We walked down to the Central Station to catch a 10.30 bus to Agrigento & as we were early sat down & had a mineral water in a cafe. Much to our consternation very few people & no buses were waiting in the area. At about 10.20 we saw a bus but were told that it was an airport shuttle & that no buses went to Agrigento today as it is May Day, a public holiday. Luckily for us we knew that there was a train due to leave in about 10 minutes so off we went to buy a ticket. This we did after a frustrating wait & then we raced to the platform only to find it was late. The 2 hour train ride was great as first it went east along the coast & then inland through very fertile but hilly country following a couple of river valleys.

On arrival since we had no map we took a taxi to the hotel which dropped us at the top of a long steeply descending stairway well away from our hotel. We found it but it was only 1.30pm & check in wasn't until 3pm so we left the bags in a doorway & went off to explore. The old town is hilly with many alleys & stairways which are totally photogenic but it was very warm & although we found the cathedral it was closed for renovation & all the churches were also locked up. We returned & tried calling only to find that we could have got in somewhat earlier. Our host, Luca, speaks excellent English & is very generous with his time & the hotel, a B & B is lovely.

After checking on or emails etc we walked down the hill only to find that we are quite close to the station & the buses. The buildings are of a sandstone, which unfortunately weathers unevenly but is very warm colour. Tomorrow we plan to visit the Greek temples in the area.