Sicily - Pippa's Paddock - Day #7

My Birthday! I woke up to a lovely breakfast as usual, and to find that the girls had bought a card for me from home. They managed to secretly get everyone to write in it and this meant a lot to me as it was my first birthday away from home.

On this day we went to a castle, Castello di Caccamo. The castle was built in the 12th century and was later modified in the 14th century, and by other rulers until the 17th century. The castle is a large structure built of white stone, and it has walls with V-shaped battlements, towers, a moat and a courtyard. The interior consists of a maze of rooms and stairways. The most notable room within the castle is the Sala della Congiura, also known as the Conspiracy Hall. In 1160, some Norman barons met in this room to plot against William 1 of Sicily, but the rebellion failed. Parts of the castle collapsed in an earthquake in 1923 and restoration work funded by the Region of Sicily began in 1974. From the top of the castle, you could see lake Caccamo which we had visited earlier in the week! Very Game of Thrones...

We were getting an early flight the next day so we all knew this would be our last ride. I made sure to give Ty extra attention and get some cute photos.

So handsome! Except when he yawns...

After our ride, we all got showered and changed ready for my birthday BBQ! We had homemade chips, ribs, chicken, veg... we had plenty of wine and even champagne! Mark also bought me a strawberry ice cream cake! He made a note that I ordered a strawberry milkshake when we had lunch at the castle so knew I would like this flavour! We stayed up talking for hours and lit a bonfire. We sat with the kittens and the dogs and it was a perfect way to end my birthday and the holiday.