Day 42 Thursday 31 October  Levanto and Framura

After the exertions of yesterday, a more restful day today;  the morning was taken up with  laundry to last us for the coming week during  our journey home ( ferry from Caen Wed 6 overnight)
I wandered around the old town area for half an hour and spotted the entrance to the uphill  walk trail to Monterosso not far from the campsite .
Very taken  by the beauty of  Rationalist architecture of the Casino hotel restaurant on the beach, built by the mayor in 30's to attract the big wigs and starlets.
As the weather was drizzly, my toe was still bruised and painful for any  uneven walking , we opted to do the off road  flat cycle/ walk way from Levanto to 2 local villages , Bosonolara  and Framura , Levanto had turned a disused railway  into a car free cycle walk way  path through many hill  tunnels with occasional breaks for  glimpses of rocky outlets and small coves to peer down into, a satisfying  10 k in total.
Watched the small children back in Levanto town centre  dressed up in full make up ,witches, devils, imps  outfits scampering between shops ,the shop keepers came outside to encourage them, a cafe had a Halloween party on tho go , filled with very  excited  children racing around👹👻❤️and blaring music.We retreated to the van for an evening of resting, reading and blogging and another night of  clock chimes  every 15 minutes on this beautiful campsite ! Tough walking from here for the very fit.

Day 41 Tuesday 30 October Levanto to Cinque Terre towns

Up early , we  sympathised with a man from Vienna making his way home with his poorly dog Ricky .He had taken his dog  in an off road truck,  big wheels, to Morrocco and Mauritania and Ricky had been bitten by a tick which was potentially life threatening , thanks to treatment as in -patient at a local vets, he had pulled through  ( we see a lot of the bumper trucks  at WOMAD music festival )
Poor Ricky , worried  owner.
We drove along the coastal motorway around  the outskirts of Genova to the Levante coastlinr and stayed at our poshest campsite yet ,€35 per night (!)  in order to visit the  Cinque Terre towns more easily .Camping Acqua Dolce, the campsite, very pretty , tiered terraces with olive trees , cafe/ restaurant , modern shower block ( canned soft rock musak 😣) , excellent English , helpful receptionist and Luciferano the resident ,large ,  imperious looking black cat .The site was well tended , a few minutes walk from  Levanto, a very smart beach resort town with a long , dark grey, sandy  beach, shallow waters  and a 13th century old town with  fortified walls and a  castle ( private)
We could only stay 2 nights as Friday 1 November was  All Saints Day in Italy so the campsite was full for the weekend despite the cool showery weather.
We walked to the local railway station (uphill) for 15 minutes and bought  a 8€ return ticket to Monterosso  beach town .
10 minutes by train
At Monterosso , we caught one of the last ferries running  of the season and saw all the Cinque Terre towns in turn .We spent 90 mins in Portovenere wandering around the castle, picturesque harbour and old town and reboarded the ferry .We spent 2 hours in La Spezia , a very attractive large  port town ( where all the cruise ships go ) with lots of shops , a huge harbour and an  old town. Desperate for alternatives to pizza and pasta, we located a Punjabi street food restaurant and had our first blissful Indian meal for 6 weeks, spinach paneer, dhal mixed veg rice , heavenly ...
We were objects of much curiosity as an older white couple in a young fast food joint , guess they don't get many cruise ship customers calling in there .
We caught the train back from La Spezia to Levanto and had a drink in the cafe .
Got chatting to the German couple pitched   next to us , also enjoying a drink in the cafe
Gerhald was a retired English and German  Literature teacher and latterly headmistress at a  grammar school .Her English was fluent and conversational .Tom, her partner was a classical music critic and journalist .They lived in S Germany .They had spent many summers in Cambridge with good friends , one of whom had taken on British citizenship reluctantly because of the Brexit debacle .
It was a delight to talk to this  Guardian reading couple about the sorrows of Brexit of course , the failure to address anti semitism..in the Labour party  by Jeremy Corbyn  but also  wonderful to swap recommendations of great books we had read recently.
Gerhald recommended a Norwegian book called The Lobster Life by Erik Fosnes Hansen and I recommended a Booker long list read this year called 'My sister is a serial killer'.We bonded over 'the Room' great book which didn't make it to the Booker shortlist ( the year 'the Finkhelor question' won )
I wished Tom's spoken English or my German  had been better, a violin and Orchestra  viola player and a  renowned music critic ! Would have been great to chat to him more
They had been coming to the area for 30 years twice a year in the shoulder season and knew the owner well , praising his efforts to bring the campsite to its current standards .They thought the touristification and Disney theme park -like  nature  of the Cinque Terre towns had spoiled their appeal  .
We were inclined to agree ..
The clock of the local church tower chimed every 15 minutes throughout the night , but it didn't disturb us.

Day 40 Tuesday 29 Oct. GNV ferry Sicily  to Genova,Italy  and on to  Spotorno, Ligurian coast

Calm crossing on Tyrrenhian sea,  good night's sleep in that  spacious bed, fridge ,TV .. Worth €48 , every cent !
Buying the meal pass €34 each for 2 meals and breakfast a mistake for vegetarians as food options mainly limited to meat and fish .
We didn't eat late last night thinking we could have 2 meals  today but it didnt work like that..
You can only have selected items, so we dined on pasta and more pasta and bread and croissants , v stodgy canteen food, anything healthy you have to pay extra  for
Sun shone weakly throughout the crossing, balmy breeze  which we spent in the dog  exercise area at the back of the ferry , comparing owners and their dogs resemblances ,when not luxuriating in our state room . Having vacated it ,we waited 2 and and half hours in the 8 th  cafe for our call to move back into our vans/ cars/ lorries, some pretty fed up children, dogs and adults too..
Reaching the van on the bottom level  involved a hydraulic roof being raised  which we stood and watched ,GNV and Brittany ferries have very different ideas re H and S.
No stops or campsites near Genova so we drove along the Ligurian coast , the campsite we  had selected up  in the Piedmont hills was closed, so  we settled on campsite Leo on the coast , open all year , very near  the handsome town of Spotorno, just by the railway ( not noisy ) good campsite , beach access 10-15;mins  , clean toilets, very upmarket area , autumn roadworks and  a dug up  esplanade . €20 per night .Unlimited hot showers .

Day 39 Monday 28 October Palermo to Cefalu

A tumble from the van first thing using  our improvised plastic crate substitute  step: it  tipped over,  as I stepped onto  it, carrying a full washing up bowl in front of me.

Fell heavily on my knees on to the rough gravel surface and twisted my big toe in the process and smashed our breakfast bowls. Felt very shaken and winded and couldn't get up until my breathing settle.

Andy was off searching for water waste disposal points so two very kind olive pickers and a female campervanner came to my rescue to pick me up, they were very consoling. I irrigated the bleeding knees and strapped the bruised swollen big toe to its buddy just in case.

This camp site is also great. English spoken, very friendly and helpful reception staff, family business. Very secure, quiet and scenic, near supermarket and restaurants, hot, unlimited, clean and  spacious power jet showers. Two buses into the centre/old quarter, reliable bus network (trains too).

So much to marvel at here, city of culture last year.



Trip to Cefalu, managed well by Andy who is a bit of an old hand by now at navigating the labyrinthine Sicilian  motorways and  unpredictable weaving city drivers.

90 minutes some on the toll motorway (€1) got the tickets and payments sorted out here at last..  Cefalu (pronounced Chefalu) is a beautiful sea side resort, shallow water,  calm  sea, old town overlooks the golden sandy beach and tall cliffs behind (la Rocca).













Boarded ferry at about 10 set sail at 11 pm
Very happy with our spacious cabin. U

Day 38 Sunday 27 October
Long day sight seeing Palermo, taking advantage of the extra hour.
What a simply full on city !
Caught the 628 bus  from the Sferocavallo  harbour and then the 101 from the Piazza Independenzato  which dropped us off at the Teatro Massimo in the Centre at 10.30 am.
An impromptu visit to the third largest opera house in the world ( Berlin and Vienna in case you are curious) and a 30 minute guided tour.
Next an archaeological regional museum housed in a beautiful tranquil old convent building.
Cost €3 each with free coffee and croissant plus €5 audio guide.
All the relics from Selinunte (which we visited ) were on  display there.
Great use of CGI and audio visuals to explain about the history and construction of Selinunte temples
One of the best museums I've been to,  beautifully curated and  well explained in English. Next, we caught the tail end of the lively Sunday morning market at Bollaro and ate  lunch in one of the main piazza restaurants , we found the Palermo Duomo en route to Bollaro.
An art /science / festival  held over 5 weekends in Palermo had opened  up places not usually open to the public  all through   October( called  le Vei de Tresori)It  was on  today til 5.30 pm
We got a ticket for 4 visits for 2 people -€6 ,Andy much more patient than me waiting for a long  30 minutes  in a queue to go into Sant Caterina, the first visit
I'm so glad we waited , it was fabulous OTT Baroque .Next, a nunnery where the nuns made almond biscuits, we faced a long wait for the cloisters tour so gave up and came out again and didn't wait for eithervour free almond biscuits or the tour...
Next in the same square, the people's theatre, the  oldest in Palermo and  recently rescued and run by volunteers.  We were the only English people visiting so we had our own young , shy  English speaking guide.
Across the square , we visited a very simple Arabic mosque/ RC church hybrid Knights of the Templar  , a relief of plain bare walls after RC OTT extravagance, with pink domes on the roof . €2.50 each , this was not on the festival route.
Finally a tour of the handsome university  law faculty by Carlo again our own friendly English speaking guide .Carlo was  a Ist  year law student there , he showed us around the old law library , which looked a bit like a Harry Potter film set . This building now admin offices downstairs and a  reference library upstairs.

V interesting to hear him talk with passion  about the anti -mafia uprising after the murder of 2 trial  judges Falcone being the most famous .
If this wasnt enough  sightseeing , Andy decided he would like to see  some contemporary art , so we made our way to the art gallery ( all these places  eminently walkable ) some lights were not working ,so we got a reduction to €5 each filled with artists who painted Palermo;
Paticularly liked Patania  and Lojacono for the way  light lit up their subjects.
Unfortunately , the exhib stopped at 1900's ..
We walked to the cross roads , the four quarters of the city districts  heaving with crowds on Sunday night and musicians, food stalls , traders etc
We caught the first  bus  home ( day return ticket from the  Tabbachi near our campsite €3.50 each for a  full day travel )
Andy got chatting on the very crowded 101 bus, to an out of work law graduate, about to try his luck working  in Barcelona , he recommended Cefalu for our last day .
With the help of GPS and the friendly student's advice, we found our bus back to the campsite.
I'd really like to come back here to this  edgy , crazy driving,  beautiful friendly ethnically   diverse gem of a city.

Day 37 Saturday 26 October Torre Nova to Cathedrale Monreale on outskirts of Palermo

Last morning swim, and a tour of one of the bungalows in case we ever  come back for a longer winter  stay.

Drove to Cathedrale Monreale 2 hours along the coast, the Cathedrale was on the outskirts of Palermo, up a valley to the South. We  visited the  Duomo and the cloisters, very ornate, all gold leaf icons and Baroque in style. The ticket included a tour around the edge of the rooftop.



















Noticed these shoes in a bin after we left the Duomo, a bit like how we felt





We then drove through Palermo, to the west harbour area to stay at Camp Palermo, a city campsite situated amongst olive trees at the base of an impressive cliff in a quiet residential area.



Meal at the harbour - fast food joint Andy had  2 bowls of spaghetti alla pomodoro. The garlic was too strong for me to even sample mine (& else veggie on offer).
I had a pizza in a  slightly smarter restaurant and Andy kindly helped me out there too!
He went to bed very full!

Lively harbour, fair ground rides,  men smoking, traders with bags, accessories, sunglasses, and families and children out and about.

Day 36 Friday 25 October  Messina day trip

Thunderstorms and lightning in the night, damp day.

Italian railways on strike over pay and conditions today, we are not sure if Sicily involved too, so made our way to Zapulla train station to check this out, 10 mins walk from campsite.
Train to Messina arrived as planned at 10.25. We asked the conductress if the strike applied on Sicily, I don't strike she said, but her English was limited, not sure how to take her statement . 7.50€ each to get to Messina, 90 mins journey on  old rolling stock , grafitti on windows.



Asked at information booth in Messina about trains back and any strike action, the booth man  said Italy is always on strike, here trains run ...
No one to donate too at station🤔
Walked quickly to main square of Messina  to watch and  hear the Duomo clock tower figures come in and out at 12 noon, we were too late for most of the animated figures but caught the classical music broadcast loudly over the wet square.



Visited the Duomo next door





and followed this with   a delicious lunch at Doddis, a Viennese, dark wood cafe famed for its lunches,2 courses cost €30 for both of us , good value and delicious -mushroom rissotto, spinach potatoes and pistachio granite for dessert.







Raining very heavily all afternoon , so went to the Messina Regional museum , a  new museum, built 2 years ago, fabulous Greek and Roman archaeology section, religious art, 3 on display were by Caravaggio.
A great find, we were both knocked out by it ...
Worth every penny of the €8 admission price
Roof leaking through the ceiling!

An incident occurred on the 6 pm train back to Zapulla, we couldn't locate the green button to press to open the carriage door when the train pulled into our station at Zapulla, a young boy kindly did it for us and got off the train; the  green release button was tucked away in top right hand corner ...
As we followed him out , the doors started closing, there were no sensors to stop them..I bruised my forearm trying to initially stop the door from  closing, but thankfully had the sense to quickly stop, and saved my arm!

We rode on to the next stop 5-6 km down the track, not a pleasant walk back, couldn't find a taxi in the quiet seaside town, so went for a drink in the Lazy cat cafe and waited for the train going back again up the line an hour later.
A friendly young couple stopped to offer us a lift back to the campsite  but we declined as it was only 10 minutes in the dark - Such kindness.

Weary after a longer than anticipated day out.

Day 35 Thursday 24 October  Agricampeggio Alessandro,Torre Nova near Cap d'Orlando

Day of leisure after all our travelling around.
Laundry day , shopping at supermarket 900 metres (not 600 m as sign outside campsite says!)

The usual discussion as to how much we need and how much we can carry  on the  half mile walk back .
Tasty tea , swim , discussing with Alessandro where to go in the vicinity
Cars drive very quickly on the countryside  minor roads , just like Devon,  so a cycle trip to Cap d'Orlando (5 miles round trip), not tried out . Heavy thunderstorms and lots of rain forecast for tomorrow, so a train trip to Messina the port city planned instead.
I love these tranquil, leisure days.
If only we could discuss what to buy more amicably  at the supermarket !