Every time I hear Ave Maria from now on it will bring back memories of Palermo. The local church bells play it every half hour and I think I may go mad!!
2 days now being on my own again and as it is now only 2 weeks and I’ll be home, I’m starting to feel as if I am treading water a bit with my waters already pointing me homewards.
Notwithstanding I keep going. Yesterday was a bit of a wandering type day. I went in search of the Church of the Immaculate Conception that was closed when H, A & I went last time. This time it was open which was good. I wandered through the markets of the town and then came home to have a salad for lunch with the left over food. Then I went out again to do some shopping for a few supplies to last until I leave Palermo. I wandered the back streets where I hadn’t been before and eventually came home for my dinner at home which was a seafood rice I’d bought at Touring Cafe. A very ordinary sort of day.
Today I decided I had to be a bit more organised so out I went. After coffee at the world’s best coffee shop I walked around half of Palermo working out the bus up to Palazzo Reale. It is the most convoluted bus route of all time and I even had to change busses to get myself there. By the time I got there I could have walked 3 times over but I had 2 bus tickets I was determined to use. You may remember that H,A & I went to Palazzo Reale but the Royal Apartments are only open at the weekend…so I was on a mission. It was a worthy mission with some really lovely mosaics and frescoes in the oldest part of the Palace dating back to the Normans (of course). I also went back to the Capella Palatina just because I had the ticket and because it would never fail to be awe-inspiring.
My next mission was to find a place for lunch that we also hadn’t been able to find previously, and this too was well worth the search. Again, for my record, it is Antica Foccacceria di San Franceso. A lovely restaurant, sitting outside in a very pretty little piazza. I had a most delicious Spaghetti with Sea Urchin eggs…so yummy that even Inspector Montalbano eats it !! I followed up with a very yummy cassata that was to die for. Its very bad not having Ariane around because we used to share our deserts…now what else can I do but eat it all myself!! All your fault Ariane!!
I found a park and had a read in the sun and eventually came home, still full from lunch so I won’t have much for dinner.
One more day in Palermo. Still the Pinoteca to see, maybe a nice lunch again then all over red rover for Sicily.