June 4
Today was basically a rest day. We slept late, ate breakfast in the sun on one of our 2 patios then Peter walked to the grocery store while I worked for a while. I’ve been finishing up a client project while in Italy and I’m almost done. Once that was crossed off my list, I started working on our itinerary for the next week or so. We’ve got everything planned out and actually have reservations for the next week. If you’ve been following us, you know how unusual that is, but we found some nice places and I wanted to get them booked while they were still available. Now I can just relax about the logistics for the next week.
Then we headed to the town of Gela, only about a 30-minute drive from here. It was one of the places the Allies landed on Sicily in the spring of 43 and there is a memorial to the 82nd Airborne that Peter wanted to see. We managed to find our way to Tourist Information, but she had no idea where the monument is located, and we couldn’t find an address. So, instead of wandering aimlessly, we decided to go to the beach instead.
Since I can’t sit in the sun and I hate the sand, we rented an umbrella and a couple of chairs. It was very windy and a little cool in the shade, but the sun felt wonderful.
Peter, on the other hand, gave swimming another try. If you saw our post from Favignana, he tried but the water was freezing. Actually, he told me I should put my right ankle in the water, and it would have served as an ice pack. But he’s a game-day player so he gave it another try today. Here are a few videos of his latest effort.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRKhPJDQavU Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IVW3sBagqg Part 2
Actually, he said the water was wonderful, cold but much warmer than the other day. We only stayed at the beach long enough for his swim and to eat our sandwiches then we headed back to Licata.
Once back in Licata, we tried to drive to the castle, but Gracie (our GPS) kept trying to get me to turn right at a street that was one-way only…. the other way. After a couple of tries we gave up and settled for a long-distance photo instead.
Then we decided to head back to La Dolce Vita a short walk away to have more gelato. Seriously, I’ve had a lot of gelatos all over Europe and this is the creamiest I’ve ever tasted. It was wonderful but has totally spoiled me for all other gelatos.
Then we strolled through town, which didn’t take very long. Of course, there were several churches and a large piazza where we stopped for coffee.
On our way back we stopped into a tourist info to ask about mailing a few post cards. Drop boxes are hard to find and we’d been carrying the cards around since Palermo, so the young women in the office said she’d mail them for us. It turns out that the tourist office is also a small museum about the Allied landing in 1943. Peter was thrilled and while he walked around, I chatted with Laura. She is a delightful young woman who is studying languages in school and was thrilled to get a chance to practice her English. She was actually very proficient and helped us with our Italian. We spent about 30 minutes there and she didn’t want us to leave. I don’t think there’s a lot of foreign visitors here, so she spends most of her day by herself.
We just finished a delicious dinner of chicken and potatoes. Peter does almost all the cooking while I either work on the blog, work on work, make travel arrangements or pack/unpack.
Tomorrow we’re going to the base at Sigonella (my old stomping grounds) for laundry and while we’re there we’ll mail home stuff we bought and don’t want to drag around with us anymore. We’ll also check out the mini mart for American car snacks (you don’t even want to think about eating the Italian version of cheese puffs) and whatever else we can find. Then it’s two nights in a hotel in Catania before heading back up the eastern coast for Messina and the ferry back to the mainland.
Can’t believe we’re more than halfway through our trip. The time is going by so fast but there are still plenty of cool things to see and adventures to have. Hope you join us.