My son and his family live in Luxembourg. My husband and I are in our 60s - very young, energetic 60s, and are flying to Lux on Dec. 18, 2013. On Dec. 26 we are all flying to San Vito Lo Capo for a family vacation. They will fly back to Lux. on Dec. 31 leaving us in Sicily so we can do some traveling. We are trying to decide where to go from there. We would like to see Spain, Portugal and Italy. We don't know if there is anything more we should do in Sicily. We want to be back in Lux by Feb. 12 (approx). I am getting very anxious thinking we are trying to see too much in a short period of time. Any suggestions?
Posted by
Asnieres sur Vegre, France
127 posts
Why not just stay in Sicily? There is so much to see and do there and you are much more apt to have better weather for the dates you specified. I love Siracusa and you might consider renting an apartment there for awhile. You should also see Taormina if you have never been there. Yes, it has many tourists, but not so many in the winter and there is a reason that tourists visit an area, usually because it is so beautiful. I would never miss visiting an outstanding place because of worrying about tourists. Have an outstanding trip.
Posted by
Martinez, CA, USA
1558 posts
Have to agree with Chloe. We are also in our 60s. We spent 4 weeks in Sicily in April and enjoyed every minute. Since you're already there why not see some of the beautiful Baroque towns, the Roman ruins, the rest of the coast, as well as Taormina and the cities of Catania and Palermo. Sicily has so much to offer in terms of history, scenery, delicious food, dessert, and wine, and the people are great! We have also spent a lot of time in Portugal and Italy. You could easily spend one month and more in each country. You might do better to leave each of those countries for another visit.
Posted by
OP
PHILADELPHIA
6 posts
I must say I never expected that so many friendly and good-natured people would respond to my inquiry. Perhaps I should not spread myself so thin – maybe save Spain & Portugal for another time (fingers crossed for that since this is our first trip to Europe). We could stay in Sicily for about 2 weeks. Trapani is where we land & drive to San Vito Lo Capo. We could likely drive back there with the family for a day trip. Palermo is of interest to me because of its Jewish history (thanks Frances for the link to Best of Sicily where I learned that). Seeing the Greek ruins would be fascinating Zoe. Could you expand on what to see in the other cities you mentioned? Carol, where are the Baroque towns and Roman ruins? Chloe I like the idea of Siracusa & Taormina – I've read about those towns in other posts as well. So, I don't know if I have the time to see everything in Sicily because we definitely want to see Italy. The suggestions I've had in Italy have been Sorrento (the beginning of the Amalifi Coast (but I've read that the coast shuts down in winter). Florence, Siena, Rome (5 days), Venice (2 days at most here), Tuscany, Milan (Leonardo's "The Last Supper" at the church in Santa Maria delle Grazie. My grandchildren are on holiday from school from Feb. 15 through Feb 23. That is why we want to be back in Lux – to spend time with them. After they go back to school, we hope to get to Paris for a few days, Bruges and Amsterdam. We return back to USA on March 12.
By the way Char, you might like Leonardo's Swans by Karen Essex. It is a wonderful history based fiction taking place in Italy at the end of the 15th century and offers great insight into the lives of Isabella and Beatrice d'Este, daughters of the Duke of Ferrara, as well as a glimpse into the personality of Leonardo da Vinci.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
I agree that staying in Sicily, or a combination of Sicily and mainland Italy, would be more than enough to do at that time of year. amd there's more than enough to do. It seems that you have about six weeks. Keep in mind that winter days are shorter, museum/sight hours end earlier. You could spend some time in Calabria, Basilicata or Puglia as well, or some other region of Italy. I've been to Sicily several times, my favorite areas are Palermo and the nearby sights (Segesta, Erice, Trapani, Monreale), Cefalu, Agrigento, Siracus, Taormina, and Piazza Armerina. The Greek ruins in Sicily are some of the best preserved in the world. You will get clearer advice if you let us know what your interests are.
Posted by
San Francisco
52 posts
We've been researching an extended trip to Sicily as well. I found the Sicily DK Eyewitness Guide very helpful as well as the 2012 "National Geographic Sicily" with "off the beaten path excursions", "authentic experiences" etc (plus fabulous pictures!) Also of historical interest: "The Leopard" (Il Gattopardo) by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa is a fascinating novel (based on his own family) set in Sicily during the Risorgimento. It was made into a movie in 1963 directed by Visconti and starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale. It is a visual delight with all the natural beauty and decay of the aristocratic society.
Posted by
San Diego
1540 posts
Here is a great link with tons of info on Sicily Best of Sicily