Tour

The noise of the street was loud in the bedroom but we had both slept well. We’d all arranged to be ready for 9am but it was more like 9:15am when we left. 

We met our tour guide, Dominic, and fellow walkers at The Quattro Canti (an octagonal square created through the intersection of two of roads. It was busy but traffic is more-it-less banned in the centre. There are vehicles - and I don’t know why some are allowed - but they move slowly and it seems OK to walk in the streets. 

We saw statues of the patron saint, Santa Rosalia, and learned a lot about the Spanish years. I know that the new Kingdom of Italy was formed in 1861. Then, on to The Fountain of Shame, initially commissioned by a Spanish noble in Florence, it was placed in a square opposite a convent and a church. The nuns took a disliking to the nude statues and, somewhere along the line, it was named The Fountain of Shame. Sadly, the fountains were not flowing and you couldn’t enter the fountain space itself. 

There are over 200 churches in Palermo. A couple are UNESCO sites. Our first church stop, and my favourite, was the church of Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio. It is a stunning visual scene with Byzantine style mosaics from the 12 century and the newer part of the church is decorated with later frescoes attributed to a flemish painter. The mix of styles is really very impressive. 

After a few more sites we entered the market for the food part of the tour. Ballarò is the oldest and, some say, liveliest market in Palermo. My Arancini was lukewarm but delicious, the cheese, olives and pomegranate granita were tasty. My favourite was the panelle, supposedly one of the most iconic Sicilian street food recipes. They are  chickpea flour fritters and our guide recommended them with a squeeze of lemon and stuck between two slices of bread. Delicious. 

Then to The Church of the Immaculate Conception which has a stunning marble interior (3D marble, as the guide kept saying) but was, perhaps, too much. 

Finally, back to Quattro Canti to complete the tour with a Sicilian Cannoli. I opted for the basic one with the classic ricotta filling. Yummy but over in one bite. 

After the tour we walked towards the harbour but we didn’t find anywhere to rest. Then in search of the tree that is believed the largest in Europe.  It’s a Ficus Macrophylla with the tree sprouting new supports across the park. It is opposite the location of the Spanish Inquisitions in Palermo and it is said executions happened where the tree now stands.

Afterwards, we walked back towards the apartment. We stopped at Antica Focacceria San Francesco, for drinks. I opted for a local diet cola which was a strange thing to do as I don’t really drink colas at home.  It tasted similar to other cola drinks ... but I am not an expert.

Back to the apartment via Lidl. When we got back I felt a bit feint. I suspect the early start, the walk, the heat (as well as the 67 steps up to the place we are staying) had taken its toll. So I took a nap before joining the others on the terrace for Mark to open his birthday presents. 

We left about 8:15pm for A'nica, we ate outdoors. The pizza, I opted for the one named after the restaurant, was delicious but very filling. We could have skipped the starter. Eleanor’s shoe broke while we were in the restaurant. PY darted back to the apartment to pick up some other shoes which enabled us to get back for, just after, 11pm. Almost our Knight in Shining Armour!