The town of Erice and a culinary journey

We are staying near the town of Castellammare del Golfo, which is west of Palermo on the island of Sicily.  But, west of here and atop a hill there is a small town of Erice (pronounced EH-ree-cheh) which, while it can be reached by car, is commonly reached by cable car, it is so high above nearby towns.  

Sam with his granita and the sugo arancino

So, one morning we drove to the base of the cable car in Trapani/Erice, bought our round-trip tickets and hopped on to the nearest cable car. For those who have ever taken a ski lift in the summer it was not anything special. Ale, Nate and Sam, however, had never taken a cable car in the Summer, so for them, it was exciting and new. At the top, we had the privilege to walk up even more hills!

One of the first places we arrived at was a small cafe/bar, at which we promptly stopped and ordered water and coffee to start. We had yet to eat Sicilian granita which we felt earned the hype, so we tried again. The boys each ordered 'arancia' (orange) and I ordered caffè con panna (coffee with cream). The boys granite arrived in lovely glass dishes with a pretty flower-shaped swirl on top. The granita itself was delicious, a natural orange flavor with a smooth texture while still being dense. Mine was served in the same type of dish but my granita had whipped cream on top. The consistency of my granita was more course but had a true coffee flavor which was delicious with the cream.

The miniscule 'sidewalk' Nate found

We also ordered arancini, which I knew to be a Sicilian specialty from our former (Sicilian) au pair, Donia, having had told us about them. Arancini are fried rice balls. There seem to be 2 types: prosciutto and sugo. The prosciutto has an inner core of ham and mozzarella surrounded by a layer of rice which is then breaded and fried. The sugo has rather same breaded and fried outer portion with a tomato-meat-peas sauce center. They were both delicious! Donia's mom told us they were too difficult to make, but I can guarantee that Brian and/or I will be trying it at home some time this year...

After our hunger and thirst was satisfied, we took off to discover Erice. It is an interesting town which has been relatively untouched by the ravages of time and plundering.  Because of Sicily's position between Europe and Africa, there have been numerous countries/civilizations in control over the years, which creates a fascinating mix of architectural styles and influences.  It was a hot day and the town is quite hilly, but we persevered in exploring the town.  Nate did discover a very narrow "sidewalk" which we took as part of our tour of town.  We visited a few different shops, finding quite a different assortment of geegaws and postcards and eventually settled in another bar/cafe for a lunchtime snack of sliced cured meats, a mixed salad, a little pizza and LOTS of water, frizzante and naturale.  As a brief side note, Sam has somehow dug in his heels about sparkling (frizzante) water here, in Italy.  While he used to drink sparkling water at home, he now says that he doesn't like it and only will drink "NORMAL" water.  The rest of us drink sparkling water and so, most times we order him his own special small bottle of "normal" water.  We have tried to resist this tyranny, but he has held steadfast!

Bar della Loggia in Erice, our best gelato in Italy!

While having our snack, we noticed a gelateria across the piazza and told the boys they could have a gelato after we ate.  They had been, after all, great troupers through the day and earned themselves a treat.  We went over and I got a lemon granita and they each got gelato on cones.  In a little isolated tourist town in Sicily, we found what I consider the BEST gelato we have had here in Italy so far!  There have been contenders to be sure, but this was so unexpected and wonderful!

The view coming down from Erice to Trapani

Having had our fill of wonderful sights, a lot of walking and climbing and many Sicilian culinary discoveries, we made our way to the cable car and back down.  If you ever find your way to western Sicily, it is true, Erice is not to be missed!