Sicily -- June 21 -- Day trip to Agrigento

Today we took a tour to Agrigento, in the south of Sicily. I apparently undercalculated the walking time to the nearby gas station (pickup point for the bus) and Sweetie made it clear that I would pay for this at some point in the future. Seeing as how we were already sweaty by the time we got on the bus (something to do with our mad dash to the gas station as a result of my miscalculation), it was shame that the A/C on the bus didn't seem to be cranked too high. Otherwise though, the trip was well-organized and the bus had plenty of room.





It took two hours to get to Agrigento. We first spent AGES in the stuffy museum which was interesting, but we had to wait for the guide to run though explanations in Italian and French before she got to English. Tedious.





The Valley of Temples (actually, they're on a hill, not in a valley) was great, but very hot. I felt like I was being cooked. Lunch was at an ordinary beach dive, but at least service was quick. We were seated at a table with the "Lady With a Paper Bag on Her Head" (see picture, she's in the middle). Sweetie noted, "She's not so ugly that she needs to wear a paper bag on her head." Anyway, Sweetie noticed Bag Lady was eating with her head so close to the plate that she was practically shoveling her food into her mouth. And then, when they brought out my spaghetti, she tried to claim it as her own....very odd. And we were both stymied by the fact that the gentleman with her seemed completely normal and yet undisturbed by her behavior. I decided he must have been a social worker taking her out on a trip.



After lunch, we walked out onto the wide, long beach with clear turquoise waters. It was scenic, but definitely had a different clientele than what we were used to up north...Let's just say I was glad I wasn't staying in Agrigento. It was very undeveloped and reminded me a bit of parts of Venezuela.



I enjoyed our tour guide's very matter-of-fact way of saying things like, "And the politician who accomplished the construction of this great highly was later accused of being Mafia."