Erice (pronounced: Air-re-chay)
April 17 – Little Easter!
The Trapanese really celebrate Easter. After 24 hours of Good Friday mystery processions, Easter Sunday with two church services, and a big dinner with the family – they continue celebrating on Monday. The Monday after Easter is called “Pasquita” or Little Easter. No one goes to work & the streets are deserted.
This is my last day in Trapani and I haven’t had a chance to do the surrounding area touristy things like the salt flats, Marsala & Erice (reported to have the best pasticceria in Sicily). I decide I’ll defer salt flats & Marsala for a future trip because any time I can eat pasticceria in Sicily I’m going to do it! Besides, my Mom remembers Erice fondly from their trip to Sicily in 2004 and is looking forward to hearing about my impressions of this beautiful little town.
Paolo says I can just take the bus to the funivia station (that’s Italian for cableway – i.e. a tram that goes up the mountain to the hill town of Erice).
I pack up some stuff & start the 10 minute walk to the bus station (it takes 15 because I’m really not feeling 100% after yesterday’s boat trip). The streets are really quiet and besides a few tour buses, I’m not really seeing any city buses. A few people come by & ask me if the buses are running; none of us seem to know for sure. After a half hour of waiting I decide – they are NOT running. I walk back to the B&B to see if Paolo has another suggestion, but he’s not there. I’m really not feeling it – but I have to go to Erice – I’m this close. So, I find a well-rated taxi service on Trip Advisor and call for a taxi. 5 minutes later I’m taking my first 15E trip of the day.
A ticket for 8E and I’m on the cableway headed for Erice. I’m still feeling a bit uneasy from yesterday’s boat trip and all that wine that Vincenzo kept pushing on me and the fog is closing in. The trip only takes about 12 minutes – 6 of which I’m cloaked in dense fog. I arrive at the top, walk through the city gate / arch and start heading up the hill. I’m not really sure where I’m going but the small crowd is heading up, so I will too. There’s lots of little souvenir shops, cafes & restaurants – all cute – and lots of great churches & architectural details. I’m taking pictures like crazy. 8 minutes in and I’ve found two pasticceria’s and the first one is Maria’s – the one rated the best in Sicily.
Next door to the actual shop where you can purchase goodies is a “showroom”. This place is filled with antique china cabinets filled with Maria’s sweets. My guess is she’s become such a big deal that this is the only way they can keep commerce flowing in the actual shop, as everyone wants pictures of these little gems. I’m no exception – they are so intricate & beautiful. But pictures alone will not do – I need pastry! I go next door and load up on a huge, mixed selection of cookies, a piece of cassata (still around from Easter) and a little mandarin made of Martorana Reale (a type of really sweet marzipan) for my Mom. Since I’m still not feeling great – I decide to forego sitting down and enjoying a sweet, at least for now. Total cost: 12E (a bit pricey by Sicilian standards – but heck, the place is famous).
I continue exploring the town but I’m running out of energy. I did get a bunch of great pictures – but I really am running out of steam. I’m feeling guilty about thinking about leaving after only an hour – but I really don’t feel that great. Food – food will help. I duck into a little bar and order a lemon soda (my go to in Sicily when I’m feeling a little icky), a big bottle of water and a salumi & cheese plate. I eat most of the bread, half of the salumi & a few pieces of cheese (there was lots of cheese) and that’s about all I can handle. Bill: 25E. Seems expensive, but I don’t care – I’m in Erice. **I think back on this later and realize the waiter probably took me for a “tourist ride”. It’s a big deal to get a receipt for all purchases in Italy, to avoid fines - and this dude didn’t even give me a bill – just quoted me verbally and I paid! Lucky for me the finance police weren’t out in force on this little holiday!
The food hasn’t helped that much – so I decide I’m just going to go back down and go back to the B&B. I board the cableway (no operators up top – so sort of surreal to board alone & in the fog) and call the taxi company. The dispatcher says he’ll send the same guy that picked me up earlier. The taxi is waiting when I arrive at the bottom. Turns out to be a nice guy and he sped me back to the B&B in about 10 minutes. Another 15E.
Expensive trip for an hour or so – and I realize I probably could have driven given how quiet the town was on this little holiday – but heck, I got to see Erice. Pretty little town, beautiful castle & views. I ended up tasting most of the cookies over the next 3 days (some great, some not so much), left the piece of cassata with Paolo (I was driving 4 ½ hours the following day), and brought the mandarin home fully intact for Mom. Not quite the “foodie experience” that I thought Erice would be – but I’m certainly not sad I chose it for my Monday excursion.
Enjoy the pictures . . since you can't enjoy the pastries!
