Today we are heading out of town with our FIAT Panda to visit the Segesta Archeological site and afterwards have lunch at an agriturismo nearby. On our walk through town to the parking lot, we pass through the pretty park. Our car is waiting for us right where we left it and once inside & connected to our google map for the day, we are off and running. 

The drive out of Trapani is a little traffic-y but not really that bad. Once out of the town proper, there are fewer cars on the road. The drive on the motorway is through beautiful countryside with views everywhere we look. The area we are visiting is only about 30 minutes or so out of town so it’s an easy drive to our exit. 

At the Segesta exit, we circle around to the parking lot where we leave our car & catch the shuttle bus that goes further up to the Segesta site. Once there, we head to the ticket counter and purchase the entrance ticket. There are several places to visit here in Segesta including an ancient temple in a Greek-style and an ancient theatre. There are smaller ruins to see along the way as well. These places have been here for about 2000 years. The setting here is up in these small mountains with incredible views. We can even see the sea across the valley between two mountain areas. It’s stunning!

Getting to the sites involves a bit of walking, uphill. We take it slow and steady in the increasing heat and hot sunshine. First we visited the temple which is a walk from the visitor center. The next part involves a shuttle bus that goes up the mountain to the theatre and other ruins. Some people are walking the 1250 meters up hill... really? We hop on the shuttle bus. We are happy that in both directions we don’t have much of a wait to catch the shuttle bus... it’s a hot one with this Saharan heat coming up to roast Europe this week. 

After visiting Segesta, we leave the parking lot and turn directly onto a dirt road (white road in Italy) to reach the Agriturismo for lunch. We have reservations at Noon. It’s about 11:45 at the moment. The first part of this dirt road is a steep climb but all straight-away. After that climb, we travel down the narrow road that winds it’s way to our destination. I am happy to not encounter any other vehicles coming from the other direction on the drive. We arrive safe & sound !

Agriturismo Tenuta Pispisa is stunning. We arrive right at Noon but are told that they will serve lunch at 12:30 but we can sit by the pool and enjoy a glass of their locally-produced wine. Sure, that sounds like a plan we can live with .... after a relax in the shade with our vino, we are seated on the outdoor patio. The server explains the meal as they have no menu. We request a vegetarian option for both starter and pasta course. The lunch is leisurely and so very delicious. Just check out the pictures. We have so much food that we are offered take away boxes for all of our left-over pasta! Everything in total was only 20 euro per person including wine and water. What a great lunch. 

We are so ready for a rest back at our apartment. So after driving the less than an hour back to the rental car agency we are a little dismayed at the discovery that the rental office doesn’t open for another hour. Ugh... we drive around a little bit and find nothing interesting in the immediate area so we park at the rental agency and wait. Once the guy comes back to the office, he quickly checks our car back in and arranges for another guy to drive us back into the town centre. So nice! And helpful as now we don’t have to wait for a taxi! 

After a nice rest period at our apartment, we get ready to go walk around town before dinner. We head to the Tenuta Adragna wine bar where we have vouchers for a free glass of wine. The guy there is friendly and offers us choices in both red and white varieties. The glasses are drawn directly from the barrels. 

Next we walked over to the promenade along the sea to see the views and walk along to the pizzeria for a light dinner. We skip the pizza but share some delicious calamari, a tomato salad and a tiramisu a pistachio for dessert. Aperol Spritz #4 for me ... it’s a good one!

Feeling like we had a full day of fun, we head back home for the night. Buona Notte Trapani !