I'm just back home from my 15 day trip to Sicily. Everything went smooth, flights, car rental, baggage (I kept my fingers crossed all the way for it), hotels etc. In the next days I'll try to put together some travelogue but don't expect too much as I'm in a different league than Don's, even if I try hard :-) I'd like just to highlight some ups and downs of my trip, in case anyone is thinking about going to Sicily. UP: I was surprised by the wonderful blend of historical sites and nature, IMHO sometimes better than Greece. The colours of stones and flowers, the green/dark blue sea, the white-hot sky will be in my memory forever.

The food was usually both tasty and genuine, with a lot of homemade pasta and desserts, and the price is usually at least 10% less than in Northern Italy, but can really be 50% less in some rustic pizzeria. Agriturismos are as usual the best choice for savoring the home-cooked food.

DOWN: The traffic is a nightmare in the towns and driving along main routes can be either incredibly boring if you have to follow at 15 mph an old truck vomiting thick black fumes, or thrilling because of the overtakes at full speed (yours or other's). Also the road signs are insufficient or illegible, so you need a very detailed map and good navigating skills to get around.

Just next door to wonderful places you find tons of rubble, skeleton buildings, old tyres and garbage almost everywhere. Some towns are tidy and restored, but everything usually looks weary and uncared. The people are friendly and willing to help, but they look like they can't do better than that. This is not a racist remark, it's just what I saw around.

Well, more to follow (I hope) but I surely invite all of you to think about including Sicily into your next travel plans

Bye

Paolo Trieste, Italy