Day 3: Segesta & Erice
Segesta
We said farewell to the city of Palermo and headed west for an action-pact day starting in Segesta! Our group checked-out of our hotel in the morning and boarded our tour bus and had a little over an hour drive to Segesta. When we arrived in Segesta we first went to the Theater of Segesta.
Scroll down further in the page to learn about one of my favorite experiences of the entire trip.
This ancient Greek theater was in incredible condition and at one point could fit 4,000 people in here. Overlooking the beautiful countryside of Segesta it left us all thinking what it must have been like to experience entertainment several centuries ago.
The theater was located on top of a hill so we were driven up there and then walked to the theater. Once we finished exploring the theater, we got back on the shuttle and saw the Temple of Segesta.
The Temple of Segesta is a well-preserved ancient Doric style temple. Doric style is one of the styles of ancient Greek architecture; the other two styles being: Ionic and Corinthian. The temple was built in ~420 B.C. When I think about how long ago that was compared to how long ago I think turning the age of 21, I look like the mind-blown emoji. 🤯🤯🤯
Erice
After seeing such stunning ancient Sicilian landmarks, we headed to the charming town of Erice, which was around an hour drive to get there. Erice is a small historic town that will give your legs a nice workout. We were dropped off at the bottom of the town area and walked a steady incline up to visit the cobble-stone town. Located in Erice is Maira Grammatico's bakery; she is world renowned for her pastries, including "nuns boobs" (an almond like cookie) and cannolis.
A "must-do moment" from our guide, Nancy, was to try a pistachio coffee while we were here in Erice. Sicily is known for their pistachios; so when combining a little pistachio + coffee, it created a "must-taste moment".
A WOW
moment!
Holy Cannoli!
This next experience at Maria Grammatico's cooking school facility was a big highlight of the trip and a key reason why I travel with with Rick Steves. When we arrived, we were greeted by Maria's friendly staff. They had a delicious lunch spread of classic Sicilian dishes waiting for us to enjoy! Looking at the pictures again, it makes me crave the arancini, bruschetta, and everything else that was served. After all of us were fed and happy, we got our aprons on and Maria began teaching us a few of her favorite recipes.
Learning how to make "nuns boobs" almond cookies and cannolis from Maria Grammatico!
These were the best cannolis I had on the trip was when we were here! Maria is so sweet and could tell I was watching greatness as she was baking in front of us.
Trapani
After learning how to make several sweet treats, we got back on the bus and were off to Trapani! Trapani was this gorgeous, beachy like town where Italians come to vacation. When we arrived in town, we received our room assignments and then met back down in the lobby to have an orientation walk. After we had our orientation walk, we went back to the hotel and as a group had an appertivo on the hotel's rooftop. The views from here were stunning!
