Today was our second day in Palermo and it has been a lot better than yesterday! We started the day with a plan and a full stomach thanks to the hotels continental breakfast! nothing beats a full english though!
We decided that we would explore a bit more of Palermo and go up Mount Pellagrino (after we found out a bus went up there!)
We had a look in the Marte dell Capo which is one of the historical bits of Palermo and there was stalls selling everything from knock of gucci bags to live snails!
We stopped at a nice looking gelatteria (ice cream parlour) and we were the only tourists! People were coming along on mopeds and stopping for their lunch. The owner seemed nice although he didn't speak much English!
There was a little shop in the market which sold typical scilian food, he shouted us over and asked if we were English (everyone seems to know we are English from about 40 paces! I don't know why!!) He showed us a tiny paragraph in The Times magazine from 2009 that had been written about his shop that he seemed really proud of! We went in and had a look and there was wall to wall of gorgeous looking sicilan products! I can see myself going back tomorrow and stocking up!
After we visited the market we had some lunch and got a bus to Mount Pellegrino. The bus was going up the mountain on the winding roads which had a sheer drop just inches away! but the views were fantastic!
When we got to the top we spotted a little church that had been built into a cave that was discovered hundreds of years ago. We went inside and it was really eerie and wierd because the roof was just the roof of the cave!
After taking shelter from the hot sun we ventured out to try and get to the summit armed with a bottle of water and a camera! We got about half way there but it was too hot to carry on (only about 35 degrees!). We got some really good photos from the top and could see everything so clearly!
When we reached the bus stop again we went into one of the little cafes and decided to try a sicilian speciality, arancien, which is a deep-fried ball of mozzarella and ham wrapped in rice then breadcrumbs! We weren't sure what it was and when we asked thd man behind the counter he gave us a description in Italian! He made it sound nice from the tone of his voice so we thought we would try it and it was really nice, if not a little wierd!
We got the bus back down the mountain and went back to the hotel, put on some aftersun and headed out for tea. The guidebook recommended a restaurant that did large portion and was cheap, and they weren't kidding! The menu offered a first course, second course, side order and drink for €10. So the first course came- a huge plate of spaghetti bolognese, then the second course came- a huge steak with salad and a side order of chips! It was literally two meals! we were both stuffed after that and just had to get the bus back!!
Before going back to the hotel we stopped at a cafe we discovered yesterday for a drink. We decided to try lemoncello, a typical italian spirit, but yo be honest it tasted like alcoholic lemon lemsip! So I won't be bringing a bottle of that home!
So todays been quite a long, hot day but its been nice to explore palermo and tomorrow we're going to have a look at the bits we haven't seen yet and maybe head to one of the beaches!
Night night x