Friday, March 18, 1966 — We left the Cleveland airport at 4:15 PM on a warm, sunny day, 60 degrees, to start our trip to Sicily. Peter met us at our gate in New York. He had come from New Haven. We all dashed to the Pan-Am terminal as we had less than an hour to make our 6:30 flight to Rome. All on board on time to have cocktails and dinner and a movie to keep us entertained on the shortest night I can remember, as we lose six hours flying east. We saw the brilliant red dawn about one o’clock Cleveland time. We flew over the Isle of Jersey and then south over the Alps and the Dolomites. A beautiful sight in the early morning light. We arrived in Rome with the sun shining and the temperature 45 degrees. Again we were close on time for our connecting flight to Palermo and when we hurried to get our luggage discovered it had not made the flight in New York. Peter’s bag was there but we had six pieces missing.
At this point in the evening in Palermo they have not been located.
We are staying at the Grand Hotel Villa Igiea and it is large, beautiful and on the edge of a beautiful bay. The water is a real Mediterranean blue. We have lovely rooms overlooking the bay but we don’t have toothbrushes! We had dinner at the Olympic restaurant.
Saturday, March 19 — We woke at dawn to fishermen calling in the bay as they pulled in their nets. Jim left for the airport to look for the missing bags while I returned to bed. Wonder of wonders, he returned with them about nine o’clock. We met our guide Miss Dagnino, and set out for some of the sights of Palermo. It was St. Joseph’s Day, a national Sicilian holiday, so all the shops and schools were closed. We confined our sight-seeing to the Norman Palace, Mount Pellegrino, Mondello Beach. We saw the Palatine Chapel in the Palace. It is Arab Norman style, 12th century. The floors, ceilings and walls are mosaic. Late in the afternoon we visited Villa Boscogrande which our guide’s family leases and in which they operate a discotheque. A magnificent 18th century villa, it was the locale of the movie “The Leopard”. The boys returned at night to check out the action. I said Palermo By Night. The next morning Peter said he wasn’t going to wear a button down shirt while we were in Sicily. They stood out in the crowd. AMERICANS.
Sunday, March 20 — We woke to a cold rain. What a disappointment the weather is. We decided to drive to Segesta. Armed with Dr. Millikin’s detailed instructions on how to enjoy it, Jim, Peter and I took off. Steve chose to stay at the hotel. At Segesta, some 70 or 80 km. west of Palermo, is one of the best preserved Greek temples in the world. The road wound over mountains and through little towns, many of them with a strong Moorish feeling in the architecture. We saw the temple in the late afternoon through a mist of soft rain. It was a very impressive sight, magnificent, standing alone in the valley. We also visited the Greek amphitheater near there before starting back to Palermo. We passed charcoal makers huts on the way down the mountain. Driving back through the dark towns in the rain, we found the weather did not keep people indoors. They were walking the usual Sunday night promenade in black clothes with black umbrellas.
At dinner we met Mr. Boggs, an American whom Steve had met during the afternoon. He is a production man for Goodyear and a very interesting person. He is driving in a sports car from Turkey to Europe.
Monday, March 21 — The weather is very cold here so we are going to try Tunis. Today was spent in Palermo making arrangements for our trip there. While Jim and the boys were in American Express, they unexpectedly met our guide, Clotilda Dagnino. We arranged to meet her at the flea market at one o’clock. From there we went to lunch at Caprice, a very good restaurant. After lunch the boys played billiards and Jim finished changing the airline tickets. A late dinner finished our day. A note about our elegant hotel: I ventured down the hall and found the elegant ballroom. The walls were covered with murals from the Art Nouveau period. Mucha, I’m sure.
Tuesday, March 22 — We left the Villa Igiea quite early and went directly to Monreale on the outskirts of Palermo to see the Benedictine Abbey (12th century). Beautiful church and cloister, magnificent mosaics. We drove through the hilly countryside all day, eating a picnic lunch along the road. We stopped in a little mountain town, Vicari, to climb a goat path to a ruined castle on top. The few villagers didn’t seem to be expecting tourists and seemed surprised to see us. We showed them the guide book mentioning the ruins. The mayor then got his best coat and led the way up the path. We arrived in Agrigento about three o’clock and we saw some of the Greek temples before dinner. The weather is still cold and windy.
Wednesday, March 23 — WE got off to a late start this morning and drove all day through a cold rain. The road went through the mountains and the turns were tortuous. We arrived at Siracusa about six o’clock. We left the hotel and drove out in the rain again to have dinner in a restaurant in the Citta Vecchia. This city was the home of Archimedes.
Thursday, March 24 — We started out in the sunshine but it faded as we got near Catania. While in the city stalled in noon day traffic, we had a minor traffic accident when Peter opened the car door to see what was going on. A bicycler going fast in the curb lane hit the door so hard he stunned himself and damaged the car door as well as the bicycle. After minutes of talking and arm waving we gave him some money and departed as there was nothing we could do.
We had a nice picnic lunch alongside the road. Steve drove as we started up the mountain range in increasing rain and fog. We drove all afternoon up hairpin turns, over a damaged road. Great banks of fog gave the whole landscape an unreal look, like a Chinese landscape. After winding down the mountains towards the sea, we finally arrived at Capo d’Orlando, a small seaside town. It is evidently a summer resort as it is certainly dead now. We have rooms at the Hotel Bristol, a small unsophisticated hotel. It is still raining.
Friday, March 25 — We made a slow start this morning as we planned a fairly short drive. Before we left town we watched a funeral procession winding on foot up the mountain road. We arrived at Cefalu about three o’clock and saw some of the town. The cathedral was of particular interest. It was built in the 12th century by Roger II, a Norman king.
Saturday, March 26 — We left Cefalu very early as we wanted to stop at Palermo before going to the airport. It is still raining and cold but we hoped for warm weather in Tunis. We left at two o’clock and arrived in Tunis to find the weather just as cold. This is a lovely town, a mixture of French and Arabic people and architecture. We had dinner at Le Palais, an elegant restaurant where I sampled the native dish, couscous (mistake).
Sunday, March 27 — This morning rather late, we drove along the shore near Tunis looking for a beach and came across the Hotel Amilcar (Hannibal) at Sidi Bou Said. A new hotel, it is right on the lovely shore and is a luxury class hotel, at least here in Tunisia. We immediately checked out of the Majestic Hotel in downtown Tunis and into the Amilcar. While sunning on the beach, we chatted with a fashion photographer from Paris who was doing a shoot in Tunis. This evening we went to the Tunis Hilton for dinner and it is really one of the most beautiful hotels. It is designed in keeping with local culture and climate.
Monday, March 28 — Today dawned beautiful and sunny and we spent the whole day at the beach. During the day, Peter got acquainted with a French girl named Marie Claude. At cocktails we met more people – Bernadette Lucien and Alan Appel, a Peace Corps worker from St. Louis. They recommended a restaurant in Sidi Bou Said called L’Olivier Rouge. It’s a beautiful native building enclosed in courtyards. However the food was bad and so was the service.
Tuesday, March 29 — Today is cloudy and windy. We took Peter to the airport to fly to Florence. Then we went to the Medina in Tunis. It is the old quarter of the city and is now used as a marketplace (souk). There are narrow winding streets and passages with open shops of rugs, clothes, metal work, etc. For lunch we went to Chez Slah, a lovely restaurant hidden away on a side street. In the afternoon we drove back to Sidi Bou Said to pay the restaurant for our dinner last night as they couldn’t cash a travelers check. We drove around the town and found it completely charming. It has white domed buildings, blue doors and narrow cobbled streets. After some discussion at dinner about Djerba, Jim decided to go alone while we stayed at the Amilcar.
Wednesday, March 30 — We left early for Tunis and a few minutes conversation with Allen Appel who advised Jim about the trip to Djerba. As a result Jim joined the Touring Club of Tunisia (15 Rue Des Belges) and was off in a short while in our rented car for an adventure by himself. He bought a case of Evian before leaving. I proceeded to the government owned store of Tunisian Arts and Crafts where they have beautiful rugs and pottery. When it closed for lunch I went back to the medina and bought two wool coats and two blankets. When I arrived at the hotel for dinner Steve was just getting in by trolley from Tunis where he spent the day with the sketch artist from the hotel.
Thursday, March 31 — I tried to go into town this morning but the taxi never came so I retired to the beach to wait for the afternoon shopping hours. I shared a small taxi with a Danish couple on the trip into town. I went back to the government store and bought one bed cover and one stole ($32) and had them shipped to Cleveland by boat ($8)!!!. Also managed to get my hair done and visit an antique shop for a charm. When it came time to return to the hotel it was impossible to find a taxi, so I walked to the trolley station and came back that way. It was very old and noisy with wooden cars and hard seats. The fare was 100 millems (.20) as opposed to $1.25 for a taxi or 3 dinar 200 millems for the hotel station wagon.
Friday, April 1 — I woke up to sun and a strong wind, in fact so strong the palm trees were bent over. While wandering around the terrace I met Mr. and Mrs. Weinberg from New York and we immediately joined forces and went to Sidi Bou Said for lunch. We went to Dar Zarrouk restaurant which looks out over the sea and has delicious food. As we wandered around after lunch we noticed a small hotel near the restaurant. We stopped to look at it and found it is under the same management as the restaurant. It is an old sultan’s palace with thirteen guest rooms. We saw several and they are charming with white walls, high ceilings and a view of the sea. There are blue iron gratings on all the windows. The wind was still blowing tonight at dinner and is not very encouraging for tomorrow. Today was an Islamic holiday, a feast day.
Saturday, April 2 — Today is even worse than yesterday. The wind is so strong I cancelled the morning visit to Carthage but went in the afternoon with the Danish couple. The site of ancient Carthage is very extensive and impressive, particularly the Roman baths. There I saw a plaque presented by the citizens of Carthage, Mo., where my uncle lives!! Part of the afternoon we traveled in a caliche. I’m seeing all sorts of Tunisian transportation. Jim returned this afternoon from his jaunt to Djerba with all sorts of tales of his adventures. He had a flat tire in the dark countryside, met some Peace Corps people, stayed in a troglodyte village, and saw the huge coliseum at Djem. Steve has been sick all day but didn’t miss much with this weather.
Sunday, April 3 — We left the Amilcar and Tunisia today with a little trouble at the airport about some missing lires. Steve had left a little money in the hotel room. We finally settled it with some help from a French-speaking tourist. Our flight to Rome was uneventful. We left Steve at the airport, not feeling much better. He stayed all night in the airport and joined Peter on the same flight back to the States. We felt a little guilty about leaving a sick kid but continued our way to Paris. It is lovely to be here. Although it is quite cold, the city is beautiful. We are staying at the St. James, the same hotel where we stayed on our first trip to Paris. Tonight we walked to the Hotel Lotti to have dinner. The St. James is a lovely old hotel and our room looks out on a courtyard with gravel paths and spring flowers blooming. The birds are singing. It is really spring.
Monday, April 4 — Jim left for Montmartre this morning in search of Roger Conte of billiard fame. This was after we had walked through Place Vendome and along the Rue de la Paix. I wandered back visiting shops and finally ended at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs to see a show of art and objects from 1900 on – art nouveau. Tonight we had dinner at Fouquet’s and visited Le Drugstore.
Tuesday, April 5 — Jim was off again for the billiard place to get the cues he ordered yesterday. I took a cab to the left bank and spent about two hours wandering in and out of galleries on the Rue de Seine and the Boulevard Saint-Germain. The Paris painting is certainly no better than, or even as good as, the New York school. Tonight we had dinner at the Relais Louis XIII, an old house on the left bank. Foot long bleached asparagus. Dinner was delicious and expensive.
Wednesday, April 6 — I rushed out to get my hair done while Jim slept late. Then we set out for the Musee de L’Homme to see an exhibition of African art, the Tishman collection. It is really superb. After that, we hurried to a bateau mouche and leisurely ate our lunch as we floated down the Seine. We returned to the Place des Pyramides via the Metro. I finished my business at the perfume store and we called it a day. Tonight we went to Laperouse. It is also old, delicious, and expensive. We walked back to our hotel along the river and over the bridge. It was quite a distance.
Thursday, April 7 — We were packed and ready early enough to take a short walk in the Tuileries before leaving for the airport. We weighed in our luggage when we arrived and found ourselves $100 overweight!! Ouch!! While waiting for the flight we investigated the Orly Hilton, just opened, and found it even more elegant than the Tunis Hilton.
We arrived home exhausted by the time difference but pleased with our trip. It was a lot of fun and new experiences but it is good to get home.