Shannon and I live on the east side of Sicily and we try to get out and around as much as we can. The west side of the island is very nice too and although only 3 hours away, it makes for a long day trip. As a result, we planned an overnight trip to the west side of the island with our friend Jodi. Our first stop was in Segesta, an ancient Greek city from 700BC. The site has a huge temple and you are permitted to walk around the columns.
The temple is said to be the best preserved example of Doric Architecture in the world. From their you take a hike up the hill to the ancient city and take in the views of the surrounding mountains and the Castellammare del Golfo. There is also a Greek theater where Greek tragedies are still preformed in the summer.
From Segesta we headed over to the port town of Marsala. The town is famous for its wine so we stopped in an enoteca to have some lunch and to try some local flavors.
After lunch we headed north to the salt fields between Marsala and Trapani. Sicilians claim that Trapani makes the best salt in the world. Sea salt is still produced here largely the same way it was done 2700 years ago when the Phoenicians brought the techniques to the island. They let seawater into fields and wait for it to evaporate. When all that remains is the salt, they collect it with shovels and wheelbarrows and keep it in piles. To add to the scene there are antique windmills that were used to pump the water. While in the area we went to the Salt Museum and took a ferry to Mozia where there are the ruins of an ancient Phoenician town.
That night we stayed in Erice. Erice is a medieval town located on the top of a mountain. We checked into a hotel and enjoyed a nice dinner. Erice was a nice quiet town and it has streets that are much too small for cars.
The next morning we bought tickets that would get us into seven churches around the town. We took in the amazing views from on top of the mountain and visited all the churches.
Erice is famous because it has its own style of ceramics but also they are renowned for their pastries. So I had to go shopping but I was rewarded later with some pie.
Next we drove east to the Zingaro Reserve. The Rieserva Naturalle dello Zingaro is an amazing place. It is at the edge of a mountain chain and is along the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. 
There are no roads inside the park so we went for a hike to enjoy the views. After a hot walk we stopped at one of the beaches along the sea and spent a few hours swimming and getting some sun. We jammed a lot into a two day trip and had a great time. There is a lot to see in Sicily.
