Palermo...not a lot to say about it. I would advise to skip it all together when in Sicily. Get a rental car and head to Scopello or other coastal beach towns or to wine country. If you really want to go to Palermo, I suggest spending one night there maximum as there aren't a plethora of tourist sights, and it isn't the most pleasant city to walk around. However, the grit has some appeal, with cool streets, a nice Marina, and perhaps the most bizarre tourist experience in the world.
The day at Mondello was a relaxing and fitting end to the weekend full of beaches, sun, pasta, wine and dead people! Scopello being one of the most beautiful places on earth, and Palermo being one of the dirtiest! Next time I'll head back to the airport directly from Scopello!
When we arrived we went to the old market area, the Vucciria, which is the oldest market in the city. There are some great winding roads, but the locals would confess the market is unfortunately not what it was even five years ago. There is tons of character so hopefully it will get turned around in due time. One of the cool spots that is there is this great bar that was serving the local workers (and me).
We then continued to walk around by this historic square (Pretoria) near the four corners area that, due to people defacing it, is blocked off from public access. It is sad and would be like the Spanish steps in Rome being closed off from the public.
We then went to the Capuchin catacombs, probably the craziest thing I have ever seen! Holding a couple hundred bodies that were placed there during the late 1800s, it is quite a collection. They bodies were placed there by loved ones and several scientific methods were used to try and preserve the bodies. Some still had hair and eyeballs! If you click on the link above, you can see the best preserved body, a small girl who died at the age of two who looks like she could have died yesterday! We were expecting a few bodies, not hundreds!
After taking a nap at our hotel (which was very very nice), Puerta Felice, we headed out to dinner, cursing by the marina that is being refurbished at the moment but nonetheless was really nice with the sun setting on it.
This is the restaurant we ate at on one of the small roads in the old town. It was a very romantic ambiance and the food was great too. I don't remember the name unfortunately, but it was tiny and just down a side-road north quattro canti (four corners).
As we had exhausted our love of Palermo, the next day we went to Mondello, the beach suburb of Palermo. The beach was incredibly crowded but the water was really great and sand was fine and soft. The pic doesn't capture how crowded it was, but it was really relaxing and only a 12 euro cab from the old town!
Below are the storage huts that I imagine a lot of local families keep their paddles and inflatable ducks!
The day at Mondello was a relaxing and fitting end to the weekend full of beaches, sun, pasta, wine and dead people! Scopello being one of the most beautiful places on earth, and Palermo being one of the dirtiest! Next time I'll head back to the airport directly from Scopello!
