Category: Siciliy

Sunday morning so I’m taking things very slowly thinking nothing is open too early on a Sunday. Besides there was no hot water for my shower which I took very casually, doing a bit of packing, and only belatedly txting the host, Pietro. I think all he has to do is turn it on so it is fixed immediately. Then I look up the Galleria Regionale della Sicilia that I wanted to go to and see it closes at 1pm. So I leap up and out I choof down the street, past the world’s best coffee shop….whoops, can’t go past that without a quick cappuccino. Then on to make a few mis-turns before I find it. Anyway it was lovely, I thoroughly enjoyed it, with some lovely works.

Then I made my way back to the restaurant of yesterday that I enjoyed so much, Antica Focacceria di San Francesco. It was jam packarooby with a queue waiting for a table. So I waited thinking they wouldn’t give a table as a priority to one person. However they did look after me and it was only 10 mins or so before I was sitting down. I decided I would try the Sicilian specialty (I’d promised myself I ‘d do this before I left Sicily) cow spleen. So I had that followed by swordfish balls (not as in testes, as in football). Eating the spleen was actually something of a non-event. It was yummy and not at all disgusting. So I was proud of myself for having a go!! I finished the meal with a Limoncello just to satisfy my need to have a ‘last’ everything. Delicious and long lunch and then I sat in a piazza and had a read. Then back to the apartment.

Now I’m tying up bits and pieces. Pietro is making sure I have a taxi at the right time tomorrow for the airport. He wants me to have as long as possible in Palermo so has talked me down from my habitual veers early taxi. Henri (Hercule) has spent the last 2 nights skyping but the wifi is crap so we keep getting cut off…he keeps persisting though!!

I’m hoping I’ll make it all the way to Bologna tomorrow but it will depend on the stars aligning, otherwise I’ll stop overnight in Roma.

Another phase over and everything is now pointing down under!!

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.

As I write this Ham and Ariane are doing their last minute packing and getting ready to leave this morning.

Yesterday was spent with them doing last minute things like laundromatting and packing. We all went out and had lunch at a new place that really wasn’t much good…OK but expensive and the staff weren’t too friendly. Then Ariane and i branched out to look at some shops for me to do some ‘going home-type’ shopping myself. The shops were closed (3pm…of course!!!) so we went off in search of a place for Ariane to have a haircut. We found a great hairdresser who did a fantastic job on her lovely curly hair. Honestly Italy is great for haircuts and her cut looks terrific. We then went back to the shops and bought a few little things then came home. Ham was out luandromatting and then he had work he had to finish at all costs which is quite stressful for him. We then went out to dinner. We were in search of a new restaurant we wanted to try but after walking the back streets of Palermo to no avail we aborted the mission and went to an old favourite the ‘Ferro di Cavallo’, had a nice meal (and cheap).

Now its leave time for them, it has been a wonderful month in Sicily, it has been fantastic for me to have the company and to do and see things I probably wouldn’t have done alone. I’ll be catching up with them for a couple of nights in Bologna in a week so shouldn’t be sad (but I always am, being a truly hopeless goodbye sayer).

3 more days in Palermo for me then on to Bologna.

The last 2 days we’ve been exploring the surrounds of Palermo which has been really lovely. Yesterday was a particularly slow start as Ham, who has been working every morning, gazing at a computer screen, ended up with a headache so had to take remedial action. I went out for a coffee and a poke around the streets and came back before we finally got ourselves out and about at around 1pm.

We walked up to a restaurant we had been to for lunch before, ‘La Galleria’. They greeted us like long lost friends which was lovely, and we enjoyed another delicious fishy meal. We then headed up to Piazza Independenza from where the bus was to take us up the hill to Monreale, a sort of hilltop extension of Palermo. And the bus did take us up there, but not before we waited for about 40 minutes (they aren’t regular busses). So we were late arriving and flew into the famous Duomo di Monreale at 5pm. Things were closing up. Ham and Ariane did a quick flip uo the tower to see the view…I reneged on this one given the hill we’d just ploughed up to get to the Duomo in the first place. I focussed on the mosaics which were quite remarkable…again an entire Cathedral coated with amazing mosaics from C15. It really is wonderful.

We then went to the Cloister (which fortunately didn’t close until 6.30pm)…a lovely, tranquil, pretty cloister with mosaic adorned columns. As it was so late it was actually rather wonderful as all the tourists had gone and the Nunns were singing in the background so the peace of the place was remarkable.

Back to get on the bus, but wait, we had just missed a bus and the last bus was an hour and a half away. What to do, what to do?? Ah, there’s a bar up there….thank god!! Have a drink (or maybe have 2) and then head back down to the bus-stop. When we got on the bus a couple of women from the Netherlands who we’d spoken to briefly (they went to the bar for a drink as well) also got on the bus but didn’t have a ticket (thought they could get one on the bus) and the driver wasn’t going to let them get on without a ticket and to get a ticket they would have had to go to the town and they would have missed the bus (last one, remember) anyway. But wait…ever-ready tourists that we are, we had 2 extra tickets which (naturally) we gave them. They were very grateful and then we seemed to see them everywhere!! It became embarrassing and when we sat down, back in Palermo, for a quick meal who should walk in!!….anyway they ended up buying me (because I was the only one greedy enough to accept) a drink. It all got a bit messy really and fortunately we haven’t seen them since!!

Today has been a lovely day. The sun has shone all day. We set off early (for us), with me going ahead for my coffee, for the train station and without incident hopped on a crowded train to Cefalu. This is a really lovely old town on the Northern Coast of Sicily, with lots of character, lovely hilly, narrow streets, a lovely beach with clear water and a Duomo with lovely mosaics. On top of the hill overlooking the town is the mandatory castle, ‘La Rocca’.

We went first to the Duomo and spent time looking at more mosaics (which, just for the record, I never get tired of). Then we found a nice place for a yummy lunch, for the record it was called’ Le Botte’. More seafood dishes and a nice glass of Vino Bianco (for me). We then wondered the streets looking at the shops, we went down to the beaches and wished we were in our bathers for a swim, walked out on the headland bit, wandered the streets some more and got back on the train to come home. All in all a really lovely day. Cefalu is a ‘come back to and stay a while’ sort of town for me. Much nicer than Taormina because so much less crowded.

We’re eating at home tonight complements of Ariane after a big but thoroughly enjoyable day.

Another day walking around Palermo. Always so much to see and do.

We went first of all up to the Quattro Canti in the centre of town and to Piazza della Pretoria to inspect Francesco Camilliani’s magnificent fountain.

Then on up through the Ballaro Market in search of some nice street food. But by this time it was getting very late and when we finally stopped in the market area they were out of a lot of things and the food wasn’t actually too crash hot.

We then headed off towards the Marrionette Museum (Museo internazionale delle marionette Antonio Pasqualino ) but stopped on the way to see the Magnificent Mosaics of Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio, (La Martorana). We went there the other day but there was a wedding on. Thank goodness we went back, it was so superb. The mosaics blow me away completely.

We made it down to the Marionette Museum which was interesting, particularly after seeing the show the other night and we then headed for home as the rain started to come down.

After some downtime we headed out for dinner and (again on the recommendation of our host) found a lovely restaurant in the centre of town called Bisso Bistrot. Nice food and wine.

More tomorrow…18 days until I head home…unreal!!

We started off at lunch time and headed for somewhere to have lunch. Found a Pizzeria and had an ordinary sort of lunch. Then we went to the bus station to get a bus up to the Castello della Zisa, finding the right bus and working it all out was an adventure in itself. But we got there … another Norman-Arabic building that once would have been absolutely magnificent. Some pretty mosaics and stonework but uninspiring restoration work in a very seedy part of town, standing there in its splendid isolation surrounded by tenement housing. After climbing up and down the castle we went to explore the gardens which, again, would once have been fabulous but the fabulousness is now very faded. Once we were in there it was hard to get out as there were no exits at the front. While trying to work all this out we started talking to a man who got so excited when he learned we were from Australia. He got on his mobile phone and his family appeared from nowhere to tell us their family members lived in Sydney etc etc…it took us a while to exit this park, all in all but eventually we did and walked back to the centre via some massive festival or other. We could see a thing, far too many people but it looked BIG.

We finally walked our way home, had dinner at home last night, sent Hammy out for Canolo to finish the meal and watched Narcos via Netflix (clever Hammy). Then we listened to the massive fireworks going off around town. They were serious firework, you would be forgiven for thinking we were being invaded.

Today is Monday…not sure what is on. H&A haven’t emerged yet to set the agenda.

I’ve just read Hammy’s blog and feel quite over-shadowed. There is little to add really but here goes.

Now up to Friday and yes I did go out for a little explore in the morning while Ham and ariane watched the footy, I had some lunch back at the Tapas place we went to on out first night, Tredici. Lunch special for 5EU so who’s to complain.

We then went off to find the Inquisition Museum. What more can I say about our visit to the Palazzo Chiaramonte-Steri which houses an ‘Inquisition Museum’, than what Hammy said:
“Essentially you’re taken through a bunch of gaol cells that were used to house prisoners of the Inquisition from from 1600 to 1782. The walls are covered in 17th Century graffiti which was a mixture of subtle mocking of their captors, reinterpretations of biblical stories to reflect their current situation, protector saints and poetry. All in a variety of languages (including English as there were some English captives). A pretty remarkable historical snapshot all in all”.

I just loved this to pieces, it was one of those complete surprises you get when you stumble across a real treasure. I thought, an inquisition museum…a bit ho hum (having done torture museums with Rosa) but I was blown away. So evocative of the suffering of these prisoners. The funny thing was that Hammy has been raving about the Kingdom of Aragon…his favourite and here was the girl telling us that it was just this regime that had indulged in the inquisition, torturing their prisoners in unimaginable ways.

After this we walked back stopping at a ritzy place on the roof of a big department store for cocktails before going out to dinner. We went to the place we couldn’t get into on our second night…hugely popular but I soon discovered it was a fancy Italian Burger joint. Not really my style but fortunately the ritzy place we went to for cocktails provided tapasy food with the Negroni’s so I didn’t really need to eat a burger and was happy with a taste of Ariane and Hammy’s.

Yesterday was also a slowish start. I headed off a bit earlier and waited for H&A in a bar having my fill of Cappuccini. Then we went to the Modern Art Museum. No surprises or hidden treats there. Some nice pieces and great to see the Art of Sicily but otherwise unremarkable. After moseying around there for a couple of hours we came back home for a break and then set off to see a Sicilian Puppet show – The “Opera dei Pupi”- a show using rod Marionettes with an ancient tradition going back a couple of hundred years. It was fun but a tiny theatre stuffed full of obnoxious Americans. The marrionettes themselves were amazing and the people working them were incredible. After that we found (on the information given to us by our host) a most fabulous fish restaurant called “Mercede”. It was wonderful. I had the Spaghetti with Bottarga again and we shared mains of the most tender Octopus (Polpe) and an amazing fish called Mupa….really yummy food.

Today, a late start again- but included some lovely chats to Angus and Rose.. We basically go out at lunch time so that Hammy can do some work in the morning. We are going to head up to a Castello, taking in some lunch on the way.
Up to date again…another week in Palermo but only 5 days with H&A who are leaving on Friday.

The night before last we didn’t go out to dinner, Ariane and Ham cooked some chicken and a salad to eat at home. This apartment is really quite small and not the best place to cook but they manage, with very little, to produce a fine feed.

Yesterday I went out a bit earlier and had my coffee, did a bit of super marketing and then came back. We all went out about lunch time (Ham does some work in the morning) and set out to walk up to Palazzo Reale, the royal palace of the Normans. We got distracted on the way by stopping at a great restaurant for lunch. Had some lovely fresh fish (Groper) and spaghetti with tuna eggs (Botargo), clams and fresh tomatoes….delicious.

We finally got to the Palazzo Reale and we were blown away by the Capella Palatine within, with its amazing mosaics decorating every inch of this magnificent little chapel. Superb. Within the palace there was also an exhibition of the work of Botero who painted a modern day version of the crucifixion of Christ…brilliant, we all really enjoyed it.

Then we walked around the upper town ticking off a number of churches we wanted to see along the way. Starting with Chiesa di San Giovanni degli Eremiti (St John the Hermit), the ruins of an Arab/ Norman Church/ Mosque, then the ornate Baroque Chiesa del Gesu covered in marble carvings. Only problem was that it seemed to be a very popular day for weddings so we were inhibited in our ability to explore. Then on to Chiesa di San Cataldo, again a fusion of the Normans and the Arabs in a beautiful elegance, again inhibited by a goddam wedding. Time for a drink and a small rest then moving closer to home for Ham and Ariane to have an icecream sandwich (literally masses of ice-cream in a brioche). Then we came home for a bit of a rest and then out for dinner.

The place we were recommended to go to for dinner was hugely popular and we had to queue for a table for half an hour or so but it was worth it. The food was delicious and very cheap. I had Seppia di Nero followed by Swordfish Involtini and then (hard to believe I know!!) followed up with a Canolo. A big meal with a bottle of wine and 20 Eu a head….great value.

Today Ham is working this morning and wants to watch the football. I could go stir crazy so will head out to do my own bit of wandering.

It’s still warm and sunny so pounding the streets to get to know this city is a hot and sweaty business. Not complaining mind you, particularly as the weather seems set to change and then I will be complaining…keeping in mind that I expect Melbourne to do the right thing and warm up for me.

Yesterday when we got going we spent the first hour or so tramping around looking for the goddam tourist office to get out maps! Ham and Ariane would have it that I got them lost but as with all things this is open to interpretation. Then it was time to have lunch which we did in a rather posh and old cafe which was rather nice, sitting outside and watching the world go by, including the refugee kids looking for a handout. One of them got roped into sitting down so a couple of sophisticated young women could buy him something to eat. But he looked so uncomfortable it was more like they had decided to extract a tooth. Poor kid, my heart went out to him.

After lunch we walked through the Capo district, through the extended street market selling fish, fruit and veggies etc. and finally ended up at the most unusual and beautiful Arab-Norman Cathedral with it’s Moorish looking facade including tiling. Hammy is particularly interested in the Kingdom of Aragon that settled this are back in the 10th and 11th centuries, so we went into the treasury part to see the crown jewels of Constance of Aragon…most interesting. Also their tombs down in the crypt…fascinating. There were also the Royal Tombs of the Norman Kings including Federico (there’s that name again!!…great name for a baby I reckon!!)

We then walked back down Via Vittorio Emanuel II…way, way down!! Past the Quattro Canti with the statues on each corner of a Spanish king…most impressive. By the time I got back to the apartment I was pooped and poor dear Hammy went off by himself to find me a bottle of vino. We then had downtime…so much downtime in fact that when we finally got out after 9pm we found it a bit hard to find a table where we wanted to go and had to move on to another place. Nonetheless I nice dinner and then home to bed with the much beloved aircon!!!

Today we again set off rather late and had a day grazing on all the different types of street food. However none of us were brave enough to try the Panini con Milzo (spleen) which is Palermo’s specialty. We have enough time to pluck up the courage. We had arancini, panel, croquets etc..all delicious…but lets not pretend this is healthy eating. After a number of stops and a bit of a sit down lunch break we walked the long way around via ruins of Gothic churches and down to the harbour, stopped for a gelato (of course) and then along the harbour to work out which yacht to buy and back up home. Ham and Az went to the supermarket, giving me a bit of a reprieve again. We’re now rested up once again and ready to hit this town for dinner…earlier this time!!

Loving Palermo, it is so alive and interesting with a mix of chaos and great food, amazing buildings, twisting and turning streets, waterfront, fantastic coffee etc,etc.

Qantas tells me 22 days before I fly home…I don’t believe them but they insist. Ang and Kirst are now in the air, their adventure is over and I’m not far behind.

Our last day in the South East was spent going to Vendicari Nature Reserve. The togs were on but the swim didn’t eventuate. We walked through the National Park to the Torre Sveva (built by Peter of Aragon in C15) and the ruins of the Tuna fishery. We walked to some beaches but it was getting late and we didn’t walk far enough to find the really beautiful beaches so I didn’t go for my swim. The English people who recommended this area also told us about a vineyard that did lunches using all their own produce. So we left the Nature Reserve having explored the ruins and found the restaurant which was exactly as described with really delicious and very cheap food in a very rustic vineyard setting with the ocean in the background. It was lovely. After a leisurely lunch we made our way home to pack and start getting organised. Ariane used leftovers to concoct a dinner. We wanted a last swim in the Sea but the wind was howling and the Sea very rough still so it was not to be. I had a swim in the pool but even that wasn’t as pleasant as it has been after the weekend masses had used it constantly. But the sunset was magnificent over Etna and then the lightning started from afar and the sky was even further lit up over that veers evocative volcano. A fitting end indeed.

But then new beginnings as we set off with our masses of luggage and food to transport from one place to another. We drove up through the middle of Sicily despite the extensive roadworks that made driving difficult (thanks Ham) and the detours regular. We headed for Agrigento because we wanted to go to the Valley of the Temples…which we did and it was a real treat with its magnificent and ancient Greek Temples still standing magnificently against the blue sky. A couple of hours there and then off again towards Palermo again under appalling road conditions. We returned the hire car at Palermo Airport and transferred our multiple bags into a taxi. At this point we truly entered a nightmare with a crazy taxi driver, crazy traffic and the odd bit of total madness e.g. when a massive truck veered into our path and very nearly collected us well and truly. Heart stopping stuff…almost collected a car and then there were the mopeds and the bicycles…we considered it a miracle when we got to our apartment uninjured. Talk about going from one extreme to the other. Our peaceful, beautiful rural setting to the hubbub of Palermo…an amazing, frenetic and vital city.

We were exhausted but went out for a quick meal at a local tapas bar the owners of our apartment(Pietro) had recommended. It was fun but expensive and we were too tired really. Home and we fell into bed…to sleep with the blissful hum of the aircon!!!

This morning I got up and went out for my morning coffee at the bar recommended by Pietro. It was quite a walk for a quick morning coffee but it was a terrific coffee. Best I’ve had since Rome…and a cornetto. I bought back breakfast supplies for Ham and Az who were having a sleep in. When they are organised we will go out again and get to know this town…which I just know already I’m going to love, if the markets I walked through on my way back from coffee are any indication, with their fresh fish, fresh fruit and veggies and eclectic array of goods. The 63 steps up to the apartment are a bit of a disincentive to too much popping in and out!!!

More of this city later.