We had been planning this trip for months and we finally have arrived at Falcone Borsellino Airport, Palermo. An old man at the baggage carousel was angry that a small child was unattended and flailing about by the passing luggage, placing her hands near the moving belt. He turned around and gave a hand gesture in disgust to the mother who was standing a few meters away in disinterest.
We took a hot, steamy, slow, rickety train to the center of the city. The passing countryside was dry and mountainous with patches of greenery. A restless man next to us stood the whole ride and and each stop stuck his head out the window and looked up and down the platform. We got off the train at Palermo's central rail station and I asked a woman in my best broken Italian "Excuse me, where is Via Roma?" to be answered in absolute perfect English, "It's right over there."
It took 10 minutes to walk to The Hotel Ambasciatori but only after cheating death crossing a 6 lane road with no traffic light or crosswalk. A very cool old-school cage elevator took us up to the 5th floor reception, we checked in, and walked upstairs to the hotel's panoramic terrace that was a big selling point for us choosing this hotel.
the panoramic terrace at hotel ambasciatori
the panoramic terrace at hotel ambasciatori
Our first taste of Sicilian food was gelati - pistachio and hazelnut - and we ate them while walking to the frenetic Vucciria market where we had our second taste: focaccia. We got them from a cart with an oven inside that heats them up so they are super crispy on the bottom before being handed to you in a square of parchment paper. We wanted to pay him before eating but he told us to relax - eat first, pay later.
focaccia seller
slow day for the fish guys
There are packs of stray dogs throughout the city. During the heat of the day they nap on the streets. It was shocking to see and we never got quite used to it.
We walked and walked and walked and stopped at the Palermo Cathedral, built by the Normans who conquered Sicily from the Arabs in the 11th Century.
yes, we will walk on the other side of the street, thank you
life on the streets
We walked and walked and walked and stopped at the Palermo Cathedral, built by the Normans who conquered Sicily from the Arabs in the 11th Century.
a dog sleeping at the entrance to the cathedral
We got a restaurant recommendation from our hotel called Sant'Andrea. The food was excellent but the service was extremely rushed NYC style and they were taking away plates with some food left on them and the antipasti was served before the wine came to the table. Certainly not the pace we were expecting for Sicily. Sitting in siberia with the rest of the tourists, we started with the antipasti misto which were street foods turned up a notch including fried cheese, sardine "meat"balls, panelle (chickpea fritters), pickled cauliflower, and caponata. For primi I got the pasta con le sarde which was amazing, served with breadcrumbs on the side. Ken's pasta con tonno was made with a long, curly, cork-screw pasta. We also ordered a secondi, mine was stuffed squid with sauteed beet greens and Ken got an amazing hazelnut crusted sea bass. We washed it all down with a Cusumano Nero D'Avola.
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