wanderingbishops.com

We have had marvelous weather (albeit, a bit too warm for us) so far until today!  But today we were faced with clouds, clouds, and more clouds with a threat of rain. And today we are slated to travel to Mt. Etna and explore its upper region. It is obvious we will not be seeing a lot of the surrounding landscape while there. No problem, it will still be an adventure. They say you should visit Mt. Etna for two reasons:  to see the volcanic landscape and visit the wonderful wine country that exists because of it. We will be doing both. Rick Steves calls this itinerary “The Whole Shebang”. Bring it on!

Geography lesson for the day:  Mt. Etna stands 10,924 feet above sea level and obviously dominates the Sicily landscape. It is still an active volcano, but it is referred to as a “gentle volcano” because it usually spews only ash and occasionally slow moving lava rather than having massive eruptions like other volcanoes such as Mt. Saint Helens, located in our backyard. However, several hundred tons of vapor spew from the top crater each day. Etna is not a single volcano; there are hundreds of craters scattered on its flanks. It presents a Mars-like landscape for all who visit. End of lesson.

When we left Taormina it was not raining; however when we stopped for a break about one hour later in the town of Zafferana Etnea, it was now raining pretty good. In this town Rick Steves said to seek out a small bakery (Donna Peppina) on the main square ( where we happened to park) and seek out a local delicacy sweet, called “sciatore” which he described as “a sugar-bomb chocolate covered-cookie that resembles a pair of skis”. I found the place and purchased a couple of what looked like large chocolate covered logs, which I then tried to share with my fellow travelers. I had few takers and I had to admit I was not impressed. They looked freshly made sitting on the counter but they were not soft and fresh. Not unsure if that is the way they should taste or were they simply old! One “no” vote for the Rick Steves suggestion.

By the time we climbed to our destination, Refugio Sapenza, at 6,300 feet we were completely enveloped in clouds, which limited our visibility drastically. This is the area where a tram can take you further up the volcano and other excursions are also available. Needless to say nothing was operating because of the weather conditions.

We were given free time to wander around, after being warned about not falling into one of the many small craters in the area. Most people, after a quick look at the surrounding bleak landscape, beat a hasty retreat to the warmth of the coffee and souvenir shop. That included our party of 4. I guess we simply will have to return someday if we want the real Mt. Etna experience.

Heading back down the slopes of Mt. Etna the rain had stopped as we headed to one of the many vineyards/ wineries in the area. The volcanic soil offer wonderful growing conditions for wines and the wine industry is emerging big time here I was impressed at how modern and elegant the winery that we visited (Gambino) was. The vineyards were neatly arranged, the main building was large and modern and most important, the wines we tasted were quite good (and inexpensive compared to US wines). We were told we would have a “light lunch” to accompany the wine tasting and I should have known by now what a Sicilian “light lunch”.  What it is not is a light lunch-an appetizer plate that could be a meal in itself, a main course and dessert- all served with 4 different wine pairings in an elegant room overlooking their vineyards. The wines were good enough to have me see if they can be bought in the US. Yes, they are available at prices not mich higher than in Sicily. I did purchase a jar of a great lemon sea salt (and other spices) spice blend that they mixed with our olive oil for bread dipping.

Leaving on full stomachs most of us probably snoozed as we worked our way back to our hotel in Taormina. We said goodbye to our excellent driver, Andrea, as he was no longer needed as our last day will be spent in Taormina itself.

We met up again with the Austgens for dinner but everyone simply wanted pizza tonight so we wandered the streets until we found a place that could take the 6 of us.

Steps today:  5,753.  Obviously a goof off day!

 

A lovely set breakfast is served in a room on the top floor of the hotel with fabulous views of the area.

Another road trip today with the first stop at the tiny (pop 1,714) mountain village of Savoca, made famous because it was used as one of the locations for the filming of the Godfather movie. The church and the local bar were prominent locations for the filming of the 1972 movie. The road to it can make you seasick with all its twists and turns but the location of the village is rather idyllic. We walked to the tiny church where the marriage took place. The church is still functioning and has a bunch of pictures from the movie on display next to the religious statues-a bit ironic.

The walk (uphill) to the church led us past a local bakery where the smells compelled us to stop after our visit to the church. They were giving out samples of freshly made biscotti and promised that their bread would be out in 10 minutes so we had to wait because the sweet smell of bread was overpowering! Well the 10 minutes turned out to be more like 25 but it was worth it as I walked away with three small baguettes of still hot bread (olive, sun dried tomato, and Parmesan). While waiting for our bus we tore off hunks of the warm bread and wolfed them down. All that was missing was some olive oil or butter. Savoca was a fun stop!

The main activity of the day, however, was a luncheon in the home of a local family. It was quite an extravaganza! We were met by the host’s daughter and walked to the home where we met a close friend of the family who had recently moved back to Sicily after spending 40 years in New Jersey, running her own restaurant. She was a “hoot” and acted as our translator as our host proceeded to serve a lavish lunch to us accompanied by pitchers of her homemade wine. We had an appetizer plate, followed by a traditional pasta featuring eggplant. We thought that was the lunch when out came a dish with sausage pattie’s and a salad. We all groaned a bit but kept eating. Next came her homemade lemoncello and a demonstration on how to properly peel the lemon needed for the brew, along with the recipe so we can make it at home. And then….came the dessert – a monstrous mound of dough balls covered with a chocolate mousse, another traditional Sicilian recipe. We left several hours later completely stuffed; it was a marvelous event and one to be remembered.

Our late afternoon was free but Giusi offered to walk us up to the famous local landmark, the Greek/Roman amphitheater located in Taormina. Yvonne and I had seen it  20+ years ago while on a cruise so she remained behind while Sue, Gerry and I went. It is quite a sight, but again because it is used for present day concerts was visually less appealing because of all the scaffolding/plywood used for the concerts. You could not fully appreciate the complexity and beauty of what was built

2,000 years ago. The amphitheater is made of red bricks, indicating that it is a Roman design, but its layout reflects that used by the Greeks so it is another example of the Romans rebuilding such structures to suit their interests. It is the 2nd largest amphitheater in Sicily, only Siracusa is larger. We walked around and then quickly left as a rain shower descended on us; luckily we had brought umbrellas so we avoided getting wet.

Another “it’s a small world” example:  Gerry had learned that friends of theirs from Indiana happened to be in Taormina at the same time we are here so he arranged for the six of us to gather for drinks and dinner this evening. We met, we had cocktails at the hotel, then had a lovely dinner at, yet, another outdoor restaurant, while comparing stories of our respective travels in Sicily.

Steps for the day: 7,915.  But we made up for it by eating a lot!

 

We are leaving Siracusa, heading to our last stop, Taormina, with intermediate stops in Catania and Giardini Naxos.  We really enjoyed out stay in the Siracusa area; it is our favorite stop so far!

Catania was one of the early Greek settlements but when the Romans occupied it, it was most likely the largest Roman city in Sicily. The city was virtually destroyed in 1693 by both an eruption of Mt. Etna and an earthquake. Talk about bad luck. Then in WWII it was bombed heavily. The city is rebounding but is not as popular as its sister cities near Mt. Etna. We spent a few hours there with a quick walking tour and some free time to shop. We then moved on to our group luncheon at a beach cafe (Lido La Romantica) in the town of Giardini Naxos.

Naxos is the oldest Greek city in Sicily. It dates back to 734/5 BC, about one year before the Greeks established Sircusa (Syracuse). Siracusa destroyed it 300 years later when it became the dominant Greek city in Sicily. What little is left today is part of the beach town of Giardini Naxos, known for its sandy beaches and thus popular with sun worshipers.

After lunch we were treated to a boat ride along the coastline of Sicily, with a singing captain and a bottle of lemoncello that he provided. It was a very enjoyable one hour journey and allowed us to experience Sicily from the sea.

By late afternoon we were in for final destination of the day and the trip, Taormina, a cliff side town overlooking the Ionian Sea on the slopes of Mt. Etna. Giusi took us on a brief orientation walk before leaving us for the evening.  Taormina is in a lovely setting; it is glitzy; it is vibrant. Think of it as the Santorini of Sicily. My initial impression was that I was really going to like it!

Steps for the day: 11,096.  More than I thought!

Our last day in Siracusa will be spent exploring more of the city. But before we start our exploration a bit of a history lesson is warranted.

Syracuse (as most of us remember it as) dates back 2700 years (founded in 734 BC)! If you are like me, you thought Syracuse was a city in Greece, not Sicily!  In the 5th century BC it was a big as Athens; in 415 BC about 250,000 people lived here. The Bible says that the apostle Paul visited here. Archimedes, the famous mathematician (inventor of calculus), was born (and died) here. End of lesson.

Our hotel is actually is located on the island of Ortigia, the “old town”,  which is attached to the mainland by a couple of bridges. Our first activity of the day was going back to the mainland to visit the the Neapolis Archeological Park to see ancient Greek and Roman ruins located there. The Greek theater here dates back to 500 BC with seating carved from stone and capable of seating 15,000 people. It offers the best view in town, overlooking the bay beyond. The theater is still in use today so had had to contend with some wooden scaffolding which somewhat ruined the true view of the facility.  Nearby are the remains of a Roman amphitheater built in the first century AD after the Romans took over. It was used like the Colosseum in Rome-for gladiator fights.  Part of the same complex is a huge quarry where slaves provided much of the stone needed for the construction of the theater and amphitheater. The area is know known as the Garden of Paradise and we visited one of the huge caverns dug there that has amazing acoustics. We all had to test whether that was true!

From there it was back to Ortigia for a walking tour of the area followed by a visit to their daily market.

We first visited the Cathedral of Siracusa (dedicated to St. Lucy, the patron Saint of Siracusa) located right around the corner from our hotel. The original structure here was a Greek temple built in the 5th century BC. In 878 it became a mosque, then in the 11th  century it was made into the Catholic Church it is now. What makes it unique (and unlike any other church we have ever seen) is that the church was built encompassing the columns of the original Greek temple; they are an integral part of the church and gives it a truly unique appeal on the inside.

We then walked to the northern part of the island to see the remains of the Greek temple dedicated to Apollo located right next to the city market, our next stop. After strolling through the market (and stopping to learn about local products) we ended up at a local restaurant at the edge of the market where we had a fabulous lunch which consisted of a half dozen small bowls of various salads, meats, cheeses and fish. There was even a dessert. Everyone thought it was a great treat.

The rest of the afternoon was supposedly free but we were not able to have our laundry done at the previous hotel stop, as it did not have weekend service, so I convinced Yvonne (reluctantly) to go to the local self service laundromat that others in our tour group used. It was nearby, clean and easy to use. Luckily the owner was there, spoke English perfectly and guided us through the process which only took about an hour.

There were no plans for the night and Gerry suggested that we go to a local puppet show, a skill carried on in Sicily for centuries. There are even a couple of shops still making puppets in Siracusa. We agreed it would be fun and we joined about 60 other people at the 6PM show. The puppets are about three feet tall and have elaborate costumes

The show (in Italian) was about a knight fighting for the hand of the fair maiden daughter of the king. We understood nothing but somehow did seem to follow the plot, but found we would have to come the next night to see if there was the happy ending we all were waiting for! Obviously we could not as we were leaving the next morning so we will never know the “rest of the story”. My bet is that he prevailed!

We were on our own for dinner and we all wanted pasta WITH meat and sought out a local recommended restaurant noted for it. There is a funny incident associated with the evening. We had to kill 30 minutes before getting our table so we wandered near by to get a drink while waiting. Service was very slow and our drinks did not arrive for 25 minutes, leaving us little time to consume them. We needed to-go cups but where could we get some? Gerry spotted a liquor store across the street and came back with a package of about 50 plastic cups that he paid 1 Euro for!  We had a hardy laugh as we left with our drinks in plastic cups and an excess supply of cups (which actually came in handy later in the trip).

The meal at the restaurant was good and we happily called it a night afterwards. Oh, I might comment there are often strolling musicians who go from restaurant to restaurant, entertaining the guests and passing a hat for tips. We happily obliged when we ran into them as it lent atmosphere to the evening.

 

Steps for the day: 12,530  A big day!

 

 

 

Today is our day to explore the extreme southern portion of Sicily. We retraced our steps with the smaller vans to pick up our larger touring van on the mainland where we began a “road trip” to several small towns in this part of Sicily. These are not particularly tourist towns so we will get to experience the “real” Sicily life.

Our first stop was in Noto, a town with a current population of 24,000, dates back to 283 BC. Like most Sicilian towns it has been occupied by the Greeks, the Romans and the Arabs before the Normans arrived in 1091. In 2002 the town and its 1776 Sicilian Baroque cathedral were named as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Our visit included a short walking tour through the city and some free time to explore on our own.

Back on the bus, our next stop was Ragusa, a hilltop (300 meter high) city of 73,288 people with a similar occupation history as was Noto. The Ragusa area was the location for the landing of Allied forces (Operation Husky) during the WWII invasion of Italy. Again a short walking tour of Ragusa-Ibla (the old town-which is always the most interesting part) followed by free time. But first we were taken to a private palace overlooking the main square, owned by the same family for over 200 years. We were met by the grandson of the owners who gave us a personal tour and then offered us Prosecco and snacks before we departed. He graciously answered our questions about the family and life living in such a magnificent home in this day and age. As is common with buildings of this size and age the costs to operate and maintain them requires the owners to open it to groups such as ourselves. It was a great opportunity to see how the “rich” people lived back then.

After the palace tour we were given time to explore further and/or have lunch on our own. We were looking for something light and in the shade as it was getting hot. We happened on a small panini/pizza shop with big umbrellas and a nice breeze so we stopped there for a bite to eat. We ordered what we thought would be on the light side as there was a group dinner scheduled for this evening. I had been craving a green salad, Yvonne wanted her Panini, Gerry wanted a hamburger and Sue simply wanted a small pizza. What arrived at our table brought laugher and groans as the dishes were simply HUGE! We could have fed a family of 4 or more with what we had on our plates. The food was very good but needless to say, we hardly put a dent into what was served. It was our laugh of the day. Spoiler alert: We found that most of the meals we had in Sicily involved very large portions and seldom were we able to clean our plate. The Sicilians must be large eaters!

The last stop was more of a photo stop overlooking the quaint town of Modica.  Modica is another hill town (296 meters high) with a population of  54,456. It dates back to around 1,000 BC. Its claim to fame are its chocolates, which are sold all over Sicily. We stopped for pictures and our driver brought out a bottle of a Marsala wine for us to share. We did not visit the town that made it famous but at least we got a taste of their well known product.

It was then back to Siracusa for some rest before meeting for a dinner at a local restaurant called “Peperosa Tratorria” where Yvonne and Sue won the prize with their selection of their main course-a deboned chicken leg stuffed with ricotta cheese and spinach with a side of potatoes that were similar to potato skins.

Steps for the day: 6,739- a rest day!

We are continuing our journey south with the intent on reaching Siracusa (Syracuse) by the end of the day.

The main stop will be to visit a world heritage site: the Villa Romana del Casale, noted for its extensive mosaics that have survived since the 4th century AD. Because a landslide in the 16th century covered the area the 3,500 square meters of mosaics were saved and are considered to be the largest, richest and most varied display of Roman mosaics in the world. It was rediscovered in 1929 but most restoration took place between 1950-1960. The villa is in the middle of nowhere (about 3km from the town of Piazza Armerina) and not much is known about why it was built there and who occupied it. Current speculation is that a high level Roman senator or aristocrat was its owner.

We were met by a local guide who led us through the massive compound and brought to our attention the different rooms of the villa and the unique mosaics that each room had. Important rooms have more elegant designs then less important spaces. It is thought the mosaics in the home were all completed in less than ten years. We have never seen so many mosaics and in such marvelous condition. The villa included a large Roman bath facility so large that it is thought it was used by the general public living in the area. The villa is yet another example that “it is good to be king” class of person. If you want to read about these mosaics here is a website that presents a lot of information about them: https://sights.seindal.dk/italy/sicily/piazza-armerina/villa-romana-del-casale/.

The extensive tour made us hungry and we were transported to a local restaurant where I had the opportunity to try a local delicacy, rabbit, as my main dish. Like most other dishes it sort of “tastes like chicken”.

Siracusa would be our location for the next three nights. We like the fact that we are not moving to a new hotel after a single night stay. Because Siracusa is an old city large vehicles are prevented from entering the old town (which is really an island called Ortigia) and we had to transfer our group to two smaller vans for transfer to our hotel. Logistics worked perfectly, the vans were waiting for us at the transfer point and we were quickly delivered to our new home, Hotel Roma, located right on the main square (Piazza Duomo) of the old city. It was a lovely site and our rooms were massive, and overlooked the square.

After settling in we met our guide, Guisi, for a brief orientation walk through the neighborhood before being allowed to wander off on our own for the rest of the evening. After the huge lunch we opted to simply grab a pizza but erred by ordering two of them, thinking that because of their inexpensive price they would be small. They were not!

Steps for the day: 10,056. Whew!

Happy birthday, Yvonne!  She turns 81 today and probably wishes she was languishing in her bed on Miller Bay rather than traipsing around Sicily, but she has been a good sport about our adventure.

We are leaving the “big city” of Palermo and heading south to start our exploration of the rest of the country. Our first stop, about an hour from Palermo, will be at the small famous (infamous?) town (population 11,158) of Corleone, Sicily, the birthplace of the Mafia. There we will met by a local resident who will give us a lecture on the history of the Mafia.

The scenery changed drastically as we left the coastal area of Palermo. Suddenly we were entering a mountainous region with more forests and eventually extensive fields growing durum wheat. This is the famous “breadbasket” region of the country, an area that has produced these grains from Roman times. It reminded me a bit of Eastern Washington but here the fields are smaller and the hillsides are more rugged. Surprisingly there was not much evidence of grazing animals.

When we reached the center plaza of Corleone we were met by Gino Felicetti, who led us to the nearby park where we sat in the shade and listened for one hour as he traced the history of the emergence and demise of the mafia. He had pictures of the famous figures of the organization to share and stories about how and why it became what it had. His family had some involvement which had forced them to leave the area for some time. The story behind Lucky Luciano was particularly intriguing as was the story of how the mafia worked with the US during WWII.

Leaving Corleone we drove another hour and stopped for a quick lunch at a road side stop where Yvonne had her favorite lunch – a ham and cheese Panini on the magnificent freshly made Italian bread!

After lunch we drove to our main attraction for the day-the Valley of Temples, located by the town of Agrigento where we will also spend the night. The Greeks colonized the east coast of Sicily in the 8th century BC. About 150 years later they migrated to this location, calling it Akragas, where they built 15 massive temples dedicated to their gods. Our walking tour (which Rick Steves calls “one of the great travel experiences in the Mediterranean”) with a local guide covered the 5 remaining temples in the area. Unfortunately it was hot (upper 80s). Yvonne was the smart one, noting that they offered a tour via a cart which she took while the rest of us walked! Two hours later we caught up to her resting comfortably in the shade of the trees while we all were hot and tired. Luckily there was a stand selling the famous lemon granita at the exit of the park so we had an opportunity to refresh our bodies.

Our hotel was only a short distance away and the cold showers awaiting us felt superb. The hotel, Baglio dell Luna, was magnificent. Formerly a private home it has been converted to one of the prettiest hotels we have stayed at modern rooms with awesome AC, verdant gardens with greenery and flowers and an outdoor patio overlooking the Valley of the Temples for dining. We had a marvelous dinner in that setting complete with the staff singing happy birthday (in Italian) to Yvonne with a candle in her dessert! I wished we could spend more time here but we move on in the morning.

Steps for the day:  11,567. No wonder I was tired!

We are taking a road trip west of Palermo to see some sights in the area including a Greek temple at Segesta, a medieval town (Erice) and the salt flats in Trapani. It will be a busy day.

Breakfast at the hotel is fairly extensive by European standards-hard to decide what to have.I leaned towards having the fresh fruit and croissants (of varying types) which were abundant here. The bacon offered is usually undercooked and the eggs are runny and not hot. Yvonne loves to make a breakfast sandwich of ham and cheese on a breakfast roll. The biggest problem was getting a large cup of coffee (an Americano) as they have automated machines to make your cup fresh, but there is no button for an Americano. The closest I could find was a “longo” which sounded promising, but wasn’t, as it simply doubled the normal expresso drunk by most of the locals. But I learned to outsmart it by requesting two longos in a single cup, resulting in almost the equivalent of an Americano- close enough!

Our day road trip was to the west of Palermo where the landscape started to appear greener(read later that is because they get more rain). We all were surprised as to how hilly (mountainous?) the region is. But before I continue I must discuss driving in Palermo. It is both unbelievable and impressive. Drivers simply ignore lanes and normal driving rules. They make three lanes where there should be two. They will leave their lane, enter the opposite direction lane and come at you head on, only to merge back into their proper lane at the last moment. Motorcycles and scooters are always in the opposing lane if they see a gap in traffic. But what is most amazing is that there is no honking of horns, no finger salutes, and seemingly no accidents (I saw no dented cars). it just seems to work. Try that in the US. I was impressed.

Our first stop was at the ancient city of Segesta (seh-JESS-tah)where the remains of a Greek temple and theater are located. The Doric design temple was built around 420 BC (only about 25 years after the Parthenon in Athens) but was never completed (no roof or interior worship room-the cella) and no one knows why. There is a small theater at the same location but it was a steep walk up a hill to see it and it was already getting hot so we all skipped it as there will be others to see on this trip.

After a quick lemon granita and bathroom break at the complex we continued our journey to our next stop-the medieval town of Erice. Located high on a hill it dates back to 1200 BC but grew mostly after the Normans arrived in the Middle Ages. Guisi led us on a town walk using the “whisperers” as they are commonly called-a marvelous addition to touring that has emerged since we first started traveling years ago. It is you the freedom to hear what the tour leader is saying without having to be right next to her. We love them!

The walking tour ended and it was time for an included lunch at a small restaurant called “Gli Archi di San Carlo” in Erice. Normally the tour then proceeds to take a cable car down to the lower town of Trapani. However, the area is also noted for its winds and the cable car is often shut down because of the winds. Today was such a day and we had to return to our bus and be driven to Trapani to view the salt flats and learn how salt is mined in the area since the eighth century BC!

Salt was originally used to preserve the tuna caught here in abundance. Salt was more valuable than gold in ancient times. Trivia for the day: Romans paid their workers a “salario” which comes from the Latin word “sale” which means salt. Trapani is good for mining salt because of its sun, its winds, and its shallow, smooth, clay-lined sea beds. Antique windmills were used to pump sea water into the shallow ponds where evaporation eventually extracted the salt from the water. We visited an operating family owned facility that has a museum with implements used in the past to harvest the salt. They also gave us a short presentation on how they collect and harvest the salt from the sea water from the past to the present. It was back breaking work back then, done by hand; the process is pretty much mechanized today.

It was back to the Palermo where we were on our own for dinner.

Steps for the day: 10,367.

We met Guisi at 8:45AM (a civil time) to begin our tour of Palermo. Our hotel is located about 100 feet from the intersection of the two major streets of Palermo. As I mentioned both streets are pedestrian only in this part of the city so walking is easy. It is also at the intersection called “Quattro Canti” (four corners) which marks the division of the city into 4 neighborhoods. Each of the corners of the square contains a statue representing one of the four seasons and a water fountain. Guisi explained the meaning of the edifices before turning our attention to the famous “fountain of shame” located around the corner from the square. It is one of the few Renaissance works located in the city and dates back to 1555. When placed here it aroused the ire of the religious living in the nearby convent as many of the statues portrayed made figures. The nuns initially tired covering the statues with clothes and when that that did not work they damaged the statues with chisel and hammer. The city fathers had to erect a fence around the fountain, which still remains there today.

In the area around the fountain are three churches, one of which (Santa Caterina) we toured yesterday. Today we visited the La Martorana church which dates back to the 12th century. The church is famous for its Byzantine-Norman mosaics. There was a mass occurring so we could not go in as a group; we went in to see the mosaics a few people at a time. Guisi told us the nuns still make/sell cannoli from the nearby church but unfortunately not until later in the day. Bummer!

From here we had to walk a few blocks to exit the pedestrian zone to meet our driver and transportation van for the trip. It turned out to be a marvelous new Mercedes 19 passenger van so there would be plenty of room to move around. Andre is our driver and over the next few days his experience and expertise proved valuable. Surprisingly we were told we had to wear masks while on board. Prior to this we saw virtually no masks on people inside or outside. Oh well, when in Rome…

We were driven to a famous landmark, the Palantine Chapel in the Norman Palace. It is a mixture of Byzantine, Norman and Fatimid styles and was completed in 1143. What makes it so famous are the mosaics that covers its walls and ceiling. The ceiling is especially unique; it is made in the muqarnas style (three dimensional painted wood sections), which is Islamic in nature and style. I had never seen one like it in any of the many churches I had been in. The church elicits many oohs and aahs when viewed. The rest of the palace is now the home of the legislature.

Next stop was a short walk away to the Ballaro street market, one of the three that dot the city. It is bigger than the one we walked through yesterday but with similar products. The purpose of our visit was to sample a Sicilian street food lunch. Sitting on plastic chairs around beat up tables in an alley we were treated to arancini (fried rice balls stuffed with meat), Sicilian pizza (thicker bread with tomato sauce), thin  fried chickpea bread, and potato coquettes. I liked the arancini the best.

After lunch we drove about thirty minutes to the nearby town on Monreale to see another church that would supposedly make the Palatine Chapel look rather mundane,    the Monreale Cathedral. The church is an exquisite example of Norman architecture and was consecrated in 1182. It is considered to be one of the most important attractions in Sicily. Again it is a combination of Byzantine, Norman and Arab elements in a Romanesque building. What is important to know is that in those times the “new” rulers of the land accepted and embraced the cultures of those who proceeded them in ruling the area-an uncommon practice. So we get the blending of cultures we see in churches such as this one.

By the time we returned to our hotel we had walked 12,136 steps and Yvonne cried “uncle” and proceeded to start her eventual 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep while Gerry, Sue and I went out for dinner. It was indeed a very busy first day!

---

History lesson of the day (compliments of travel guru, Rick Steves): Palermo was founded in the 8th century BC by Phoenician traders. The Greeks called it “Panormus” and it became a critical trading center for them because of its excellent location and port. It was a small settlement until the Arabs arrived in 827AD and made Palermo the capital of the island. Palermo flourished and became the second largest city in Europe at the time with a population of 100,000 people. During Arab occupation there were over 300 mosques in the city. The Arabs introduced new crops to Sicily- citrus, cotton, sugar, nuts and dates. They were masters of urban planning, water engineering, mathematics, medicine and astronomy. Their knowledge drastically changed the culture of Palermo.

It has been warmer here then it should be this time of the year-probably for the same reason we are experiencing in the USA. High 80s predicted. This is a free day for us as we do not meet our fellow travelers until 6 PM tonight. We decided to take the Rick Steves walking tour of Palermo as we both had brought his Sicily guidebook with us (BTW-it is very good). Our hotel is beautifully located-right in the middle of the old section of town with pedestrian only streets around us. You do have to be careful as there are bicycles and electric scooters all over the place, weaving in and out of walking people.

Our first stop (a 7 minute stroll from our hotel) was at the Palermo Opera House (Teatro Massimo) which happens to be the 3rd largest opera house in Europe! It opened in 1897 after 22 years of construction. We happened to arrive right when they offered a 30 minute English tour of the facility which we decided to take. We were glad we did as it is a beautiful facility with magnificent acoustics which we got to hear when a single flautist started practicing for an upcoming concert.  We could clearly hear from a great distance. After hearing that Gerry wanted to attend a concert but none are available while we are in Palermo. From there we simply followed the narrative and directions from the Rick Steves guidebook.

One of the churches on this walk was the Church of San Domenico, the 3rd largest in the city. What makes it famous is that it houses the tomb of Giovanni Falcone, the hero of the fight against the Mafia. He was a judge and prosecutor who won a series of convictions against Mafia leaders. Because of his actions he (and his wife) were killed by a Mafia bomb in 1992. This caused public opinion to turn against the Mafia and led to its demise In Sicily.

Several hours later it was getting warmer and we were tired and thirsty so we found an outdoor eatery (they are everywhere) and had our first of one of Sicily’s famous drinks- a “lemon granita”- basically a frozen slushie. They can be purchased everywhere and come in several flavors but the most popular one is lemon.  They are often accompanied by a sweet brioche bun which we all ordered. It is certainly a refreshing drink and we resumed our walk reinvigorated.

There are three famous churches on a square right near our hotel and only one was slated to be seen on our Secret Italia tour. Rick Steves gave high ratings to the baroque church called Santa Caterina. As Rick Steves says “it is feast for the eyes”. It was truly amazing! Three dimensional art adorned the walls and the ceiling. I had never seen such decor. It was beautiful.

Time for a nap before meeting our tour director and the rest of our fellow travelers at 6PM for cocktails, then out to a local restaurant for a group dinner. Our tour director, Giusi (Josephine) Mandreucci, is a true local, living in Palermo her whole life. She has been a tour guide since 1998, so we are sure we will be in good hands as she leads us through Sicily. There are 13 in our group-3 Australians, 2 Canadians and 8

Americans. All appear to be seasoned travelers and surprisingly this is their (and our) first experience with Secret Italia tours. We are hoping that they will be as good as previous travelers had reported.

Dinner was at a small local bistro (Osteria Ballaro) near the restaurant we ate at last night. We were served a starter plate of local delicacies (mostly raw fish) and we had a choice of 3 entrees and 2 desserts to complete the meal. Local wine was served in abundance.

Thus ended our first official event of the tour. Tomorrow begins a lengthy tour of the sights of Palermo and Monreale.