Worlds collide in Erice - palermo, cefalu, taormina

It has been a few days since I posted and there is so much to update!

I fell sick after being very dehydrated a few days ago after going up to Erice to meet with my friend who was at a conference on the Evolution of Morality. What a fantastic and picturesque hill top town to have a conference in! Amazing.

The next day we travelled to Palermo and spent the day walking about, looking at the old cathedrals and theatres. We stayed at 'Your Hostel' and the owners were very friendly and recommended us some amazing retaurants. That night, we found a bottle of wine to drink of the rooftop terrace.

At the moment, Sicily is not very busy. This is nice because we often book 6 bed dorm rooms and they end up being private. The downside is there are fewer tourists to meet along the way.

This afternoon we went to Cefalu, a seaside resort town, to spend a few hours on the beach soaking up the sun and reading. After getting a nice burn, we continued to Taormina.

Taormina was the first place we had any trouble booking a hostel, as there is a film festival on right now, so we ended up in a neighbouring town called Giardini Naxos, at The Gianni House. It is a big place, and again the 6 person dorm is empty.

Taormina is a hilltop town, but Giardini Naxos is right by the shore. It is beautiful here, and we will stay a few days. Tonight we found a nice pizzaria on the boardwalk and watched the Spain vs. France Eurocup game. I could eat pizza and Caprese salads all day.... and I do!

On the way back to the hostel, we passed by a Discotequa that is like an original Jersey Shore type of club. Girls all dressed up in stilletos and men who are dress very... shiney. We contemplated stopping in, just for fun, and a few Americans at the hostel wanted to go, however there was a large line and not knowing the culture or being dressed up, I was intimidated.

I remember going to clubs in Tel Aviv a few years ago and having my friend who was living in Israel take care of leading me through the protocols for smoothly entering and getting 'chosen' to enter the clubs. Like in Tel Aviv, the club here did not have a line, but a mob out front. Maybe they would have been sympathetic to tourists, but we decided to just take it easy instead.

I plan to dive tomorrow morning, so stoked!