In this post we would share the 2nd cycling day experience by Enzo, our canadian customer who shared with us his travel book notes.
I slept well after a long, hot ride down from Corleone on Day 2, and an amazing dinner served up by Rosario. I
woke up well-rested on my third touring day, and decided to spend it in Agrigento to tour the local sites.
My
brief riding summary for the day was:
Distance: 9 km
Elevation Gain: 193 metres
Elevation Loss: 193 metres
I checked with Patrizia, and she had a room available for another night at B&B Dei Templi by Patrizia
(http://www.bbdeitempli.it/). She also gave me a key to the garage, so I could get my bike in and out of there as
I pleased throughout the day.
The day started with an espresso and fresh pastry at a local bar across the street. Some of the B&B’s I stayed in
would offer this for the breakfast option, and it gave me a chance to meet and chat with some of the locals. Next
stop was a street vendor to pick up a bag of fresh fruit for a Euro. This would end up being a daily tradition
before I started riding for the day.
Today’s ride was quite minimal, not even hitting double-digit kilometres! It was made even more relaxing by
leaving the saddle bags behind at the B&B. My destination was the Valle dei Templi
(http://www.parcovalledeitempli.it/ , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valle_dei_Templi ), just a few km south of
town. This is one of the great attractions in Sicilia that takes you away to a different time and place. In this case,
it was ancient Greece in the 5th and 6th centuries BC – over 2,500 years ago! The Greeks left behind some
beautiful temples, in various states of preservation in an area they referred to as Akragas (now called Agrigento).
After spending a few hours wandering through ancient Greece, it was a short ride (uphill) back to modern Siicilia.
I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering through this bustling town of about 60,000 people, and enjoying my
afternoon coffee at the same bar in which I started my day. I also got myself organized for the next day, and
booked a B&B in Piazza Armerina – just over 100 km away.
For dinner, I could not think of any better choice that a return visit to Pizzeria Gastronomia Manzoni
(http://www.paginegialle.it/pizzeriamanzoni ). Tonight I just had to try one of the mouth-watering pizzas I had
seen Rosario Salerno prepare the night before. I was not disappointed, and Rosario made sure I was well-taken
care of with appetizers, salad and vino to accompany one of his speciality pizzas.
