Ah, Sicilia...land of carbohydrates. Two weekends ago, Mac, Adrienne, and I dashed off to Palermo to get away from core classes and see what the heck goes on in southern Italy. Well, we certainly learned. Perhaps an overshare. But more on that later. Palermo is a wonderful place and was one of my favorite places I've gone (as if I don't say that about everywhere I go). Maybe it's that I had no expectations or knowledge of the city, maybe it's the "southern hospitality," maybe it's just simply a magical place, we may never know. But I do know that I have plans to return. No really, I loved it so much I decided I'm taking my mom back here when she visits me in December.
We got in on late Thursday night, were a little hungry and looking for a nightcap but weren't sure what would be open. As it turns out, Palermo's got quite the nightlife and things were poppin' even after midnight. On Thursday. We liked this place already.
Friday morning at breakfast, we were advised to check out the three outdoor markets and shown the major monuments on the map. We saw it all! 'Twas a bustling day through the city...
Dionysus, Fontana Pretoria (aka the fountain of shame!)
Street food?
Street food! Delicious and fried! Chickpea fritter and fried potato sandwich
La Cattedrale - the first I've actually seen in Italy
"leave the gun, take the cannoli"
Sadly, we weren't as impressed by the cannoli as we wanted to be. I enjoyed my 'granita' much more!
the three markets - Capo, Vucciria, Ballaro - were heaven for my camera and senses!
Now I'm craving pomegranates (as usual. I'm likely a descendent of Persephone.)
the seafood we ate (not pictured; that was not my dinner, don't worry!) was to die for
goofing off before going out
Saturday, we took it easy after our day of touristing and headed to Mondello beach. We took a bus that went through a natural reserve so the ride was gorgeous and surprisingly, I've really missed the beach. Not too many other feelings top 'laying about, listening to music, catching up on light reading, and snacking on potato chips.' (If you're curious as to what my light reading was, just some anti-fascism exile memoirs, Christ Stopped at Eboli by Carlo Levi, for one of my classes. Not done yet, but I recommend it.)
Unfortunately, I did not have a towel so I got extremely sandy. Was definitely worth it. (Not sure the sunburn was though...)
After an excruciating day at the beach, we walked back to town with the hopes of a specific place being open. It was, and we got to try "pan c'a meusa" - Sicilian for...spleen sandwich!
It was actually ridiculously delicious and had the texture of a mushroom. I washed it down with a Peroni, like a true Italian.
finished off the day with brioche con gelato, the original ice cream sandwich
Now I know what you're thinking. If the weekend was so great, so wonderful, so practically perfect, you must have wished for tons more time there. Yes, you're right. And that's why the blog title is oh so relevant. Mac, Adrienne, and I are now apprehensive about making wishes. Why? I'll tell you.
Saturday night, we went out to a hole in the wall wine bar where we were treated to neverending glasses of sparkling wine, a lovely bottle of rosso, a delicious antipasti plate, and a pork dish with gorgonzola cheese that melted in your mouth. We were told to walk back through the Vucciria market because it's got a nightlife and more spleen sandwiches. (Adrienne and I were loving them. Mac, not so much.) So we ventured there and so our adventure began. I won't go into the gritty details, as this blog is a classy establishment (also my grandpa reads it), but we had a roaring time and got in so early that we went to sleep and missed our flight! We wanted more time in Palermo and so the gods decided to smile upon us, when we least expected it. Of course, we were able to sort logistics out, and of course, I am home now. And I've got a great story about Sicily.
Currently, I'm enjoying a lazy Friday after a particularly busy week of classes. I'm staying in the city this weekend, and I think I'm going to do some solo sightseeing tomorrow. There's so much here that I won't get to on site visits and the days seem to fly by. Suddenly it's been two months and I still haven't been to the Vatican! As usual, Sunday will be market day - both farmers and flea. It's nice to have developed a routine and have things to look forward to.
Never drink red wine on Saturdays, "Sicilian rule" (told to us by a very nice, but lying, Palermitan!)
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