Wow, I really out-do myself when it comes to titles. I was just coming up with some polar opposites to describe Palermo, I could equally have gone with 'kittens and cupola's' or 'mountains and marzipan.'
Palermo was a really interesting place to visit, our five days was long enough to see everything without rushing but a little longer would have been nice too. Sicily is definitely a place I would like to go back to one day, Mount Etna and Taormina are waiting for me! The temperature was at least 10 degrees higher than in Paris, the people were really friendly and open and the food was GOOD! I travelled with my Irish friend, and we stayed in a really charming B&B in a very grimy little alleyway in the old town. The view from my window:
In my experience pretty much every European city has an 'old' part, and it's usually the place to be. There was a daily market in the square at the bottom of our street and plenty of feisty neighbours (ie. screaming fights at 4 in the morning) so it felt very lively. Here's the market in the evening:
The streets around our part consisted of enormous wonky cobblestones, and there were fish bits, kittens and stringy dogs everywhere. As well as watching carefully where one put ones feet, it paid to walk with purpose and definitely avoid all eye contact with all men.The Sicilians love their deep-fried food, and the smell of it is everywhere. I'm quite glad that we weren't there in summer, as it was quite hot enough and there were virtually no other tourists.
The city has taken a fair beating over the years and parts of it are very old, so as I walked around and entered churches and courtyards and gardens, it really felt like discovering something hidden and special. Maybe one day everything will get scrubbed up and restored and have an 8€ entry price slapped on it, but for now it's just perfect.
Palermo is a port town and the waterfront is quite industrial so thankfully it was only a short bus ride to a swimmable beach. The water was a gorgeous colour, and there were a few other hardy souls who were swimming. It looked like it must be a buzzing beach resort in summer but by this time of year it was just a couple of open gelato stalls (yum), clusters of weathered fishermen and some more stray dogs.
Aie, too much blogging and my eyes are getting sore. I'm really not finished with Palermo yet, so there will be another post soon.
