We took the overnight train on that Thursday. When we got on (this time with plenty of time to spare compared to our nightmare in Paris), and were pleasantly surprised with the accommodations. We each had our own beds, with sheets and a pillow, and even had a little private sink with three little packets containing face towels and various necessities. The guy who checked our tickets came around and handed out water bottles, and when he saw Danielle opening a bottle of wine, we jokingly offered him a cup. Unfortunately, he accepted.
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| Awesome. |
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| Braving the overnight train |
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| Famous Sicilian cannoli |
We got off the train around 10 am, and after having a little trouble figuring out which direction we had to go in, I led them to the hotel. We were actually right on the Quattro Conti, a famous point in the city, and right across the street from the Fountain Pretoria, a controversial and famous fountain decked out in nude statues.We checked into the hotel and freshened up a little, then headed out to find something for breakfast. We stopped in a big open cafe, where we got cappuccinos and cannoli (Sicily did invent the cannoli, after all). We decided to head over to the Catacombe dei Cappuchin first. Even though it sounds really morbid, it is apparently a really popular tourist attraction in Palmero. When we got there, we walked through the wrong entrance and ended up in this cemetery where all the tombs were grey marble and above ground, covered in flowers and pictures. It was actually really pretty. After walking out, we turned around the corner and saw that the catacombs were closed between 12:30 and 3 pm- we had just missed it. The sun was finally coming out though, and after our rain-soaked trek up the streets of Palermo, we didn't mind walking around a little to find a restaurant to pass the time.
I don't know how there aren't more (or even one!) sit-down restaurants near this main part of Palermo, but we ended up walking forever to find someplace that wasn't a "bar" (remember bar = cafe). Finally, after passing some fresh fish markets all over, we found a place that we could sit down at. The prices were pretty decent, and me and Alex split an order of bruschetta and then each ordered this thing that was kind of like a calzone but lighter. It didn't end up being very good, but we comforted ourselves with Sicilian wine. I actually felt like I was on vacation in just my t-shirt, and having to put on sunglasses at lunch. |
| Port in Palermo |
We made it to the catacombs after lunch and were actually really disturbed. The bodies were actually well-preserved, with their original clothing on them... some even had hair still. They were either laid out in little coves or actually hung up on the wall. I have to admit, the idea does sound super inhumane, but these people actually wanted to be preserved and displayed (well, maybe not displayed to this extent). Wealthy Sicilians would put it in their will that they wanted to go through with this, and sometimes even had clauses requiring their loved ones to change their clothing after certain periods of time. The tradition was begun by the Cappuchin monks to preserve their bodies. By far the creepiest thing was the body of a two year old little girl who had passed away in 1920. Her body was preserved so much so that she looked like a doll. Her body was the last to be preserved in the catacomb.
After leaving, we were all a little shook up. We had paid three euros to get in, and though I was determined to go through the whole thing, I removed myself from the actual reality of what I was seeing and I kind of just looped through without thinking about it. I still prefer not to think too hard about it.
We walked back to our hotel and on the way, got to witness a lot of cool architecture and bridges. Sicily has huge African and Arabian influences, both from its location and proximity to Africa, as well as who inhabited and conquered the land over the past centuries. The sun was shining brightly and it had gotten pretty warm out, so I led us down to the port where we walked around for a few hours. We stopped in a cafe for a quick snack, and then headed back to the hotel again to change for dinner.We didn't have any definite dinner plans, so we walked down the street and found a bunch of really fun cobblestone and music-filled streets that led to a ton of restaurants where people were all sitting outside. We went into one of the tents and decided to do apertivo, where you order a drink and then get to eat whatever you want from the buffet. There was all kinds of risotto, pesto pasta, quinoa and lots of other good stuff. The tent was stuffed with people eating and drinking, and the different colored lights made it feel like a club. Danielle and Alex decided to go out after, but because it was already 12:30 am, I decided to just go to bed. I wanted to be able to wake up early and tour and still get a full beach day in the next day! The girls ended up coming back really late, so I was pretty happy that I stayed in. In combination with being sick earlier in the week, I wanted to get a good night's sleep.
We left the hotel the next morning around 10:15 am, and I led us to the Mercato di Ballero in the bright warm sunshine. One of the most famous markets in Italy, it boasted all kinds of fresh vegetables, fruits, meats, and cheeses, and especially fish. It was definitely my favorite part of the trip to Sicily. We wandered around and the vendors all called out to us, trying to get us to test their cheeses or buy fruit. We agreed to try this man's strawberries, and he dipped them in this homemade whipped cream for us. We bought enough for the three of us to take to the beach, and wandered along until we found a place that had a ton of fresh cheese. We got a bunch of slices of swiss, and then picked up some bread at another vendor. Alex got a ton of olives for herself, and even though I don't like olives, they even looked good to me. At one point, while we were waiting for the man to give us the fresh slices of cheese, we looked at all the fish at the next vendor over. The buckets of shrimp were literally still moving, and the squid and octopus in this makeshift pen on the table were moving around the surface. |
| Enjoying my fresh strawberries |
After regretfully leaving the market, we trekked through the city to the bus stop to get to Mondello Beach. We didn't know how or where to get tickets, so we just hopped on nervously and hoped the bus driver wouldn't check. He didn't, and many other people seemed to do the same, so whatever. The bus ride took about twenty minutes, and we went up a cliff, passing goats and farmland and then coming back down. As the beach started to come into view, I was getting so excited. The setting was so beautiful, surrounded by cliffs with bright blue water. Luckily, the temperature felt like it was around (or maybe a little cooler than) 70 degrees, so laid out our towels and got down to our bathing suits. I checked the water, and it was freezing, but there was a good number of people actually in the water! Beyond the swimmers, there were windsurfers all over.
By that point, the clouds had kind of started to roll in and the wind was whipping so hard that the sand stung. We decided to head down to a strip of boardwalk, and luckily he had left. Compared to American beach towns, finding a place off the beach that offered some kind of seafood or fried seafood was actually kind of hard, and made me kind of miss the States. Sounds stupid, but I kept comparing it to the American beaches I knew and loved. Finally, we found a little stand that had a bunch of fresh seafood, and Alex and I got a plate of fried calamari and Danielle got a swordfish sandwich that was a little too fishy for my taste. It actually started raining at that point, so we headed inside for the girls to get gelato, and I asked a guy how to get to the bus stop that takes us back to Palermo.While on the bus ride back to Palermo, we were entertained by a baby in a stroller in front of us, and jokingly harassed by a group of boys that seemed to range in age from 12 to 16. I don't think that they realized I knew they were talking about us in Italian. My Italian's bad, but come on, I've been in Italy for three months now. They were sitting behind us, and when they started mocking us and saying that we were "bella," I turned around and said, "Grazie, bambini," (Thank you, children), and they all burst out in laughter. When we got off the bus, they even followed us down the street for a little, but they were harmless and we were laughing.
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| Teatro Massimo |
On the way home we passed the place where they shot the last scene of The Godfather, Teatro Massimo. The roots of the Italian Mafia are in Sicily, especially Palermo, and still exist and exert influence today.
We got back to the hotel and I hopped in the shower. While Danielle napped, me and Alex went to mass at the church next to the hotel, a famous cathedral whose name escapes me now... I should probably look that up. The mass was in Italian but I tried to follow along. The priest seemed like a cool guy- he was African and had dreadlocks. Mass went well except for my Eucharist experience. Although I've been to mass in Rome almost every week, I haven't adopted the way of taking communion directly into my mouth, as every Italian does. I still just hold out my hands. On this particular occasion, for some reason I decided to try it, and it amounted to perhaps the most awkward moment I've ever had at church. I got confused and didn't know when to say "Amen," and as the Eucharist was still on my tongue I had to mumble it and the woman looked to confused, and I was confused. Oops. I wandered back to my pew and told Alex and we started laughing when I told her that I was never doing that again.
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| Mondello Beach |
We ended up going back to the hotel around 11 pm, and although Danielle wanted to go out, all passed out in our beds because we were so exhausted. I even fell asleep in my clothes, and had to wake up at 2 am to get out of them! We woke up the next morning and headed to the train station, where we picked up some croissants and a cappuccino on the way. I ended up being chatted up by the ticket guy and an Italian man next to me, both of whom seemed to want to practice their English with me, even though I just wanted to read my book. They asked where I was from, and the ticket guy, who could barely speak English, told me the only thing that he knew about New York State was the movie The Express, which was his favorite movie. I started laughing and told him that I was from Syracuse, and lived right outside the city, and that my boyfriend and friends went to school there. He asked if Peter was a football player and I told him, no, lacrosse, which started a whole new conversation. They literally had no idea what lacrosse was, and I unsuccessfully tried to explain it to them. At one point, I realized the guy thought I was talking about darts. I eventually gave up and waited for them to kind of walk away, and for the next ten hours, didn't take my headphones out in fear that someone would try to talk to me. At one point, the train entered onto a ferry where we crossed over the ocean and back over to mainland Italy. When we finally arrived back in Rome, I was kind of happy.
I loved Sicily and was really glad I went there, but I doubt I'll ever go back to Palermo in my life. It was the kind of thing that once I saw it, I saw it. The beaches were nice, but were comparable to the ones in America. In fact, I decided that I liked the ones in the States better. However, Sicily is a huge island and there are many other places to go on it, including Lampedusa, which has the #1 rated beach in the world, according to tripadvisor.com, which is called Rabbit Beach. I would definitely be up for traveling to a different part of Sicily at one point. Palermo is now on my list of travels, and I think that for now, I'm happy with it being on there once.
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| Mercato di Ballero |
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| Mercato di Ballero |
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| Mondello Beach |
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