Sun. 10-22-2023 Palermo

 Naples was very atmospheric-like a well aged dive bar is atmospheric.  There are many old dark things that fascinate you for their memories and meaning over time. 

Palermo is atmospheric-more like the notion of a Gothic cathedral is atmospheric. There is light and beauty (well not always beauty, but fascination at least) and plenty of airy space (and pedestrian only spaces).  

I really love what I’ve experienced already in my short few hours here.





First stop was Palermo Cathedral where I was hoping to get my credential sheet for the trail Magna via Francigena, so I can get it stamped at each major stop. Got there right before 9:00 AM mass so no luck.  I tried to get it ahead of time, but couldn’t find it. 




The advantage of accidentally booking my room for yesterday, is I could now check in at the ridiculous hour of 10:00AM, which I did and shed my pack.  

Turns out the place is a block from a lively farmers market like market, with oodles of street food. I got pistachio fish kebabs for dinner, some fruit and nuts for the trail.



I went back to the Cathedral, hoping to succeed in gettin my trail score card. But after asking several employees, the truth was, they didn’t have it.  But they did have a stamp.  So I pulled out my journal, wrote “Palermo” and asked them to stamp it right as 11;00 high mass was starting.


But with all that going on, the employees tending with locals who wanted to get into Mass, and tourists who weren’t supposed to be let in, they got the stamp and stamped my book.  Now that’s hospitality!

The next section is not for the faint of heart.

Mike K. told me to visit the church of the Cappuchins where they have a catacomb filled with mummies that are tied to the walls and layered on shelves, some are bare boned and some still with hair and skin.  I had to see that.  Indeed it was pretty gruesome and graphic, and it is a clear reminder of what all of our fates will be.  But it was expressly forbidden to take pictures.  There were security guards enforcing the rule.   (I couldn’t help it’s)  Scroll down if you dare.















I knew you were going to scroll down.

Then a nice walk home and a long line for some street food. Aranchiata or little orange, fried rice balls with meat and cheese.  Yummy.  











Comments

  1. KellieOctober 25, 2023 at 11:15 AM

    Not only did I scroll down, but I clicked to enlarge the photo! What a creepy/weird fate to immortalized and a tourist attraction. Seems like a perfect interment spot for the Kardashians?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

11-10-23 Villa Romano del Castile

Image
 Or something like that there! This was a most splendid day that almost didn’t happen. The transportation to this place seemed iffy, but thanks to three women from Colombia, one who lives in Palermo, it went fine.  Overnight, it’s Fall here. Colder, windy, more rain last night. Met the three women at the bus stop and we were going to the same place, the UNESCO heritage site. We shared a taxi from Piazza Armerina to the site.  Just a brief history:  it was first built in the early 3rd century, meaning around 225 AD.  It was added to along the way and was inhabited for about 150 years. There was a landslide that inundated the site which preserved the astonishing mosaics we saw today. It is the best and broadest example of Roman mosaics remaining. Cold plunges were a thing in 250 EC First was the spa complex.  Certainly some nice rock ruins and mosaics.  Next the inner bedrooms and hideaways. Spectacular. Then the grand hallway. The mythical phoenix bird ...
Read more

11-7-23 To Caltanissetta

Image
  Goodbye Agrigento.  I left the apartment at 10:00.  My bus, number 4208 didn’t leave until 11:20 and I had ample time to immerse myself in book two of the Godfather trilogy.  Spent some of that time reading in a park and then went to the bus station to read more.  One would assume  that if you bought a ticket the day before, at the bus station, that the bus would leave from the bus station.   I saw bus 4208 drive into town 20 minutes before departure time. Thought nothing of it. Maybe they are getting gas.  I saw the bus leave town at 11:23. Fuck!  In fact I said “fuck” and a well dressed young Italian man looked at me askance. One would also assume that a ticket seller would alert an obvious dumb ass stupid tourist, that the bus I just bought a ticket for leaves from another location.  So, I had to laugh this one off.  Days and days on a trail where I was contemplating expectations, assumptions and anticipation all possibly leadi...
Read more

12-6-23 Palermo

Image
 What have I learned on this trip?   Maybe I’m not the totally hot shit hiker that I used to be. I really didn’t do all of the Camino, and I am not into suffering for a badge of completion. And, I did most of the trail.  Hiked over 90 miles, just in those 11 days. I saw amazing landscapes that most visitors to Sicily wouldn’t see. There are a lot of super nice people, wherever you go, maybe especially in Sicily where the hospitality and friendliness and level of helpfulness permeates the culture.  Be aware of how you process the world around you. Expectations, anticipations and assumptions can cloud your awareness. They can bring you disappointments and dissatisfaction.  And you can choose to turn that stuff around to appreciation and gratitude.  Or by going into the world with an open attitude or positive intentions, you can maybe skip that outcome. I learned so many layers of eras and civilizations have passed through here.  It’s beyond my comprehens...
Read more