What to say about our experience at Piera's and Jay's beautiful home in the hills above Sciacca? It was the highlight of our 5 week trip to Sicily. I will start with the beautiful new, exquisitely designed, modern house and property itself. Spacious, immaculately clean, decorated with Piera's good taste, every convenience, a perfectly equipped kitchen with large patio doors opening on to an outside living space with a view over the nearby sea and lovely rolling countryside covered in olive trees, two large bedrooms with lots of storage space and super-comfortable beds and a bathroom that served us well. Who could ask for more for accommodating the four of us adults.....two couples (seniors)...come from Canada to spend a week exploring this particular area of Sicily?
And yet....there was more. Much more! One cannot speak of this experience without including Piera and Jay. Jay arrived every morning to deposit today's fresh-from-his-favourite-bakery bread and croissants on the ledge outside our kitchen door. We are early risers, but he always got there in time! These could accompany the fresh fruit left on our table, a well stocked fridge and just about anything else we might say we needed. He took Cyril, my partner, around the first morning to show him the grocery stores nearby and to get a lay of the land. It was olive harvest time in this paradise and Jay and Piera have enough trees on their land to produce their own olive oil (some of which they left for use in our apartment). When the four of us expressed an interest in seeing how these olives are processed he took us to the nearby plant for a guided tour.
And then there is Piera!...sweet, gracious, talented Piera, whose roots are in Sciacca and who was a source of much practical and cultural information whenever we sought it. Sicilian, but speaking fluent English from her years in America....our perfect link! We had read from other reviewers that it was advisable to take advantage of her offer to prepare a meal for us (at a more than reasonable price!!). That was good advice...and THAT is an understatement. All I can say is, "do it"! It was such a memorable evening with her and Jay...fine Sicilian food, prepared with love and artistry, fine wine and such fine company and conversation! We made new friends.
I don't want to end this review without mentioning the location of the property. Many mornings we enjoyed a walk up the hill on a quiet country road among the olive trees, with views instilled in our memory. (I took many treasured photos during those walks.) As a base for visiting this southwest part of Sicily, Sciacca has much to offer, whether you like beautiful beaches, major, still -vibrant fishing towns and villages, Greek temples (Selinunte, Segesta...both overwhelmingly impressive and much more beautifully situated than Agrigento), towns with an Arab past (Mazara del Vallo...don't miss the Museo del Satiro), ancient and still active salt lagoons with windmills (Mozia)...hiking in beautiful nature reserves such as Zingara to the north.....Just to name a few. We need to come back, because we did not have time to visit other doable destinations from here...Trapani, Erice, Marsala, Monreale...and many more.
This is my recommendation. I hope some of you who read this will be able to take advantage of this exceptional Airbnb.