guides, hotels, restaurants etc Far more prevalent in Italy than iMessage. Sometimes it’s just easier to text vs talk due to language barriers.

EasyPark:
I thought this would come in handy as it did on many trips to the Italian mainland. Used to help avoid any potential shady characters that I have met at those pesky parking machines. So far in Sicily I haven’t even seen a parking lot that uses EasyPark so it’s necessity has yet to be proven.

Thanks for posting. We have also begun a trip report on a just concluded month in Sicily. Always good to get different perspectives and see differing travel styles.

I thank you for mentioning WhatsApp, an app that Italians (initially a few landlords) introduced us to a few years ago. It has now become a regular part of our lives, keeping in touch with distant Sicilian family and keeping in touch with new-found friends in Italy. We had nine bases in May, and I think we communicated with all of the landlords via this App on this trip.

I do take issue with your comment about EasyPark. We visited 76 towns, cities and places of interest while in Sicily, and nearly every place, where we found a blue-lined parking space (controlled by municipalities), it did allow use of EasyPark as an alternative to the machines that sometimes were confusing to use or didn't take credit cards. Sometimes there was EasyPark signage, other times just the parking area number they use on their app. Once we entered the rental car's plate number one time, it was a quick, fantastic help, just like the various parking apps can be here in the US. That may be different with some of the parking garages or private lots. I am sure we used the app a dozen or more times.

BelTib

Thanks for your comment whitehall.
You definitely would know more about EasyPark


I’m in Scicli right now and just used EasyPark, lol
We have used the machines where you plug in the license too. I’ll have to pay more attention to see if the app would have worked. Rather us the app. Fewer steps😉