After returning, most people asked if I got lonely or if it was scary traveling alone. To be honest, neither. I actually really enjoyed not having anyone to speak to face-to-face during my travels. It was a pretty introspective trip: I just had myself and my thoughts. And that was pretty much it. Also, I really enjoyed being on my own schedule and not listening to anyone. It was awesome to just do whatever I felt like doing--I've never experienced that before while traveling.
Palermo. Day 1. Thursday, March 22.
Anyway, I flew from Bologna to Palermo on RyanAir...my faaaaaavorite airline. If you couldn't tell, that was a very sarcastic remark. My flight was at 6:40 in the morning, which means I had to be at the airport at around 5:30, but of course there were no trains that got into Bologna at 5:00. So I took a train leaving Florence Campo Maria at 1:47 am. I thought the train left from Florence Santa Maria Novella, and when I realized (at 1:40) I jumped in the nearest cab. Here's the conversation.
Me: Hi. Do you speak English?
Cab Driver: Si.
Me: Campo Maria...fast!
Cab Driver: Si.
Me: How long will it take to get there?
Cab Driver: Ten, maybe five minute.
Me: I have a train leaving at 1:47.
Cab Driver: I hurry.
Me: Thanks.
(The cab driver blew through two red lights)
Cab Driver: Where you going?
Me: Bologna, but I'm flying to Palermo from there and I need to get on this train.
Cab Driver: Okay. I get you there in time. Don't worry.
Me: Thanks so much.
I then arrived at 1:46, I paid the cabbie, and bolted for the train. Made it in time. Cabbed to the airport from Bologna Centrale (the fifteen minute ride cost less in Bologna than it did in Firenze...weird) and arrived at 3:15. So many hours to kill. Anyway, so the Bolognans are expanding their airport, so you had to take a tram to get to the RyanAir check in area. The tram was actually not a tram, but...well...take a look for yourself.
I felt like I was a kid again. I mean, honestly, I feel like a kid quite a lot. I'm a big fan of chocolate chip cookies, naps, and tantrums. Well, maybe not tantrums. But you get the idea.
Anyway, I landed in Palermo and I must add that RyanAir's pilots are absolutely not equipped to land an airplane filled with passengers or any airplane for that matter. The pilot literally slammed into the runway. I've never experienced anything like it. We bounced literally 20 feet in the air. Once we hit the runway, people literally screamed--it was actually quite scary. This is also not the first time I've experienced a bad landing on a RyanAir flight. I cannot stress how much they need to actually teach their pilots how to land. I'm pretty sure they skipped that part of their flight training...
Anyway, I took a train to the city center and hopped in a cab to the hotel. It was impossible to find a taxi stand, and people by and large don't speak English. I tried speaking in my broken Italian and pretty much gave up. Thankfully, this cab driver spoke a little English. Here's how the conversation went down...
Me: I'm going to Via Marchese Ugo.
Cabbie: Ahh. Via Marchese Ugo. Ten minutes.
Me: Sounds good.
(We hit tons of traffic on Via Roma)
Cabbie: Gesip Manafe Stazione!
Me: Uhhh... What?
Cabbie: Lovoro. You know what is lovoro?
Me: Yeah--work. Come sei deici "gesip manafe stazione" in inglese? (How do you say "gesip manafe stazione" in English?)
Cabbie: Lovoro!
Me: Work?
Cabbie: No, manafe stazione!
Me: ??
Cabbie: !!
This went back and forth for a little while. Turns out some group was protesting something. In Italy, there is always someone protesting something or going on strike. People don't work. I'm still not sure exactly what happened. When I asked the front desk at the hotel, no one knew of any "gesip manafe stazione". It was quite a shame.
I did a ton of walking around and exploring while in Palermo. I literally walked around the entire city checking things out. First of all, I heard three people speak any form of American/British English during my entire trip. Also, Palermo is very much a working city--it did NOT seem touristy at all...at least during mid March. There were packs of kids of all ages wandering around during lunch periods and after school. So. Many. Kids. Also, I guess Palermo is quite famous for housing the mafia. I was kind of surprised I didn't get invited onto an enormous yacht to chill with some mafiosa dressed in pin-striped suits, sporting slicked back black hair, and walking around with an entourage of gangsters. That aspect of the trip was quite a let down.
A very cool area indeed. I got lunch the first day at a place named Le Volte. I had a very Sicilian appetizer consisting of aubergine (no one says eggplant besides for Americans), olive oil, tomato, and garlic. It was quite delicious. Another notable thing about Sicilian cuisine is they have great bread! If you go to a restaurant, you get bread topped with sesame seeds. And the best part is that it actually tastes like bread! Unreal.
Walked around more. And then passed out.
Palermo. Day 2. Friday, March 23.
I slept late. Really late. I figured that I've been running around for so long, I need a good night's rest. A then got a brunchy lunch at this little boutique panini place called Pan Faccaccia. It was good. I just told them to make me something vegetarian, and here is what I got.
I'm usually not a fan of mustard, but this panino happened to be quite delicious. Oh. Also, I saw another one of those train/tram things rolling around Palermo.
Okay. So here is probably the funniest thing that happened to me. Are you ready? Buckle your seatbelts, we're about to go on a journey...a journey to the opera. Here's what happened:
I was walking around and I passed the Massimo theater. I had read online that the Massimo theater is definitely worth checking out, and they have tours. I was like, "Great. I'll just grab a tour of the Massimo theater." So I walked over and followed a sign that said, "Theater tours, this way" and pointed in the direction of the box office. So being the spaz that I am (not really) walked into the box office and said that I would like to go on a guided tour of the theater. After a few interesting exchanges, I realized I had purchased a ticket for the opera "Boris Godunov" and not a ticket to check out the theater. The woman behind the box office counter than told me in Italian (she did not speak one word of English) that it started at 18:30 and ended around 22:30. Yes, it was four hours. Excuse my language, four fucking hours. It was so long, there were three intermissions. Here's the theater.
The theater was set up in such a way where everyone had a box. I think I fell asleep at the forty-five minute mark of the opera. I woke up at the end of the applause of before the first intermission (about an hour and forty-five minutes into the opera). In my box was a nice Italian couple who either decided that they had enough of the opera, or they snuck into a better box. Either way, they didn't return to my box. I'd like to think they didn't return for reasons other than me falling asleep (and possibly snoring?), but I can't be too sure. Also, during the first intermission, I called my dad who told me if I hated the opera so much I should just leave. I told him that I had already spent money for entertainment, and I was in no way leaving.
So that was my first (and likely, last) experience with the opera. The cherry on the cake was that everyone was dressed in black tie while I was wearing nikes, jeans, a solid-color waffle shirt, and a Northface. So not only did I not want to be there, I just looked like an idiot.
Before the opera, I went to get a panino (singular of panini) because I knew I wasn't going to eating for quite a while. While I was ordering, I heard someone next to me speak Italian in a kind of English accent. Turns out, it was an Irish man named John who had escaped to Palermo to teach for a bit and get away from the hustle and bustle of Dublin life. He told me he would show me around, but he had to teach a class. John gave me his number anyway in case I had any questions about Palermo. Nice guy. I never called. My parents always told me to not talk to strangers. He did offer me some candy though...
Palermo. Day 3. Saturday, March 24.
Saturday was my last full day in Palermo (I had a really early flight on Sunday) and there were two things left on my agenda: Vucciria Market and Mondello.
Vucciria Market
My favorite restaurant for a while back home in Milwaukee (it ended up closing) was called Vucciria, and that's initially what sparked my interest in Vucciria Market. Anyway, it is an outdoor market, and everyone screams. No talking, just screaming. I bought a banana, and yelled at the guy to give me a banana. That's what you do. I probably also sounded like an enormous gringo. If you get queazy from dead hanging animals, don't look at the pictures below. If you don't, keep reading.
Okay, so we have a goat hanging with three goat heads chilling in the cabinet, a tuna being sliced, ricci (which are sea urchins--they were still moving) being cut open and their guts being shoveled into the bucket, and a swordfish. It was really interesting actually because it was so much different than Florence's central market.
Allora. After Vucciria Market, I took the bus (#806) to Mondello, which is a small seaside town about twenty minutes outside of Palermo. It's kind of like South Beach minus the white trash and the clubs. It's basically where every single Sicilian middle- and high-school kid goes on the weekend. It wasn't packed with people when I was there, but John was telling me that Mondello was going to be packed on Sunday. I guess kids had school until 1:00 pm on Saturday.
Some background information on the following picture--I was one of thirty people taking a picture. I request you click to see the larger image.
If there were two people on the beach laying next to each other, there was a 100% chance that they were making out.
There were also some awesome boats all painted in really bright colors. Really cool.
I guess garbage companies don't pick up the trash in Mondello. Dumpsters were overflowing. That was the case in Palermo as well. Trash everywhere.
Palermo. Day 4. Sunday, March 25.
I left Palermo. Some pictures from the plane. All in all, very successful trip.
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