Set atop a mountain overlooking Trapani, in Sicily's northwestern corner, the town of Erice has a history rooted in mythology. We spent a few hours getting lost on the uneven stone roads and tiny alleys which curve senselessly about the town, and felt as though we'd stepped back in time. If only the weather had played along.
During our day trip to Sicily's northwestern extreme, we only had a couple hours to explore Trapani. That's not nearly enough time to do justice to this city of 70,000, but it was winter. Days are shorter, and we also had Erice to get to. So we confined ourselves to Trapani's historic center, which begins as the city branches off from the island and becomes a narrow strip of land jutting into the sea.
Sicily is a large island and, although we'd love to explore every city, village, hill and coastline, there's no way we'd ever be able to in just 91 days. But some cities are close enough to Palermo to serve as easy day trips. Trapani and its hilltop neighbor Erice are two such towns, just a couple hours away, and we hopped on an early morning bus to check them out.
