Sicily...Not for the Faint of Heart

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Today was our day on Sicily - the huge island right at the tip of the boot of Italy. We docked in Palermo and decided to take a double-decker bus tour. Again, this is sometimes the best way to see a city in such a short period of time.

We won’t lie…we did not care for Palermo at all. It was smelly, crowded, hot and poor. We stumbled into some very unsavory neighborhoods looking for the churches, catacombs and museums on our tour. It just didn’t do it for us.

Two redeeming things: 1) Sicilians make the BEST bread in Italy - Gus had a great sub-style sandwich and Jen had a very interesting and spectacular dough stuffed with cotto ham (yes, the love affair continues) and mozzarella which is then topped with fresh tomato slices, more mozzarella and oregano. All this is baked to perfection. Mmmmm…and only 1.50 euro! And 2) the “catacombe dei cappuccini” (catacombs of the Cappucin monks). Gus loved the HUNDREDS of mummies that lined the walls and chambers of the catacombs. The original intention was to preserve the monks, priests, and bishops…but money talks and when the church needed cash, they started to mummify the wealthy folks as well. Jen was less impressed and had to leave early. Too strange. No photos are allowed, but we bought a small souvenir guidebook.

The thing about Palermo is that they really haven’t gone through all the effort to preserve all their monuments. They are often covered with graffiti, crumbling and look generally neglected. It is really rather sad to see. Maybe next time we will have to get out of the city to get a better impression of Sicily…the judges are out.

Tomorrow is another day…and it just happens to be in AFRICA!

Ah, at some point today I asked Gus if we’ll be ready to be parents in a few short months and this was his brilliant reply, “We won’t be ready, but we’ll be less not ready.” Perfect!

Here’s to waking up on another continent!

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Photos

The Entrance to the Cappucin Catacombs
Fairly creepy...

Remnants...
...from World War II bombing raids...good to see they were quick to repair any damage :)

The Opera House
Which opened in the 90´s after nearly 40 or 50 years of renovation!