Palermo: Full of Surprises
April 2 & 3
We’ve just left Hotel Villa Athena, it’s Saturday afternoon, April 1st(Happy Birthday to my brother, Dean) and we make the 2 hour drive to Palermo. Unfortunately, it takes over 3 hours – partly due to rain – more due to the road construction on SS121 (the main route between Agrigento & Palermo . . BAD GPS! Really, you couldn’t find a different route?).
We have great difficulty finding our hotel and of course, the Saturday evening drivers are revved up and are lacking all patience & decorum! It’s not as bad as Napoli – but it’s not a town I would choose to drive in again. We settle into the hotel & decide to find something to eat. The hotel clerk suggests a couple of restaurants down by the water. We start walking & find a little Trattoria a block down & decide to forego the walk & the rain. The food is good; the service is better and they serve us wine on the street as we wait for a table. All in all – good experience. We turn in early.
Sunday Morning- Good Morning Sherine & Happy Birthday!! We decide to take the red Hop-On, Hop-Off bus (which has a convenient pick up RIGHT IN FRONT of our hotel. We make a full loop to get oriented and decide on the next round, we’ll get off first at Teatro Massimo (the Opera House). This place is incredible and once again, the pictures don’t so it justice. This place is called one of the World’s great opera houses & they did not spare any detail in design. It even has a domed roof with 6 or 8 frescos that OPEN UP and provide venting (because opera singers cannot sing with air conditioning, as it dries out the vocal cords). They took us up to the Grand Box and it was very grand indeed. Apparently anyone can buy seats to sit in here – as long as they are available – and they’re priced the same as the seats on the main floor.
We move on to the recently restored & re-opened Museo Regionale Archeologico. Even after seeing the Valley of the Temples Museum at Argriento 2 days earlier – this place does not disappoint. It is filled with tremendous treasures showcasing both the history of the city of Palermo, and the other major areas of Sicily. We only wish we could have seen the 2nd & 3rd floors of exhibits which were not yet open.
We’re hungry & we find this great little “bar” (bars are small, casual restaurants here) with a great buffet. Buffet is not a good description, as they do these amazing antipasti spreads here. This one is full of fresh vegetables, grilled calamari, legume dishes, olives, and even fresh ripe strawberries. It’s 6 Euro for all you can eat and the nice waiter from Sri Lanka tells us it’s fresh every day and what we don’t eat will just get thrown out at the end of the day. With bread, water & 2 glasses of Prosecco (it is Sherine’s birthday after all, so we’re celebrating) the bill comes to just under 20 Euro (and that’s with a tip).
Back on the bus and our next stop is Villa Giulia – a beautiful garden which has been converted to a city park. In the pictures, you will see this great shot of a picture window that is in one of the kiosks. I took a picture through it that looked at onto the gardens – so cool. Being April, everything’s in bloom and the last of the citrus is still heavy on the trees. Since I’m so tired of seeing citrus going uneaten and falling on the ground, I pick up an orange that has already fallen, but looks pretty pristine & new. I peel it to eat. BAD move . . it’s sour & bitter and completely inedible. I throw it back to the ground!
One more trip on the bus and we arrive at the stop for Palazzo Reale (Palazzo = Palace). It’s Sunday, so it’s closed – but that’s OK, we’ve really come here looking for Palazzo Sclafani (see the post on our Family Palace). We find the palace, snap all our pictures and walk down the Matteo Sclafani “alley” and come out upon this grand courtyard and a very grand building. Turns out – we have happened upon is the Palermo Cathedral. What a GRAND find indeed. I know I keep saying this – but the pictures DO NOT DO IT JUSTICE. These historical artisans were AMAZING – their talent, craftsmanship & imaginations were limitless and these places are filled with priceless, beautiful pieces of art. I think I said OMG (but the real words) like 50 times as I walked though this place. Spectacular – truly spectacular!
We top it off with a birthday gelato for Sherine – she enjoys this almond parfait thing (really tasty), while I decide on cassata gelato (really, really tasty). Cassata is a very traditional cake here in Sicily – it’s made with ricotta & candied fruit and usually has marzipan covering it . . TASTY! For those of you that know & understand my love of spumoni (incidentally a totally American invention – and one that’s rarely done really well) – I have found my Sicilian spumoni in cassata gelato!!! Heaven in a bowl and I haven’t found it since – but I WILL!
Back on the bus to return to the hotel. When we exit the bus, I notice this arancini (rice ball) shop a few doors down. Palermo is known for its street food (arancini being one of them) and we must try them. There are about 20 flavors at this shop. They are huge – but we decide on three different flavors – one with tuna, one with veggies and the last with pork & BBQ sauce (yes, that’s what they called it). We go back & enjoy a few bites but can’t begin to finish these huge balls! The pork is by far our favorite – but within 2 hours I’m not sure I like them at all (see Tourist Trots post). ☹
Palermo – I said I could take it or leave it! I should have said, I’d only do again with a local. It’s a city filled with history and beautiful art & architecture – but like any big city, it feels impersonal. I heard from a local a few days later (the chef at my cooking school who lives there) that it’s really a great place. I wish I had met him BEFORE rather than AFTER my visit . . he was sharing dozens of Palermo haunts & eateries with a few people that were going on to Palermo after class.
By the way – Palermo is the home to the Mafia (which of course, you’re not supposed to mention while you’re there – so we didn’t). I don’t know what they look like OR how they act OR what their influence is any longer . . BUT, I felt completely safe the whole time I was there. Maybe I had a “godfather” looking out for me after all!
