Around Salemi

I remember how nervous I was last year when I went to Salemi for the first time. I don't feel comfortable in a new environment and it takes me a while to adapt especially when I have no idea what to expect. Well, I knew that I was going there to build my skills, but there were so many question marks that I really didn't feel relaxed. That changed as soon as I entered the school grounds, and long story short - this year I couldn't wait to go back. And instead of a 1 week programme I choose a program that would last 2 weeks. What a change! I was excited for several months before my travel. I arrived at the airport ready to meet new people, and all went well until it didn't. We were on the way to our taxi when I tripped over and fell on my right side. I'm not going to describe how it happened, just tell you that I truly hope that the lady who caused it had the worst time in Sicily. And I'm only saying that because she didn't care at all and simply left. My new friends helped me get up and I realized that my finger was bleeding heavily. Luckily, there was a pharmacy at the airport, but I had two weeks of pottery school with a cut finger ahead of me which doesn't sound like fun at all. I will jump to the end of the story for a sec. About 3 months later I went to see my doctor because the finger still hurt and it was unbearable anymore. They made a Rontgen and it turned out that my bone was chipped! I was walking for months with a broken finger. At that stage they couldn't really do anything, so they advised me to wait it out and it took about 1 more month for me to feel that it healed. Now that I got this of my chest I can show you around beautiful **Salemi** and tell you how much I enjoyed my time there again.  ----- The students arrive on Sunday for a city presentation in the evening. We were greeted by Francesco who remembered me from last year which made me so happy. We walked around the city, and listened to his stories. He loves Salemi and you can feel it in every single word that he says about the city. At first, I was not sure if I would join the tour again as I thought it could be a bit boring, but I'm so happy that I did as it was like I heard all of it for the first time. And this time, we even managed to go to the castle, so there it is - something new again! The origins of the castle date back to *the 11th century*, and there is literally nothing to see inside, but when you walk up that tower you will be mesmerized by those views. Let's have a look!  ----- Salemi was hit badly by a devastating earthquake in *1968* which destroyed a big part of the city. There are still many ruins in the old town, and many houses are empty as they were never renovated and their inhabitants left to build a new part of the city which we can see here. We can say that the old town is kind of a ghost city which is getting its soul back as many foreigners are buying the houses and renovating them to either rent them out or use them as their residences. I must honestly say that I've been playing with the thought of buying a house there too, but first we need to focus on the renovation that we've been doing for so long already.  ----- Salemi is located in **Trapani** which is a hilly region about 1 hour from Palermo and 30 minutes from the nearest beach. There are many archaeological sites closed to the city and many other places that are worth a visit. If you're not a beach kind of a tourist, this is really a great place to be. ![4.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/plantfuljourney/EpzzEeewn9ZSC4GyWLBq1CNUyzxCNATQjj […]