Day 6 Trapani Sicily

So today we are further along the top of Sicily and this morning we docked in Trapani, we all thought the same and the view from the ship was already much better than yesterdays port Messina. Today Lorna had arranged for a walk around a town/village at the top of the Trapani Cable car, we had contacted a few companies for wine tours and bike tours but we had no replies so we took it upon ourselves to find something to do. So after break fast we walked off the ship and wandered up the road a bit to a taxi rank and got into a min-van and asked to be taken to the bottom of the Funicular, our driver agreed 20 Euros of all of us so we were happy with that. 20 minutes later we we dropped of and we paid the 9.50E each for a return trip to the top.
The weather was again fantastic and 10 minutes later we were at the top, now Lorna had know about the town Erice which was meant to be at the top but we couldn’t see it straight away but there were cars passing by the exit, so we walked out and all of a sudden there it was a huge hill top ancient village Erice. It was amazing as you cant see this from down below and we were high 2,500ft above sea level. We walked straight to the bell tower and there was a lady there selling tickets so we all got the main ticket that got us into all the monuments and attractions in this amazing village. The cost was 6E each. We walked to the top trying to avoid hitting our heads again like before, it was a lot harder as the stairwell was very steep and narrow, so as a large group were coming down we all had to try and go up past them on the skinny part of the steps.
We mad it to the top and took the usual selfies and photos of the area, just as we were ready to go down the bell sounded and took us all by surprise.
From here we carried on around the village taking in photo opportunities, this place is truly amazing such a beautiful place hidden high up. We ended being up there for nearly 3 hours and we were all hungry and thirsty so we walked back to a restaurant we had seen earlier that advertised a panoramic roof terrace and pizzas. So we got a little lost finding it but eventually rolled up and got seated. We ordered a round of beers and tried to order a pizza but was told they had none, and not only that it had been ages and only Lornas bottle of beer had arrived. There was also a family with a yapping dog sat next to us so unfortunately I got Hangry which amused the rest, eventually the beers turned up but I had to settle for a cheese and ham baguette, when it turned up is was Mozzarella which I cant stand so, my lunch was a disaster which amused the others. So after lunch we wandered back to the cable car and headed down, we tried to call our previous taxi driver but he didnt get back to us but when we got to the bottom we were happy to see another mini-van waiting for us, so we jumped in and headed back to the ship, JJ and Bill wanted to buy some Olive oil and asked the driver if there was something nearby but we were told that all the shops were closed and would. not open until 4pm. Seriously Italians like there breaks during the day. The driver showed us a supermarket which was walking distance from the ship so the guys decided they would risk the run out later. The ships departure meant all guests had to be back on at 4:30pm so it would be tight. We got back to the ship and went back to our room for some drinks. It eventually got to 3:50pm and the guys walked off the ship to get their oil, the rest of us went up to the grill bar for drinks and also a chance to see the guys stranded by the dock as we pulled away LOL.
The guys got back with there oil but not from the shop we were show as they didnt open until 4:30 but they found a place and got what they were after. The rest of the afternoon was drinks and as the clocks had gone back it was getting a bit dark and chilly at 5:30pm. Now the ship should have left by now but they were still loading provisions so we would leave late tonight. We headed back to the rooms to get ready for tonight in the main restaurant. We had some pre drinks in Brandons cabin and went up at around 8pm. We had our meal and we were all feeling quite tired from the heat of today and the walking so as we had a early night, ready for Sardinia tomorrow. If your ever in Sicily you must visit Erice its an amazing place.