Palermo

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  Palermo, Sicily, Italy
Monday, February 20, 2012

Sicily was the next stop and our last in Italy. As we left Rome we were both talking about how we have loved Italy most of all and so glad that we came back for one last look.  When we arrived in Palermo we realised that Sicily is very different to all the other Italian cities we had been to.  It's such a diverse place with markets that were like the Moroccan bazaars, unique Italian cuisine filled with delicious seafood, and traffic and noise that would rival any Balinese street.  I kept waiting for the Godfather music to start up as we walked around the streets, unfortunately the closest we got to Godfather like activity was seeing a guy go into a bar we were sitting at and collect money.  Probably something very innocent, but not when you’re in Sicily.

Palermo was an easy and relaxing place to visit, the English was really good, the people were very helpful, although the one thing we struggled with was the road laws, or lack of.  A pedestrian crossing in Palermo doesn’t mean you can just walk when the little green man says so, it means cross at your own risk with cars dismissing anything that looked like a red light.       

Our hostel on the other hand was one of the worst places we have stayed during our 9 months of travelling.  Firstly, it was freezing! After two days of thinking that there was only an air conditioner we realised that it doubled as a heater although made absolutely no difference.  We found ourselves sitting in our room with all our clothes on, under the doona, in a sleeping bag and still cold.  You could feel the cold coming off the walls, the floor, it was everywhere.  Nearly every afternoon I would have a sleep, not from being tired, my theory is that my body went into hibernation.  Normally if you’re cold you can retreat to a nice hot shower, no not here.  The hot water was at best luke warm, and showering turned into a chore that we both hated.  One night at dinner I told Luke that I wanted to throw myself into a pizza oven, Hansel and Gretel style, just to feel the warmth.  The final straw was the bed.  The springs could be seen from the surface of the mattress and you would wake in the middle of the night aching from sleeping in one spot for too long.  It was a Chinese torture machine that we endured for 7 wonderful nights.  Absolute hostel nightmare. 

Reading back it sounds as though we didn’t enjoy ourselves, but we did.  We can now look back in the warmth of our luxurious hotel and laugh at ourselves and realise that these are the things that we will probably remember most.  One of our favourite days was a trip to Monreale.  It’s a small town in the mountains about 45 minutes from Palermo.  It was so nice to get out of the city and experience the "real" Sicilian village lifestyle.  The day was filled with sunshine, wonderful views of the city below and delicious donuts in a street side café.   

Dessert is a food that we are usually not fond of.  I am much more of a savoury than a sweet person, probably because of the amount of sugar I already consume with my coke addition.  On our last night in Palermo we decided to have tiramisu, we had been planning it for about 4 days.  That’s what happens when you travel, things like what day to have dessert are big decisions.  Well this big decision paid off, it was so delicious.  All the food in Palermo has been exceptional, Luke’s favourite meal was fetticini with mussels and clams. Mine was a capricciosa pizza, I still don’t like olives and mushrooms but the artichokes were surprisingly salty and delicious.   

Palermo is one of the places that I don’t think all people would enjoy, there are large, ugly, concrete buildings, dodgy looking people on every corner and generally looks quite run down.  But it is authentic, beautiful and bursting in character like nowhere we have been before.  We loved it, especially outside Palermo. 

Love you and miss you all xoxoxoxo

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Main intersection in Palermo   Comments!	Cathedral on a nice day   Comments!	Monreale cathedral	This was the Godfather moment
Streets of Monreale	Backside of the cathedral in Monreale   Comments!	View of Palermo   Comments!	Belinda in Monreale   Comments!
Bellini Piazza	Luke at the market

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