After walking the Via Maqueda to the Quatro Conti and back, we ordered "pizza quattro formaggi" and "due Sprite". This became our go-to on-our-own meal. Then it was time to sleep -- for 12 straight hours. Sunday morning, we felt energized to continue our great adventure.
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Palermo - Before The Tour
"I give Sicily a big thumbs up! Come see me at the Regional Archeological Museum in Palermo." -- Zeus
We headed out for Saturday night in old Palermo. We just went with the flow of the people walking along Via Maqueda and in no time at all found ourselves in front of the pink-lit Teatro Politeama Garibaldi. We came across a martial arts/dance-off -- with singing! What a great start to our vacation ... experiencing the exuberant joy of the Sicilian people out at night.
We arrived a few days early in Palermo before our tour started to get over jet lag and see extra sights. Thanks to the Rick Steves' Sicily guidebook and the online Travel Forum, we knew how to buy train tickets at the airport to easily get to Palermo. We were so proud of ourselves! Then we took a nailbiting taxi ride to our pre-tour hotel -- as in, "OMG, our driver just cut off a horse-and-carriage in traffic!" We soon learned that there is a method to the madness of driving in Italy and were extremely glad that we would not have to drive ourselves.​
Things we did on our own:
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Got within inches of ancient Roman, Greek and Phoenician artifacts at the uncrowded archaeology museum
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Stood in awe in the huge Palermo Cathedral
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Toured the Teatro Massimo and learned about a secret whisper room
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Soaked in the sun at the bustling marina area
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Accidentally stumbled upon a park with the biggest ficus trees we've ever seen
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Marveled at the historic buildings, many with balconies full of plants ... and often laundry hanging out to dry
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Sat on a corner and watched Italian traffic, surprised at cars, buses, motorcycles, scooters, bicyclists and pedestrians all somehow traveling together, in an "I go, then you go" method, all without a trace of road rage. Hmmm, maybe we should learn to drive like Italians after all.
Since it was recommended in the guidebook, for three nights we joined the locals strolling along the pedestrian-only Via Maqueda for the early evening version of la passeggiata.
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Confession: Americans really do stand out by walking quickly! It took us a couple of days, but we finally mastered the fine art of ambling like a Sicilian. The secret? Move one leg in the same amount of time you would normally move two. Or even slower.
We think this vending machine would be very popular on college campuses!
This small grocery store had a full butcher-shop and a well-stocked deli in it. Look at those hanging hams! And all those cheeses! Mmmm. Valerie discovered she likes Parma ham and speck. Go ahead, visit a local grocery store for an eye-opening experience about how other cultures shop and eat.
This cutie-pie marina cat was so friendly. There were stray cats all over Sicily. To see more feline photos, go to Travel Extras in the top menu and click on Cats.
Valerie: "What kind of tree is that?"
Jay: "The sign says it's a FICUS TREE!"
We'll never look at a "houseplant ficus tree" the same way again.
We saw horse-drawn carriages and these cosy little sight-seeing vehicles all around the old part of Palermo.
Sometimes you just have to make your own parking space.
How about this for an evening commute? Scooter weaving among traffic! Notice there are NO lines on the pavement to mark separate lanes. Yikes!
On Monday, we walked about 10 miles! It did not feel like it was that far, since we were enjoying everything we saw. Somewhere near the Via della Liberta, we saw this "modern" building. These balconies reminded us of Art Deco.
On Sunday afternoon, we discovered the marina area, where we saw some fancy sailboats (notice the "Mamma Mia" sail?), people fishing, kids playing soccer, a DJ playing beats for people in the mood to dance, a man in a park entertaining kids with mime and slapstick, couples walking hand-in-hand along the promenade, and an older couple in their Sunday best outfits getting on a small motorcycle after lunch. As for us? Valerie lounged on a bench in the sun, thinking about pasta and cannoli, while Jay sketched the lovely vista.
Of course we found time to have our very first cannoli at the recommended Spinnato. Mm-mmm-mmm. The shells were coated on the inside with chocolate (highly recommend!). We tried the classic flavor and the pistachio flavor. Both were so yummy, but the pistachio one was our favorite of all the cannoli we had on the trip. (Ahem, we did try to restrain ourselves!) For more photos of the food we had, go to Travel Extras in the top menu and click on Adventures in Food.
This bus caught our eye. Turns out there's a bus station named in honor of John Lennon. Yeah-yeah-yeah! And even laundry hanging on balconies looks pretty in Sicily, when it's surrounded by plants.
Phoenician sarcophagi from 5th Century BC! We can't believe there wasn't a barrier between us and them.
The Regional Archaelogical Museum
This museum, located in a lovely old monastery, had amazing Phoenician, Greek and Roman artifacts -- all found in Sicily. We almost had the place to ourselves. Hooray for off-season travels!
These gold earrings of antelope heads were Valerie's favorite. How amazing it is that this delicate jewelry has survived all these centuries.
Excuse us for getting serious for a moment. Look closer at this beautiful vase -- along with festive images, it depicts a man with his hands bound by rope behind his back. We learned on this trip that the ancient civilizations left many beautiful things, but they also conquered and enslaved many people, including those who made these decorative items.
How are ancient statues like Legos, Mr. Potato Head, and Lincoln Logs?
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Secrets of statues revealed! The heads and hands are added on separately. And look how in this photo there's a top torso half and a bottom half that lock together. This museum has a statue with the head of Roman Emperor Hadrian placed on top of an torso that already existed. How thrifty!
Teatro Massimo
We toured the inside of this late 19th century theater, the largest in Italy. The dome has venting panels for air flow -- great idea! We sat in the VIP box and can honestly say those seats are not as comfortable as the cheap seats on the main floor! We -- and several giggling kids -- tried out the round "whisper room", built so others couldn't eavesdrop on the private conversations of big-wigs standing in the middle of the acoustically-designed room. It absolutely works.
Palermo Cathedral
The cathedral really is magnificent inside and out. There was no fee to enter when we were there. Just be sure to bring change for the restrooms around the corner.
We'll always remember our visit to our very first cathedral, not only because of how impressive and ornate it is on the inside, but also because we didn't have change for their restrooms, which were located a block away and charged a fee!
Confession: We ended up walking back (quickly) to our hotel room to go to the bathroom. We knew before the trip that we should get change for restrooms since some of them were paid-only, but we had problems with our ATM card! It took two days and an overseas phone call to get it working so we could get Euros. Sigh.
