Enticed by the locals and admiring the Baroque

If ever there was a nation that being charming came naturally to, it has to be the Italians!  We arrived at Camping Sabbiadoro near Avola a couple of hours later, having successfully negotiated the narrow 500m approach road, and were shown around the site by the delightful male owner talking us through each pitch area as we inched our way towards the sea, finally arriving at the perfect beachfront pitch with a flourish. He'd read us well. How could we refuse? And the showers, we asked, do they have hot water? Oh yes, and they are enormous; big enough for two people to make love in – for those in tents, he hastened to add! 

Of course we took the pitch, the best of the trip so far and probably the most picturesque on the site, with views directly across the bay.  We settled in for a few days of relaxing; this was one of the reasons we’d come here; lazy days in the sun . . .

and incredible sunrises . . . .

This site is lush, set in a Mediterranean/sub tropical garden and immaculately kept. The public beach here is lovely too, a small sandy cove kept clean and tidy, and it was hard to leave the sound of the sea and those wonderful facilities, but the interior was calling and the weather was looking stormy, so after four nights we headed off to Noto, baroque jewel in Sicily's crown, or so the tourist literature will tell you.

Noto welcomes coachloads of tourists throughout the day, so if you want a quiet visit, go early.  We arrived around midday and had time to wander around this beautiful place with its honey coloured buildings, in relative peace.  We were also lucky enough to chance on a guided tour of one of the churches and its tower and learn more about the history of Noto, rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake, with its 32 churches to a population of just 25,000.  We took lunch on a park bench in the Piazza Municipio, with delicious local cherries from a nearby stall to finish and then headed off to Palazzolo Acriede, another inland and rather less visited town. 

Palazzolo has a rather more brooding presence and although it's also in the baroque style, it's much darker in every sense.  We arrived as the clouds were gathering for a thunderstorm and set off on foot in search of some information.  We walked first to the Mediaeval Castle and then through the town itself, as it woke up after the afternoon siesta.  As the sun came out we ate pistachio ice cream (they grow pistachios on Sicily), which is coffee coloured not green like at home, and delicious by the way!  Then up to the ancient Greek site of Akrai, not much to see here but great views across the valley.  We finished with a wander through the Giardino Storico.

Then back to the van to decide where we were sleeping!! Although we'd been told that the Piazza Australia in the town was ok to sleep, we didn't have a good feeling about it, so following our instincts, set off back to the coast at Avola where we'd previously cycled one morning a few days before, only to discover that what was a quiet beachfront in the day was heaving with humanity at night! Ah well, it was too late to move, so we hunkered down with the other two vans freecamping and slept fitfully through a noisy night, and when we woke in the morning, all was peaceful again.

S.