Wednesday, March 15
We spent the morning visiting the medieval city of Erice which sits high
on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The town reminded us of the walled
cities we visited in Tuscany and Provence. Narrow streets with beautiful stonework
were 
wonderful
for meandering and exploring, and we enjoyed shopping in several of the small
stores. Purchases today included beautiful ceramics made in Erice and special
sauces made of olives and tomatoes. The views from the town's castle and walls
included the valley as well as a deep blue sea. Before leaving Erice, we enjoyed
wonderful bowls of pasta called "busiati trapanese", a local dish
made with fresh hollow spaghetti, eggplant, almonds, tomato and cheese.
We left Erice after lunch and enjoyed nice drives through the countryside
and then along the coast on our way to Selinute in the southern part of the
island.
This site was first established by the Phoenicians in the 7th century BC and
is considered one of the most striking archaeological sites in the Mediterranean.
The setting along the coast was quite stunning on this bright sunny afternoon.
We loved walk
ing
through eight temples spread across two sites, and as in Segesta we could
walk right into the temples and ruins, climbing over huge pieces of sandstone.
The oldest temple, dedicated to Apollo, was erected in 580 BC and has twelve
Doric columns that are still standing. Temples dedicated to Hera and Athena
are also well preserved.
We
ended the day by driving into Agrigento where the crest of the city greeted
us with more temples beautifully lit at night. We are staying at the Villa
Athena Hotel with fantastic views of the Valley of the Temples. We will spend
the next two nights here and will tour the Valley of the Temples in the morning.
