Palermo, Sicily

It's been less than a week since Mr. BFWT and I returned from Sicily and I'm already pining to go back to Italy. This trip was just a few quick days that we managed to fit into both our hectic work schedules. While we would have loved to spend more time traveling around Sicily, timing and real life only permitted three days.

I absolutely adore Sicily. It is so distinct from other areas of Italy; the influence of the crucially important ocean, thousands of years of cross-cultural trade in the Mediterranean, and historic Arab rule is evident in the architecture, food, and culture found on the island.

Day 1: Monte Pellegrino

The view from the top of Monte Pellegrino

 

After arriving at our hotel long past midnight the evening before, we spent our first full day in Palermo climbing Monte Pellegrino, located on the northern end of the city. After braving another Scottish winter Mr. BFWT and I both enjoyed the sunshine and the 24-degree heat (possibly too much based upon the sunburn I’m still suffering from). While there is a paved road as well as buses going up the mountain, the views from the hiking trail are unparalleled, and I would highly recommend walking up if you are able. Located near the top is the Santuario di Santa Rosalia, a chapel dedicated to Saint Rosalia built into the mountainside around a deep cave. It was possibly the most interesting church I’ve ever been in.

The path up Monte Pellegrino

In the evening we had a nice quiet dinner near our hotel before going out for drinks. We were fortunate that the square nearest our hotel had an outdoor bar playing rock music and serving €1 glasses of local wine (and €1 tequila shots) until the wee hours of the morning. The square was also conveniently filled with a multitude of stalls serving street food.

Day 2: Mondello Beach

Mondello Beach

We decided to nurse our hangovers the following morning napping on the beach and drinking lots of water from the abundant drinking fountains found frequently on the streets of Sicily. Mondello Beach is located only half an hour from the city centre of Palermo but feels worlds away.

The minute we turned a corner and I was able to see the turquoise blue water of the bay it took my breath away. Don’t let the colour of the water fool you, though; it was absolutely freezing, at least in April.

Upon returning to Palermo after a day in the sun we quickly stopped at the hotel to freshen up before going out to eat at another restaurant in the area. As much as we willed ourselves to go out again we were both exhausted and in our beds by 10PM.

Day 3: Wandering the Streets of Palermo

We had roughly 10 hours after checking out of our hotel to explore the city before going to the airport on our final day in Palermo. We were fortunate that our hotel was incredibly accommodating with our bags; we could pick them up whenever we wanted, and we were able to use the toilets at the hotel at our discretion for the remainder of the day (always something that is at the forefront of my mind when traveling in Europe as toilets always seem few and far between).

The day gave us an opportunity to see parts of the city we would have otherwise missed. I found myself particularly interested in the Moorish influence on the architecture of the city. Sicily was ruled by Muslims for hundreds of years; many now-Catholic churches have an obvious significant Moorish influence, and more than a few had clearly been mosques before being converted into churches.

Palermo Cathedral

We killed time wandering through alleyways, streets, and markets brimming with locals with not another tourist in sight.

We also stopped by the harbor and nearby promenade, which offered phenomenal views of the Mediterranean and the surrounding landscape.

The view of Monte Pellegrino the Promenade

Food and Wine

Sicily is one of Italy’s largest producers of wine, as its climate is particularly suitable for growing grapes. In addition, Sicilian lemons produce a fantastic limoncello. Mandarinetto, a liqueur similar to limoncello but made from blood oranges, is also a specialty of the region. High quality wine, beer, and alcohol are cheap and plentiful.

If you hate seafood you will be unimpressed by what’s on offer in Palermo. For me it was heaven on earth. There are far more market stalls selling fish than meat. In the restaurants we visited, nearly every main that felt distinctly Sicilian rather than generally Italian contained some element of seafood. And every bit of seafood we ate was mouth-wateringly fresh.

Spaghetti con ricci, or spaghetti with sea urchin, is a Sicilian specialty. The restaurant I ordered the dish from served it simply, with garlic, parsley, olive oil, and a splash of local white wine. The sea urchin was unlike anything I have ever eaten before; they had a salty umami flavor and melted in my mouth before I even had the chance to bite into them.

Throughout the city there were stalls selling the largest oysters I’ve ever seen in my life. While I always seem to find local street food incredibly appealing, I found the idea of eating a raw oyster that had been sitting in the sun all day concerning at best. Fortunately, I was able to catch a seller just as he was opening his stall and had the opportunity to eat the freshest, largest, tastiest oyster I’ve had in my life.

Sicilian specialties also include arancini, or fried savoury risotto balls filled with a ragu and vegetable sauce, and caponata, an aubergine stew usually served with toasted bread.

We couldn't leave Sicily without having a cannoli

Tourist Experience

It became evident very early on that Sicily is a tourist destination for other Italians, rather than those from other parts of the world. There were astonishingly few English-speaking tourists, and even fewer English-speaking Sicilians. However, we found that people in Palermo were incredibly patient with our lack of Italian.

Our experience as tourists in many ways can be described by what we didn’t see rather than what we did. We didn’t see scammers trying to rip tourists off. We didn’t see Gypsies. We saw very few people begging despite the levels of poverty and volume of migrants on the island. We encountered very few situations that caused us to fear for our wallets or safety.

Takeaways

Italy never fails to disappoint Mr. BFWT and I. While we have many places on our to-visit list in Italy and around the world, we absolutely want to return to Sicily sometime in the near future to see other areas of the island. While Palermo is absolutely fabulous for a few days, if we had even a day more I think we would have spent a few days traveling elsewhere in Sicily- there’s so much to see beyond the capital city!