Destination: Sicily & Sardinia, Italy

The following two days after our time in Naples were, similarly, tranquil visits. Being that Sicily and Sardinia are small islands just off the Italian coast, we only needed a half day each to explore their main cities and to get a feel for the islands. This isn’t to say that they were boring, though– in fact, they ended up surprising me in ways that I hadn’t expected.

This post will recount my time in the cities of Trapani, Sicily and Cagliari, Sardinia. Hope you enjoy!

Trapani, Sicily

A notable port city on the island of Sicily, Trapani is historically known for being the port for the neighboring city of Erice, used to bring in commerce and to protect the ancient city from pirates and other invaders. Trapani is also known for being a gateway city not just to metropolitan Italy, but also northern Africa, such as the countries of Tunisia and Algeria. Aside from its localization, the region nearby is also known for producing the world-famous Marsala wine, which is used both in cooking and for drinking, although the wine’s intensity is liken to that of port or sherry– in other words, if you can’t handle your liquor, then Marsala might not be the best for you!

Upon docking in Trapani, we walked right off the pier into the city center, where our tour guide took us for a meandering stroll through the small, narrow streets. Some of the streets were so narrow that not even cyclists could weave through them! The buildings also seemed to be leaning in, which created lots of shadows that made photos a bit too dark. Our tour guide told us that such buildings and streets were constructed to act as natural air-conditioners during the long, hot summer months, which I found rather ingenious– especially when fans and cooling systems weren’t a thing back then, it’s great to have found solutions to cope with the heat!

Our ambling took us to the Mediterranean, as we walked along the fortified walls of the city. The sea was an absolute crystal-blue, vast and sublime, and the views of the “sickle” (i.e. as Trapani is along a sickle-shaped coastline) were too lovely.

Returning to the small, narrow streets, we went along the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, which is the main pedestrian street of Trapani. Home to a variety of restaurants, souvenir shops, and name-brand clothing stores, the street is truly the lively heart of the center. We stopped by the Trapani Cathedral and continued our walk to the other side of town for more Mediterranean views, still lovely on the clear-sky day.

Our tour concluded shortly thereafter on the pedestrian streets once more, and we were given free time to explore Trapani before heading back to our ship. My family and I didn’t linger for too long, as we just bought postcards and sampled some pistachio cream at a souvenir shop (the latter being quite tasty, and we ended up buying it). Soon after, we returned to the ship for the rest of the afternoon.

Cagliari, Sardinia

From one island to the other, we enjoyed our Christmas Day in the sunny city of Cagliari, the capital city of Sardinia. Unfortunately, many shops were closed that day due to holiday observation, but Cagliari turned out to be a surprisingly-nice visit. Again, the weather was bright and sunny, as we boarded the coach for a panoramic visit.

As it’s situated on a small island off the coast of Italy, Cagliari is home to no more than 150,000 inhabitants in the center. Besides its long history under different civilizations, the capital is also home to natural reserves, especially its salt lagoons which at times have flamingos! They usually come in the winter to bask in the warm Italian weather, and we managed to see a few (albeit from a long distance away, so photos weren’t very good) during our drive around the city.

Our first stop was at one of the nine hills of Cagliari, called the Monte Urpinu. From there, we visited a church (which happened to be holding Mass then) and also got gorgeous panoramic views of the city just around the corner. Aside from its lovely red rooftops, the contrast with the vast greenery surrounding it goes to show the island’s blend of urban and nature in harmony.

We also went to another part of the hill, where we got more panoramic views, but this time of the lagoon. From there, we took the coach downhill to the historic center, where we got off and set out on-foot for a walking tour. After going under the arch which links the outside to the inside of the historic center, we strolled along the cobblestone streets while taking in the quiet atmosphere– considering all but one or two shops were opened that Christmas Day, there were almost no locals in the area.

During our walk, a few tourists expressed the need to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately, it was inconvenient timing, since again, many shops were closed and the only cafe that was opened had only one toilet. Any case, the tour guide had to let some of them use it, which set us back by about 20-30 minutes. All the same, though, there was a viewing terrace nearby, which had more lovely views of the city, to pass the time.

After the bathroom break, our group continued the walking tour towards the Cathedral of Santa Maria, the principal church in the city. Built in the 12th century, its architecture was inspired by that of the Pisa Cathedral, as it actually had been built by Pisans while living on the island. The inside contains a 12th-century ambo and a crypt, both of which we couldn’t actually visit that day, because of Christmas, but we got to peek inside the nave as Mass was being held.

We descended the stairs and headed into the old university quarter, where we passed through a tower containing a cheeky elephant statue. Known as the Torre dell’Elefante, the tower’s statue was erected much later since its construction in the early 14th century, but all the same, it was a cute, unexpected sight to see.

The old university quarter gradually gave way to the main shopping row, where we were given some free time to wander about. My family and I explored a few of the smaller side streets for some photos and checked out a small Christmas market (where a few stalls were opened that day) before we had to head back to the ship.

Overall, there wasn’t so much to see in both Trapani and Cagliari– however, it was the sunny weather on both days which made it a pleasant visit, anyway. I personally enjoyed Cagliari slightly more, since there were more things to check out, even if we happened to have visited on an observation holiday. From there, we would be saying goodbye to Italy and sailing off to Spain, where we would continue our week-long cruise.

More adventures coming soon– next up: Palma de Majorca, Spain!

 

— Rebecca