Palermo Cathedral

 

Buon giorno,

As promised--some tourist action, and it was worth all the detours I took to get there, but first some whining.  I was not in great shape yesterday and went to bed early. I was sweetly asleep when the phone in my room rang. It is not of a volume that can be ignored. I answered it, and some guy spoke to me in Italian. I replied I did not speak Italian, but he continued to talk. I hung up. A few minutes later another call. Same deal. Then nothing, and I thought I was done with it and went back to bed. After a while the phone rang again. Same deal. Then he called back right away. I firmly said, "Non parlo italiano. Why are you calling me?" That was the end of it. I was getting ready to doze off when some neighbors decided they needed to have a loud, ugly argument. He was furious.  She was tearful.  The above occurrences jangled my nerves, but I did eventually--after a long while--get back to sleep.

I now am a proud possessor of a Map of the City, so I need not rely so much on google maps, which did steer me wrong today. I picked Palermo Cathedral as my destination because it is a major site and within reasonable walking distance of me. It was a brilliantly sunny day, but not too hot. I set out carefully following the directions I had written down, but then I could not find one of the streets. I walked along through pleasant neighborhoods and piazzas, I consulted my phone, but it became clear that nothing I was seeing corresponded to what I should encounter.  I was lost, but since I do get lost frequently, I remain calm and confident. I'll get to where I'm going eventually, and I have learned that persistence pays.

I retraced my steps--not exactly, but I got back to Via Roma, one of the main drags and then when I got to my turn I turned left instead of right. Bingo!  I still had a bit of a walk, but clearly I was in the Tourist Zone, and I found a Tourist Information Office where I obtained my map.

It's Saturday, and the tourists and beggars are out in force, but I had a very pleasant time licking the windows of some truly fascinating shops, and I clearly need to return to this area.

The Cathedral is Magnificent. Whew it makes an impact!  Actually the interior is kind of a let down because it's your standard Baroque and I was hoping for something a bit more exotic, but I had a good look around and found it very lovely.

With the help of my map I designed a much more straightforward route home.  I feel I have earned my apero. I'd made some green tea and put it in the fridge. Green tea and limoncello make a great combination--very refreshing.

I changed my mind about dinner. I was going to mix tuna and pasta but then decided to make them separate courses.  Grocery store Italian tuna is pretty dang good, but you can find and pay more for some really fancy fish. I have linguine brought from home dressed with salt, pepper, garlic, and olive oil. I like this a lot but can seldom indulge when I'm at home. Both tuna and pasta go very well with my Sicilian white wine.

Ciao for now