We made a quick jump along the coast to Palermo. The drive was short, and I was nervous as always when I have to drive in big cities, one missed or wrong turn can lead quickly to some very tense situations. Fortunately this time Greta picked a good route and I did not screw it up. So we arrived in our campground/parking lot for the night with no adventure.
We settled into our Sosta for the day, got a tour of the facilities and hooked up the electricity. After our beautiful seaside campground yesterday with beach bar, big pool, and a great view of the Mediterranean, today we are parked about 3 feet from two other RV’s in a parking lot surrounded by apartments. But the location is fantastic for exploring Palermo and the services are clean and the internet is fast so we are content.
Palermo had definitely gotten mixed reviews. Somewhat like Naples people either tend to love it or hate it. After our first day we are definitely in the love it category.
Palermo is the capital of Sicily and its largest city so we decided to give it two days. It won’t be enough. Our plan today was to take in all of the tourist sites, and tomorrow to take in the markets.
When we first arrive in a city we tend to start at the Cathedral as they are usually the center of the attractions. Ton gave me a list of things to look at including the cathedral, some churches, a couple of fountains and squares. We covered them all today and they were uniformly beautiful and a little different. Sicily has a real mix of influences including Spain, France, Roman, Greek, Moslem, and of course Italian. Because of that the architecture is different than anywhere else we have visited.
The architecture is lively here with the Rococo influence and the intertwining of the various cultures. While the themes are very similar to those we have seen throughout Europe, in Sicily and particularly Palermo they are done with a flair that we both enjoy.
Ton had two foods she wanted to try today. Sicily has a dish called Arancini which is fried dough stuffed with rice and a filling made of cheese, meat or vegetable. They are usually served as appetizers and are bite size, but in Palermo they are meal sized, that was number 1 on her list. The second thing was a desert called Cassata Torte Setteveli which is made from marzipan. As we were walking down the main street in the old town she saw a bakery that served both and had two chairs and before I realized what happened we sat down and had ordered.
Later in the day Ton saw a sign for one of the three markets in Palermo and decided we should take a quick look before tomorrow. When we arrived she was in heaven. The market really reminded her of Thailand. In Sicily they have a restaurant style called cafeteria where they lay all of the food they have prepared for the day on a big table and you point at what you want. They then take it into the kitchen and prepare it for you. She was in heaven just looking at what was available and thinking about what we were going to be able to eat tomorrow. We passed some nice Arancini on display and ended up buying two more for supper.
Our last stop for the day was the theater. We covered a lot of ground on foot today, and the town was teeming with people so at times it was difficult to move. But Palermo has won us over, and Ton can’t wait to head into the market for our lunch tomorrow.
