Trip to Sicily

[chris_4622]

I've started planning a trip to Sicily for early next year. This will be a LF focused trip, well that and food.

I was thinking of sending my film over via Fed Ex, not because I'm concerned about the scanning it would go through, but more of an insurance measure against the robots who work security at the airports. Is there a concern of them opening the boxes if it is in my checked luggage?

I'll pack the camera and film holders in my checked luggage but carry the lenses with me. The tripod will fit in the luggage without the head on, so maybe I'll carry that as well so it doesn't go missing. How prevalent is theft from checked luggage?

Other check list stuff; Italy SIM card for my phone, possible laptop, changing bag in case I can't make the bathroom into a darkroom.

If any of our Italian members on the forum has any experience with getting around by bus while in Sicily I'd like to hear from them. Right now the plan is to stay in one city, probably Ragusa and maybe go to a few other towns for day trips by bus. I don't think I want to rent a vehicle.

Thoughts, suggestions welcomed.

chris

[arthur berger]

Don't put the film in your luggage- a sure way to get it exposed to excess radiation. I wouldn't put my camera in the luggage either, too tempting for thieves.
When I travel abroad I carry my camera lenses and film on the plane in a carryon backpack. The film holders, tripod and tripod head and changing bag pack in your luggage.
Have a great trip.

[Frank Petronio]

Please don't ever check film in your luggage, it will be ruined!

[Kirk Fry]

Do not miss Agrigento (10 huge 600 bc Greek temples or Siracusa (Oldest Christen church in Europe also 600 bc (yes BC you have to figure it out). Don't bother with the Theater, it is covered up in plywood so they can use it.

[Gabriele Campagnano]

Hi Chris

I can suggest some good online source for LF film in Italy, you might have it shipped to your hotel.
I am not from Sicily (I am in Naples) but I will be happy to help.
Gabriele

[Ian David]

Do hire a car if you can - Sicily is a big island and having your own car is really useful.
As others have said, make sure you carry your film in hand luggage - the checked baggage scanners will fog it.
Check out the Aeolian Islands too if you get a chance!

Ian

[chris_4622]

Thanks for the responses. I will ship my film and holders since I'm only taking a small suitcase and a day pack for my carry-on. Via FedEx is pretty costly, I'll look into the USPS but I'm not counting that to be much less.

I doubt I will be moving around much. I want to get away from the tourist thing and get a feel of living there at a slow pace. Right now Ragusa, Modica, Scicli are enough.

chris

[r.e.]

Friends who spend their winters outside Noto, not far from where you're going, tell me that some sort of personal transport - car or scooter - is all but essential. Anyway, I'm spending November with them. If you want, I can send you a personal message after I get there about what might be involved in getting around by bus. As I understand it, that whole area is quite rural. By the way, my understanding is that you can rent a scooter in Sicily with a regualar driver's licence, no need for a motorcycle licence.

[chris_4622]

r.e.,

yes any information on your experience would be beneficial. When you get back I'd like to call you and hear about your trip.

[r.e.]

r.e.,

yes any information on your experience would be beneficial. When you get back I'd like to call you and hear about your trip.

I'll send you a personal message after I get there and figure out the transportation situation. I'll include my North American phone number, but my travel plans are very fluid and I may be in Europe for a few months.

[r.e.]

Chris,

You said in your original post that you are interested in the food. So am I. Indeed, I'll be traveling there with a chef who has worked in some of the world's great Michelin-starred establishments, and we intend to hit some of Sicily's and Italy's best restaurants.

Anyway, there are a number of recent books on the food and wines of Sicily, some of which are quite good. But the other day, Ed Behr, who writes the highly regarded Art of Eating, wrote on Twitter that he thinks that the best of them is Mary Taylor Simeti's Pomp and Sustenance: Twenty Five Centuries of Sicilian Food. As a result of that Tweet, I ordered a copy second hand, because it was originally published in 1989 and has long been out of print. It should arrive later this week. However, it looks like it may have been recently reissued as Sicilian Food, available for $10 as a Kindle electronic book: http://www.amazon.com/SICILIAN-FOOD-Recipes-Italys-Abundant/dp/1902304179

Might be worth checking out. Apparently the original goes well beyond recipes and deals, accurately, with the complicated history of Sicilian cuisine and the many cultural influences. Don't know if the Kindle reissue is identical to the original, but Amazon reviewers seem to think so.

[r.e.]

r.e.,

yes any information on your experience would be beneficial. When you get back I'd like to call you and hear about your trip.

Hi Chris,

I'm now scheduled to spend November based in Siracusa and the next three months based outside Ispica, which as you know is not far south of Ragusa.

Having discussed transportation with friends who have a home in the area, I've decided to rent either a car or a motorcycle. That said, I've also checked the main public transportation choices, which are the national train system's regional trains and the AST bus line.

The URL for the train system is http://www.trenitalia.com and you can click on "English" at the top. Then "Timetables and Purchasing". If you enter, say, Ragusa as your departure, and then a destination, and click Send, you'll get options. Under "Train", you'll see an "i" for information for each option. By clicking on the "i", you'll see what towns the train goes through to get to your destination, with times.

The URL for AST is www.aziendasicilianatrasporti.it. There is no English version of the site. You want "Lineee e orari" (Lines and Timetable). You'll be interested in the Siracusa and Modica Lines, which both serve Ragusa. For prices, which are based on distance, click on Tariffe.

Both the trains and the buses in southeastern Sicily are milk runs. Not bad if you're only going two or three stops, but it can take a long time if your destination is several stops away. For longer distances (say, Ispica to Siracusa), it does appear that the train is quite a bit faster than the bus. It looks like Sunday and holiday service ranges from limited to non-existent.

The trains and the buses strike me as very cheap.

I found this Frommer's page helpful in figuring out this stuff: http://www.frommers.com/destinations/sicily/0771020156.html.

By the way, I've now read Mary Simeti's books, which I think are excellent. So is Giorgio Locatelli's new Made in Sicily. The first episode of a three part series he did for the BBC on Sicily is on YouTube. Search for "Sicily Unpacked".

[chris_4622]

I've been looking into shipping my film over via FedEx. Not a cheap method but it seems to be the best way for the least amount of hassle. It looks like it will cost around $150 - $200, I haven't actually weighed the film yet so I just plugged in a number to get an idea of cost. I think I'm close with the weight estimate.

It seems there is no way around paying a custom duty on it even though I'm sending it to myself, using it and shipping it back home. And the higher value I put on the film the more the duty. I suppose I could just put a low figure on the form and hope nothing happens.

Is there something I'm missing? Another way of doing this. When I called FedEx the woman said I would have to pay the duty. Maybe this is just a cost of not doing business but pleasure in Italy.

[chris_4622]

I sent my film and tripod via FedEx and that was a wise choice. Yesterday was my most productive photographing but carrying my gear up and down these hills is a workout.

I have a few photos posted on flickr but when i upload them many are rotated even if I had the phone upright. Can anyone help with that so I can get more photos up?

If you want to see my flickr page Search my user name here over there.
Chris