Taking advantage of a sunny London Sunday we decided to use the vouchers Regan and Scott had bought Shaun for his birthday almost a whole year ago.. and take a trip on the London Eye. The city turned on some clear skies and we spent a relaxing 40 minutes or so doing a cruise in mid-air.
Visiting the Vuccina, Palermo's rowdy central fruit, vegetable and fish market (where we had boiled squid with lemon juice straight off the boat):
Shaun getting a trim from a friendly local barber:
All too soon we were leaving Palermo in our trusty tiny rental car on a road trip around the Sicilian coast. First stop Cefalu - a tiny but beautiful little medieval town tucked into the cliffs with winding streets and LOTS of locals and tourists enjoying the sandy beach. Not exactly a typical New Zealand summer beach scene but we squared our shoulders and adjusted our concepts of personal space and had a splash in the warm Mediterranean waters.
From Cefalu we turned inland for a couple of nights exploring Sicily's interior. As we drove south (and uphill) we drove through a number of hilltop towns full of beautifully coloured stone and amazing ceramic work. We stayed two nights near Piazza Armerina, in an agriturismo run by a local couple who fed us huge amounts of food and where I got a chance to beat Shaun at some archery practice...
Nearby was the amazing Villa Romana del Casale - a huge Roman villa built in the first quarter of the 4th century AD, housing what is apparently the richest, largest and most complex collection of Roman mosaics in the world. Part of the villa was closed for ongoing restoration work but even the sections we saw were incredible in their scale, detail and level of preservation.
Leaving Piazza Armerina we headed again for the coast, but this time to the south, stopping by Agrigento and the Valley of the Temples. Like the Villa this is a World Heritage Site but in relation to a much earlier period - it contains the ruins of seven Greek temples constructed during the 5th and 6th centuries BC, which is fairly mind-blowing. Below is the Temple of Concordia on what was a completely scorching midsummer afternoon:
Next stop was the mighty mountain - Etna. No visit to Sicily would be complete without a trip to the top as it dominates the skyline in the eastern part of the island. Given the extreme heat (and the availability of a very cool gondola) we played tourists and caught a lift to the top to view the crater. The landscape was incredibly dry and barren:
Making our way northwards again we made a beeline for the glitzy hillside town of Taormina - which is apparently a favourite with the international jet set. We weren't looking too jet-setty ourselves after Etna but we window-shopped along some very winding little hillside lanes before heading down by cable car to a glistening cove-style beach... a must given the heat of the day! The main drawcard, however, was the Teatro Greco (Greek Theatre), built in a beautiful hillside position with the sea beyond it and used for many pop and classical concerts during the year.
Leaving Taormina it was almost the end of our trip - a last 2 days on Lipari, one of the Aeolian islands off the north-eastern coast of Sicily. Lipari was a beautiful volcanic island with great food, friendly locals and a nice (albeit stony) beach where we kicked back and enjoyed some snorkelling and some lazing around in the sunshine. 
On our final evening before heading home we headed out on a cruise to the other islands in the Aeolian chain - finishing up with a spectacular viewing of Stromboli, the furthest and most active of the islands. Stromboli is in a state of almost constant eruption but despite this, to our amazement, it has a fully-functioning village at its base (where we nervously had our dinner). Cruising around the other side of the island on our way back to Lipari we were treated to a spectacular burst of lava from the crater (watching safely from the boat) and wondered how quickly the locals have learned to run to their safety boats...
All in all Sicily was a magical holiday full of an incredible range of experiences for such a relatively small island. And the food was amazing!!
On our first morning we ventured across to Buda and climbed the Buda Castle ramparts for a beautiful view back across the river, before venturing down into the (slightly freaky) Buda Castle labyrinth - part of the Castle Hill cave system.
The caves were apparently used as a bomb shelter during WWII but have now been transformed into a slightly odd experiential place where you wander through caves filled with back-lit sculptures of horses, pagan symbols and in one room, an ivy-covered well spouting real red wine. (Shawn tasted it against all advice not to and can confirm that it is red wine, although it has possibly been circulating for about the last 20 years).
In July, fresh from having scrubbed up for Wimbledon and Henley, we decided to hit one of the other society events of the British sporting calendar - the Cartier International Polo day at the Guards Polo Club in Windsor Great Park - with about 20,000 other people and (apparently) various celebrities (as featured in OK magazine the following week). The warm-up match (photos above) was a tight game between Hurlingham Polo Club and the Prince of Wales' team - sadly neither William nor Harry made an appearance although Charles was watching from the royal box (top centre - cream jacket).
At half time we ventured out into the field together with the crowds to stomp the divots - and Regan practised her royal wave in case it was needed.
Then it was time for the match of the day - England v New Zealand - preceded by one of the oddest sights seen on a polo field for some time. The Daily Telegraph called it "a collision of diverse cultures" and noted that one of the most expressive performers was a "pale, wiry ginger-haired man".
The New Zealand team, horses included, were kitted out in the Silver Fern and put up a brave fight - coming back from 7-1 down to draw level at 7-7 - before ultimately falling to a tough English team.
A great day out and I left as a fan - polo is surprisingly fast and exciting to watch.
M
