Day 2 • Palermo

We had breakfast at the hotel on the unforgettable panoramic terrace. (There was a pastry at the buffet that must be the inspiration for the American jelly doughnut). The city was so quiet and peaceful from up there, all you could hear were birds. Palermo lies in a dramatic natural setting, between mountains and at the sea.

traditional painted Sicilian carts

We saw posters around town for a Max Ernst exhibit at the Palazzo dei Normanni, a monument in itself, so we headed out and passed through the famous Quattro Canti, the intersection where four districts of the city meet. When we got to the Palazzo, there was confusion where to enter. Other tourists were wandering around as well, and a guard at a door told us we had to go around the front so about 10 of us meandered in that direction to be stopped by police blocking the street. One of our crowd asked in Italian "Why?" and I heard the word "Una bomba!" in the response. Enough said! Turned out the Sicilian parliament buildings are next to the Palazzo and there was a bomb threat. We never did make it to see Max Ernst.

una bomba!

We saw some other monuments today. The small Chiesa San Cataldo and next to it the magnificent Byzantine mosaics in Chiesa della Martorana or Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio.

La Martorana

We also saw the Fontana Pretoria. For the nudity of the statues, the people of Palermo called the square "Piazza of Shame" when first unveiled in 1575.

the scanadalous statues

fontana pretoria

Feeling a twinge of hunger (unheard of for the rest of this trip) we hit the Bellaró market, finding the absolute most perfect street food : fried artichoke hearts and sardines. Little pieces of fried heaven. Like the Vucciria, this market sold everything from socks to lamb hearts.

wild asparagus the width of a pencil

fresh anchovies

pyramids of Sicilian eggplants

artichokes sold on the stem

a man selling bread out of the back of his car

the tiniest, sweetest wild strawberries

The artichoke and sardine didn't cut it for a full meal so we went to a place recommended highly in all the guide books, Antica Focacceria San Francesco. Its a really beautiful place, with old fashioned marble counters and floors, and a high, wooden ceiling. In typical Italian cafe style, you tell your order to the cashier, pay, and take your receipt to the food counter where it is then prepared and given to you while you stand and wait. The place was packed and no one spoke English. Ordering was kind of crazy but I managed to get us a variety of fried, starchy, yummy snacks: panelle sandwich (the chickpea fritters again, this time in a soft squishy white bread bun), sfinciuni (focaccia spread with a concentrated tomato sauce, no cheese), and an arancino (baseball sized ball of rice coated in bread crumbs and deep fried with a filling of ham and cheese). Greasy and delicious, every last bite! Outside the restaurant was a police car and 2 officers. We saw them at the same spot yesterday, too.

outside antica focacceria san francesco

We absolutely fell into a food coma from all the heavy foods and dragged ourselves back to the hotel for a two hour siesta.

a little nero d'avola and a lot of joy

After the siesta, it was time for some Sicilian wine. We went out in search of a bottle to enjoy on the terrace before heading out for dinner because we were just about to get a spectacular sunset. We bought a Nero D'Avola from a local cafe/wine bar and sat on the terrace. After soaking in the atmosphere and watching the last light of day, we headed out to dinner.

little sense of the frenetic streets from up here

We had no reservation and managed a table at Casa del Brodo, around since 1890. The meal was incredible! We ordered the antipasto buffet to start. I went to the bar and picked a range of vegetables and fish: sauteed mushrooms, spinach, grilled radicchio, roasted cauliflower, cheese, rolled stuffed sardines, eggplant rollatini, and pumpkin agrodolce. So good!

For our meal Ken got bucatini with tomato sauce and anchovies and I got a short thick pasta with swordfish, mint, and eggplant. The Pugliese style bread was excellent which was not the case for many of the restaurants on the trip. I don't know why the bread at Italian restaurants is so...bad. Except for in Puglia. Pane Pugliese is chewy and porous with a thick crust charred from a wood oven. With the house white wine, the meal was overall really incredible. The experience was much better than last night at Sant'Andrea and it was half the price at 30 Euros!

Before heading to our room, we got one more look at the night sky of Palermo.