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For more information, call: 800-935-5000 or visit:
www.centralholidays.comDAY 1
I
FRI
I
PALERMO
After your morning arrival into Palermo’s
Airport, you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Balance of the
day is at leisure. Tonight enjoy dinner at a local restaurant. (D)
DAY 2
I
SAT
I
PALERMO
This morning enjoy a tour of Palermo
featuring the Massimo Theater, Quattro Canti, a splendid example
of Spanish Baroque architecture, the Palace of the Normans, and
the Cathedral housing the shrine of Santa Rosalia. The last stop will
be at the Abbey of Monreale, an Arab-Norman Cathedral built in the
12th century famous for its magnificent Byzantine mosaics and the
adjacent Benedictine cloister. Balance of the day is at leisure to relax
or to take an optional tour of Cefalu, a picturesque fishing village
outside of Palermo. (B)
DAY 3
I
SUN
I
PALERMO
I
ERICE
I
MARSALA
I
AGRIGENTO
This
morning we take a breathtaking scenic drive up to the medieval town
of Erice. After the Elymians settled here, it became an important
religious site associated with the goddess Venus. Wander through
its ancient streets, each cobbled with rectangular stones, and take
some time to stop by one of the famous homemade pastry shops
selling delicacies such as marzipan candies and pistachio pastries.
After enjoying an olive oil tasting session and lunch accompanied by
Marsala wine at a local farmhouse, we will travel along a coastline
mostly made up of salt pans built back in Roman times. Overnight in
Agrigento. (B,L)
DAY 4
I
MON
I
AGRIGENTO
I
RAGUSA
This morning enjoy a guided
tour of “The Valley of the Temples”, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
One of the main archaeological treasures of the Mediterranean, this
site is immersed in a rural landscape of rare beauty characterized
by the presence of century-old olive and almond trees. Your guided
walking tour will cover about one mile in a mostly downhill direction,
with stops along the “Via Sacra” (holy pathway) to admire the Temple
of Concordia, the Temple of Herakles and ruins of the Temple of
Zeus. In the afternoon we continue to Ragusa. Dinner and overnight
at hotel. (B,D)
DAY 5
I
TUE
I
RAGUSA
I
MODICA
I
ORTIGIA (SYRACUSE)
I
TAORMINA
/GIARDINI NAXOS
Today’s first stop will be in Modica, a quaint
historic town and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Boasting some very
fine Baroque architecture, picturesque views and historic sites,
Modica is also known for its chocolate. Rich, dark and crumbly, it
is produced in a traditional method imported from the New World
by Sicily’s Spanish overlords. After a chocolate tasting session
at one of the most prestigious chocolate makers, we continue to
the enchanting island of Ortigia, the old town center of Syracuse.
Highlights of Ortigia are the cathedral square with its church built
over an ancient Greek temple and the beautiful promenade with its
panorama over the sea and the natural bay of the town. Dinner and
overnight at hotel. (B,D)
Roman ruins in Marsala
Valley of Temples