#45daysofblogging 15: Castellammare del Golfo

Day 15 - September 1

Sicily gave me many amazing things – a community to belong to, the new language, lots of great experiences, both personal and professional. But the biggest treasure I found here were people. And sometimes those people were from the same country and even city, then I am, but we’ve got to meet only here, in the land of fried food and beautiful sea. 

So yes, during my EVS life decided that I need a roommate that actually lived in Kyiv at the same time I was, worked in the place I loved to come to and I’m pretty sure we’ve seen each other before, as we remember the same Spanish conversation club, that was my Saturday morning activity for a bit.

We’ve shared a room for a bit, then I had to leave, then she had to leave, then we’ve met in Kyiv, then I came back to Sicily, and then she came back. And now she left again, this time only for a bit. But before that we’ve managed to have many nice shopping sessions, nostalgic walks around the city, obligatory visits to Carrefour on piazza Marina, endless cups of cappuccino and even bought the same shoes. And also a very nice day trip to Castellammare del Golfo and Scopello. 

I’ve already been there once, but honestly – it’s always a good idea. The towns are cute and small, the sea is amazing, and the fooooood… 

The first time I went to Castellammare del Golfo was two years ago, one day before Festino (I guess I will dedicate a whole blog post to what is it and why Santa Rosalia is the main patron saint of Palermo). We rented a boat and went along the shore of Zingaro, as I described in my second recommendation. It was a beautiful day – we were swimming, sunbathing, drinking beer, exploring small caves by the shore. As the result I got some tan, got stung by a jelly fish (for the first and hopefully last time in my life) and fell in love with Castellammare del Golfo forever. 

So, if you are thinking about a good place for a one-day trip, look no more. You can get there by car (of course) or by bus – there are buses from Palermo to Castellammare, that don’t cost much and will let you see a big part of the coast line from the window. 

* BUT – don’t trust the schedules you might find in the internet. Really. And if you have a car option available – take it. 

What to do there? 

- Go to the beach at Castellammare del Golfo 

- Rent a boat and go along the coast line of Zingaro natural reserve – it’s unbelievably beautiful and you can chose any beach you like to make a stop. 

- Or go hiking to Zingaro – it’s so beautiful one day there equals to a week of vacation. 

- Go to the castle/museum, read more about the history of seamanship in this region. For the most attentive ones – find the poster about L. Ron Hubbard, who created the church of scientology. We were as surprised as you are! 

- Walk around and enjoy the beauty of a small Sicilian town.

Summer uniform - stripes, linen, cotton and red tennis shoes

- The same goes also for Scopello – I love it a lot mostly because it’s so small and pretty. 

- Also Scopello and all this part of Sicily is famous for pane cunzato – a wonderfully delicious sandwich with olive oil, oregano, tomatoes, anchovies and cheese. There one place in Scopello (anyone will show it to you, if you ask), where they make the best pane cunzato you will ever try. Trust me, it’s one of Sicilian must-eats. 

So take this post as a huge rec from me. It’s the part of Sicily I dearly love for more than two years and will never miss a chance to go there for a weekend. Hope that this post was both entertaining and somehow useful! See you tomorrow!

* Roberto, thank you s much for the photos!