Europe Through the Eyes of a Tree Nerd Part 5

Ferry from Livorno to Sicily.

We became interested in making it to Sicily for the ancient melting pot of ethnicity that it has been for 10,000 years.  Then we caught on to the fact that we could take a ferry there from Northern Italy rather than drive all of that Italian highway to the very toe of the boot.

We drove our car right onto the ferry, checked into our private room on the ship, and cruised all night. By early afternoon we arrived in the port of Palermo.

We stayed in the impeccably restored Palazzo Brunaccini surrounded by a plethora of UNESCO-protected sites.

Banyan - aka Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla).

Capella Palatina.

Sicillian Carreto.

The Cappella Palatina was my favorite, covered with brilliant mosaics attributed to Byzantine artists. Outside the chapel, lunch was available to be enjoyed in the shade of a twisted old Banyan and palms.

We made the Valley of the Temples, a day trip to the other side of the island, a priority. Another UNESCO world heritage site, there is a series of well preserved temples dating from the 6th century BC. One starts at the top and walks downhill all day from one temple to the next.

Almond tree, Prunus amygdalus.

Olives, almonds and even citrus have survived amongst the dry pre-Christian ruins dedicated to gods and goddesses of Greek mythology.

Midway down the trail we smelled lunch and entered a garden of fragrant rosemary for focaccia sandwiches and perfect cappuccino.

Olive. Olea europaea.

Looking into the distance through this gnarled olive trunk, I gained the perspective that the arc of our travels had brought us to our most remote location and from here on we would be on the way home.

There are trees in Boulder who are calling me back.