Arrival in Palermo

There are no pictures for the 11th and 12th. I opted to overnight near KLIA to have a safety margin between arriving in KL from Kuching and departing for Italy. It was a wasted day but I didn't want to throw all my scheduling out of kilter by missing the flight to Italy. I also lost a bit of jet lag. Next time I'll arrange a better stopover.

This is a display in Fiumicino Airport introducing cultural treasures of Rome for those starting their holiday there. I was however catching a commuter flight to Palermo.

At Palermo I quickly got my luggage and a ticket for the shuttle bus leaving soon. It wasn't even midday, but of course my body time was in the evening.

From the bus I could see the hills that are so much a part of Sicilian landscape.

Along this stretch of highway there is a monument to Giovanni Falcone, assassinated by the Mafia in the Capaci bombing. His colleague Paolo Borsellino was assassinated a couple of months later. After that the Italian state came down hard on the Mafia. As a visitor you will not notice or hear much regarding the Mafia. I think they have moved on to less visible and more lucrative crimes than extorting businesses. However the fascination of visitors provides custom for Godfather tours.

After checking in at my lodgings there was still time to visit the Ballarò Markets. This sells all kinds of fresh and cooked food. But check what the names mean before you order because of the tempting smells. Stigghole is lambs guts washed and seasoned before being grilled. It's probably delicious but I was not game.

Another offering here, Pani Ca' Meusa is bread with spleen. Sometimes it's spelled the Italian way, milza.

These are obviously pesant recipes making use of whatever is at hand.

Ballarò is also a flea market.

I always enjoy looking at local fruits and vegetables.

And the seafood.

Dried foods.

Colourful souvenir handicraft.

Lanes are narrow because the market is ancient.

This is the Church of Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio overlooking Piazza Bellini. A search will find you many pictures of the beautiful interior. I did not enter it.

Just a few steps away is the Church of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria. Palermo is rich in such architectural treasures.

A panorama taken at the intersection of Via Vittoria Emanuele and Via Marqueda.

Can't visit Sicily and not eat a cannolo. This one's filled with coffee ice cream instead of the usual sweet ricotta cream.

Spaghetti-like ice cream is one of those novelty desserts. You can see that Aperol Spritz is also popular.

Heading back towards my lodgings along Via Roma, which is a major road running parallel to Via Marqueda, I passed the Church of St. Domenic.

But in the back streets east of Via Roma was the more interesting La Vucciria Market. This is smaller than Ballarò and is more like a flea market.

There are small establishments for food and drink.

But this rap singer belting out a foot-tapping dancing number hints that this street turns into a nightlife hotspot after dark.

I was suffering about 6 hours of jet lag so I had an early evening. And that was my first day in Palermo and Sicily.