Day 119: Palermo, Italy

Street Art

The port of Palermo is on the island of Sicily. Palermo is a pretty city surrounded by hills. We had a beautiful day, and the temperature was perfect! Our excursion was set for the afternoon, which split our day, so we asked for a morning one and the English ones were full so we joined the Italians. I didn’t understand a word, but this lovely Italian woman who was an English teacher was nice enough to translate the highlights for us. Meraviglioso!

We visited a Catholic Church that was influenced by Arabic architecture. I wish I could understand the reason, and I can’t remember the age, but it was really old and amazingly well preserved. In fact, there was a lot of renovation happening and I think the catholic leadership puts a lot of effort into maintaining the old Italian cathedrals. It is really very impressive.

We came across a memorial for 3 young men who were murdered on the street. I don’t know what happened, but wonder if it was mob- related?

Next, we visited another church and tried some of the food of Sicily. I learned that Sicily is where Cannolis were invented! There was a savory treat that is a ball of rice and peas in Bernie sauce battered and fried. Unbelievable and amazing! Our translator’s husband was a retired art history professor, and was able to tell us some interesting things about the paintings and churches.

This one was baroque style architecture. It also made use of mosaic tile which had a stunning effect.

Well I took a bunch of interesting pictures at a street food market, and the blog software keeps failing to upload. Super aggravating, so I’ll just share them on instagram.

we took a tour of this theater, which has the 2nd largest stage in Europe, and is complete with a royal box

We strolled through the city back to the port, and they have done a great job making it very walkable.

We had our final yoga sessions on the cruise, as Stephanie the Yoga teacher was getting off the cruise the next day. What an amazing and unexpected perk!

The final session over Palermo