1999/2000 Sicily Millennium

Itinerary

Dec 26 Depart USA on Delta Airlines. IMPORTANT: Show the Delta agent your Alitalia ticket and have your luggage tagged all the way through to Palermo. Departure times will vary from city to city. We will all meet in JFK for overnight flight to Rome departing at 6:00 p.m.

Dec 27 Arrive Roma FCO at 8:30 a.m. Since we will have to pick up our luggage and clear customs, I did not schedule the 11:00 a.m. flight because I do not want to take any chances on missing it. Depart Roma on Alitalia at 12:55 p.m., arrive Palermo at 1:55 After we all get to the Palermo airport, a chartered bus will pick us up and take us to the Hotel Mondello Palace in Mondello (01139091450001). Plan to spend the rest of the day getting what you need. If sleep deprived, take a nap (but set an alarm for two hours, max.) After semi-recovery, you will enjoy exploring Mondello, a delightful former fishing village. Dinner at hotel restaurant.

Dec 28 9:00 a.m. departure from hotel for half-day city tour of Palermo, including the Norman Palace, Monreale and the Capuccini Monastery and other sites that our local guide will want to show us. At the end of the tour you will have the option of staying in Palermo and returning on your own via public transportation or returning with the coach to the hotel. Dinner at hotel restaurant.

Dec 29 9:00 a.m. departure from hotel for a visit to the Archaeological Museum with Dr. Alessi. Lunch in Palermo. Afternoon return to Mondello or, again, the option of staying in Palermo and returning on your own via public transportation.

Dec 30 9:00 a.m. coach transfer to Agrigento and the Hotel Villa Athena (011390922596288) in the Valley of the Temples. En route we will stop at the ancient Grecian sites of Segesta (short but steep climb) and Selinunte (flat but irregular steps). Dinner at hotel restaurant.

Dec 31 Morning walking tour of the Valley of the Temples and a visit to the museum. We will gather at the hotel restaurant at 1:45 for a celebratory end of the year bash, complete with champagne, antipasti, copious vino and a multi-course dinner. You are free after that to go out on the town (a bit complicated, but possible) or go to bed for awhile and then get up at 11:30 and bring in the New Year toasting the 2400-year-old Temple of Concordia across from the hotel.

Jan 1 If you are awake at the time, lift a coffee cup at 7:00 a.m. for Y2K in San Antonio, 8:00 a.m. for Denver and Phoenix, or 9:00 a.m. for Los Angeles and Seattle. We should be ready to leave by 10:00 a.m. for a leisurely drive to Siracusa (Syracuse). En route we will stop first at Gela to honor the fallen at the site of the first invasion of Europe by the Allied forces in World War II. We will then detour slightly out of our way to visit Noto. Devastated by an earthquake in 1693, it was rebuilt totally in Baroque style. In Siracusa, we will stay in the Grand Hotel (011390931464600). Dinner in the superb hotel restaurant.

Jan 2 Full and interesting day exploring Siracusa. There are many Greco-Roman sites that Dr. Alessi will want us to see. We will use the bus for the first part and then finish with a walking tour on the island where our hotel is located. Dinner at the hotel.

Jan 3 10:00 a.m. transfer from Siracusa to Reggio Calabria. En route we will visit Mt. Etna if the weather and the volcano are cooperative. We will take the ferry across the straits of Messina. Don’t worry: The whirlpool that sank many a ship is now history–an earthquake did it in during the last century. Our hotel for our one night in Reggio is the Excelsior Grand Hotel (011390965-812211). Dinner at the hotel restaurant.

Jan 4 Be packed and ready to go when you come down to breakfast. We will want to be at the museum (right across the street) when it opens at 9:00. The reason we are stopping for one night in Reggio is to view the two statues, I Bronzi di Riace. These are two of my favorite works of art from any age or genre. I will lead you directly to the statues but will not give a presentation–read the displays and ask questions afterwards. We will need to have the bus rolling at 10:00 a.m. for our long drive north. At Salerno we will turn left and follow the Amalfi Coast heading into Sorrento. If you have a tendency towards motion sickness, make sure you take your medication before the Amalfi Coast part of the drive. Our hotel in Sorrento is the Grand Hotel Ambasciatori (011390818782026). Dinner at the hotel restaurant.

Jan 5 You have a choice today to go to Pompeii with Dr. Alessi or to Capri with me. Pompeii is included as part of the tour. I will subsidize the Capri tour (hydrofoil, guide) up to the amount that I’m paying per person for Pompeii, resulting in a probable cost of about L. 50.000. Please note: If you have not been to Pompeii, I recommend that you go there rather than Capri. Also, BOTH activities are weather dependent. If the rain is pouring down, we will substitute the visit to the National Museum in Napoli (scheduled for Jan. 6) and hope that the weather improves for tomorrow. Dinner at the hotel restaurant.

Jan 6 Half-day excursion to the National Museum in Napoli. This is highly recommended. Located here are all of the treasures that have been saved from Pompeii. Rome will make a lot more sense after you go through this museum. Fair warning–the management has a maddening tendency to capriciously close various rooms. Don’t go with your heart set on seeing specific things that you have read about. Concentrate on what is available. Afternoon return to Sorrento to allow some time for serious shopping (wood inlay, cameos). Dinner at the hotel restaurant.

Jan 7 9:00 a.m. transfer to Roma and the Hotel Diana (01139064827541). Afternoon free in Rome. Dinner at 7:30 at Alfredo’s, a neighborhood trattoria that Dr. Alessi found several years ago.

Jan 8 Main Tour: Short walk to Roma Termini train station to take train to airport. (In a pinch you can take a cab.) 8:20 departure for airport. 11:00 departure for USA. Rome Extension: Visit Forum and Palatine Hill. NOTE: On any of the daily activities, you may choose to go with Dr. Alessi or not, but your admission fees to the sites will only be paid if you are with the group. Dinner TBA.

Jan 9 Daily activity: Imperial Fora, Markets of Trajan and Colosseum. Dinner TBA.

Jan 10 Daily activity: Vatican. Dinner TBA.

Jan 11 Daily activity: EUR. Dinner TBA.

Jan 12 Short walk to Roma Termini train station to take train to airport. (In a pinch you can take a cab.) 8:20 departure for airport. 11:00 departure for USA.