Tuesday 9th May

We knew our friends Mark and Helen were in Sicily because we had arranged to meet up with them in about two weeks. However, when I looked at their itinerary a couple of days ago I realised our stay in Palermo would overlap with theirs for one day. Via WhatsApp we arranged to meet up for dinner this evening.

It was decided that our second day in Palermo would be based around a free walking tour. This started at 10am so we took the opportunity to walk into the city centre for an Italian breakfast before hand. We found a nice looking cafe and asked the waitress what a Sicilian would order for breakfast and she produced two different pastries. Their texture was a little like doughnut. One was filled with sweetened ricotta and the other a mixture of ricotta and pistachio. Needless to say they were delicious.

The walking tour was much the same as all free walking tours. Two and a half hours of looking round the exterior of the main sights of central Palermo interspersed with information about history, culture, food and the mafia (which we were told is no longer a problem in Palermo.)

The one place the guide made sure we looked inside was the Chiesa del Gesù which was one of the most over the top church interiors we have ever seen. It is the height of Baroque, decorated with stucco, marble and almost lurid frescoes.

Having just exited the church there was a tap on Sarah’s shoulder and it was Mark and Helen, who happened to be visiting the church at the same time. We said quick hellos and then we had to keep up with our tour.

After the tour we went to one of the street food venues our guide recommended. We didn’t fancy a spleen roll, which apparently one of the favourites of the Palermitani, so we chose arancini. These are the filled, deep fried, rice balls I already mentioned in my post about Cefalu. In this venue each arancini was made to order with the result that the crust is hard and crisp, contrasting with the soft rice and filling inside.

Sarah returned to Basil while I ventured to one more location, the Capuchin Catacombs. These are some subterranean passages where 8,000 bodies have been buried and due to the dry conditions, partly mummified. It was a grisly spectacle to say the least. None of the corpses are in coffins but all are dressed. There are special sections for children, virgins, priests and monks. At €5 each the current monks are doing very well out of the spectacle, but I don’t suppose the people interred here expected to become a tourist attraction. (No photos allowed, thank goodness)!

In the evening we walked the one and a half miles into the old town to rendezvous with Mark and Helen for an Aperol Spritz followed by dinner. Fortuitously the restaurant I had picked out as a result of a recommendation from a local blogger turned out to be very good and we all had a great evening together.

By the time we got back to Basil my Apple Watch said I had walked over 10 miles (16km) that day and I was plum tuckered out.