Sicily Impressions

Each of the nine colors on the map of Sicily represents where Steven and I stayed either one or two nights on our two-week tour of the stunning island. In hindsight, I wish we'd had an extra four or five days to travel at a slower pace so we could have spent a minimum of two nights at the end of each day. That way, we could have viewed more of the attractions in greater depth and not spent so much time traveling between sights. Knowing what we know now, two weeks was too short to explore all we wanted in Sicily.

Below are my impressions after a whirlwind two-week tour of Sicily. I've grouped them together into categories for easier reading.

1. Day after day, we were wowed by the island's spectacular scenery and breathtaking small towns that rivaled the more well-known Capri and the Amalfi Coast!

2. The innumerable mountain towns were incredibly picturesque but extremely challenging to drive through. With just inches to spare on each side of the car, Steven had to turn our side mirrors in to get through.

3. Crosswalks were just a suggestion for drivers to slow down even if people were in them.

4. Most Italian drivers used a stop sign as a yield. The word "stop" was in English, too!

5. Motorcyclists drove recklessly a lot! It was normal for them to drive into oncoming traffic to get ahead.

6. There were no distance signs, i.e., Catania 50 km away.

7. Cars routinely double parked while going into a local shop. Likewise, parking on medians was standard.

8. Parking meters and toll roads were very cheap!

9. Autostradas and super highways were perfectly maintained.

10. Conversely, most of the smaller mountain roads were very poorly maintained, with bushes extending far out into the road, making driving more dangerous.

11. Drivers traveled at varying rates of speed on major highways, as there were no minimum speed posted signs. The maximum speed was 130 km.

12. Most of the larger towns had a street named after JFK but no other foreigners.

13. Noticed only a handful of electric charging stations.

14. Saw innumerable directional signs for police stations: carabineri, locale, stradale, national.

15. We spotted lots of ancient, very small cars still in existence; perhaps they were the forerunners of the Smart car!

16. The most popular gas station was Esso, just like the local station I grew up with.

17. Never before had we seen such a massive number of rusted-out signs.

18. Restaurants charged a table tax of $3pp for chairs, rolls, etc., even if rolls weren't served!

19. We weren't accustomed to having glasses of red wine served chilled each time.

20. Dinners and, likewise, vino were surprisingly inexpensive!

21. If you order a salad as a side in Sicily, you get only lettuce with a slice of lemon - no tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, nada. However, olive oil is then placed on the table.

22. We were surprised not to see rice on menus.

23. We saw no non-smoking areas in restaurants or anywhere else, much to our dismay.

24. There were no toilet seats in public bathrooms - ugh!

25. We never felt unsafe for a moment in either small towns or large cities.

26. Little regard was often shown for the environment, as bags of household trash were tossed on the sides of small roads.

27. We didn't come across senior discounts for any attractions.

28. Most apartments we rented didn't have any hot water in the kitchen sink.

29. We were surprised that dogs were welcome at the island's archaeological parks.

30. For those who love cats, Sicily is THE place to go, as they were everywhere!

I hope my many posts on Sicily have convinced you that you should visit the island - you won't regret it!

Next post: Onto Valletta, Malta's exciting capital city.

Posted on February 15th, 2025, after arriving home late yesterday from a few blissful days on Miami's idyllic beaches, followed by a short cruise on Virgin Voyages to Mexico's Riviera Maya and Virgin's Beach Club in the Bahamas. With Steven facing back surgery in three days, this was our winter getaway. As wonderful as it was to escape down South, it was very stressful knowing our two-year-old granddaughter was far away and spending five nights in the hospital yet again for her seizures. As always, please take care of yourself and your loved ones.