We took a final walk around Ortigia before going to the Siracusa bus terminal, a bleak and bare collection of bus stops, where even the Sicilians were complaining about the lack of shade and the heat, oh the heat! “C’è un caldo!!!!!” protested one lady waiting for the bus for Palermo along with us.
Finally it arrived. Oh, the bliss of an air conditioned bus after a hot wait. And we were off. We saw Mount Etna, gently steaming away. We passed parched-looking fields where, presumably, crops had been harvested. We watched briefly as the vigili di fuoco worked to extinguish a fire, started to burn off stubble, I think, but which had clearly got out of hand.
And eventually we arrived at Palermo’s bus station, not much shadier than the so-called bus station of Siracusa. We had managed to buy a street plan of Palermo before leaving Siracusa and so we had an idea of our route from the bus / train station (the latter much grander than the bus station) to our hotel. Aiming for the shortest rather than the most picturesque route, we must have gone through some of the scruffiest, messiest bits of the town.
Mind you, even “grander” parts that we have seen today are unbelievably untidy, litter-scattered and overgrown with weeds on steps and so on. We even went past what looked like the remains of a church. Now, the guidebook says that there are places still bearing the scars of bombing during World War II. Was this one of them?
It was so hot that our bottle of water, still reasonably cool as we got off the bus was positively hot by the time we were halfway to our accommodation.
Our B&B, however, is quite delightful. The ever so attentive owner had decided that as we are staying for four nights, he would move us from a room to an apartment, for the same price. So we have a bedroom, in fact a choice of two bedrooms, a sitting room/kitchen and a choice of bathrooms.
The foyer of the hotel is decorated in a rather eccentric fashion – photos on the next post, probably – and the breakfast is quite wonderful.
Our host subjected us to information overload: places to go, what to see, where to eat, even offering to make a reservation for us at a local restaurant – you know, a local restaurant for local people! We have taken him up on that for tonight so reports will follow, probably tomorrow.
I looked out of our balcony on to this view of our rather narrow street this morning. Narrow it may be, but it serves for drivers to get on to a kind of rat-run just around the corner, avoiding some of the main streets. And the traffic is mad as mad can be!!!
Having said all of this, with a fair amount of negative stuff in there, today we have visited a few Palermitano jewels. Just around the corner and up the road we have the Palazzo Reale, also called the Palazzo dei Normanni. It’s very old. Down under the bottom floor they have found remains of old Phoenician-Roman walls. The Pallazzo dates from the 12th century and it has important bits and pieces of Italian / Sicilian history and culture all over. 
We bought our tickets and went in, finding ourselves ushered into a group with a guide. Now, we have spent almost a week being shown round places by the wonderfully patient Sabrina during our Commissario Montalbano tour. So when our guide in the appartamenti reali started to get a little stressed and told everyone off, asking people please to have the “cortesia” to listen to her, it was more than a little embarrassing. One man caught my eye, straightened his shoulders and gave me a little salute behind the poor lady’s back. 
It was only when we got back home (to our hotel, I should say) that I read in their leaflet that visits to the appartamenti reali can ONLY be done with a guide. I suspect that few if any of the other visitors had read that leaflet either. The leaflet also said that no photos were allowed. Just as well I hadn’t read that. Also, it’s just as well I managed to keep out or our guide’s line of sight. It would have been a pity to miss the photo opportunities, especially in la sala di Ruggero, King Roger II’s beautifully ornate room. 
From the appartamenti reali we went on to the Capella Palatina, built for Ruggero II. Stunningly and beautifully ornate, it shows a good deal of Arabic influence. The mosaic floors alone are enough but then there are archways reminiscent of the Alhambra in Spain, but with more colour. And finally we went into the Sala Duca di Montalto where, according to one guide book, the ballroom scene of the film “Il Gattopardo” was filmed. There we discovered the paintings of Armodio on display: an exhibition worth visiting.
From there to the cathedral, dedicated, I believe, to Saint Peter and Saint Paul. So, no contest between Saint Peter and Saint George, at least not that we know of so far. However, we don’t have Sabrina to inform us as we did in Modica, Scicli, Ragusa and Noto.
In the cathedral compound is a boat on wheels, the winning float from the feast of Santa Rita some time in July. 
From the outside the cathedral of Palermo is a thing of wonder, another mix of Arabic, Norman, Spanish influences.
Inside, there are lots of columns and so on but little of great note according to the guide books. From the cathedral we walked down Corso Vittorio Emmanuale, through the crossroads known as I Quattro Conti, where the old city is divided into four sections and where each corner of the crossroads has statues to mark it.
Both of us had a pannino, mine with Francu’s special chickpea fritters and croquettes, made with mint to add extra flavour, and Phil’s the Vastiddaru special with ham, sausage, emmenthal cheeese and mushrooms. All good stuff!
We needed to go back to the hotel, taking in yet more statues and such on the way, to rest and recuperate, before heading out again this evening for yet more food.
No comments:
Post a Comment