And then...

We got the ferry to Milazzo, the port on 'mainland' Sicily that we really should have left from last week, and spent the day visiting the castle and exploring in a low-key sort of way.

I've been surprised, as an ex-member of the EU, to have been offered concessionary ticket discounts in some places I've visited. So at the castle ticket office I said, 'I am old. Is there a reduction to get in?' The man in the ticket office replied, 'I am also old, and that's why I'm at work. The pension in Italy is not enough for living.' Point taken.

There were loads of information boards around the castle but I was most taken by an exuberant tourist guide gesticulating and declaiming in Italian. 

Also by finding a stepped doorway that seemed designed for my children. Firstborn's head exactly reached the lintel when he stood on the floor, and Secondborn's head exactly reached the lintel when she stood on the doorstep.

Firstborn and A had done some very effective research and we ate at an excellent locals' restaurant.