Palermo Sicily

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We arrived in Palermo to the news that there would be a general strike in the city that day. No expectation that it would interfere too much with any of our plans but, you just never know. Truthfully, Palermo has a big city feel, lots of hustle and bustle. When you throw in a general strike to the mix, well it feels very chaotic. Very unlike the peaceful streets of Erice, or the peaceful feel of Tuscany that we would experience later in the trip. In retrospect though, it may have been a good warmup for Rome. 😉

So the noise and traffic problems caused by the general strike aside, I had things I wanted to see, so I headed out in the AM on my own to see the sights of Palermo! My destination was the Old City, where I walked through the Quattro Canti intersection, which is very close by the Piazza Pretoria. Then further up toward the Cathedral.

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Of course, there was time to go into the Cathedral and look around at the elegant artwork and architecture.

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Unfortunately, there was also a rather lengthy detour as I tried to locate the Capuchin Crypt, unsuccessfully, then walked all the way around the Palazzo Normani only to realize that the hours long wait to get in wouldn’t be worth it. Such is the life of someone who didn’t quite do enough homework before heading into the city. (Not to mention the detour caused by that top photo. As you might guess, I needed to be on the other side of that gate, and had to find a way around it instead.)

Soon it was off to the Teatro Massimo to meet up with my wife for some lunch, and some time to get out of the rain, before heading back to the ship for the day.

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But on the way, I ran into this fellow, who seemed very much to be asking someone to please remove this pesky bird from his shoulder.

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Anyway, despite the general strike, the rain, and my own poor planning, I had fun exploring Palermo, and capturing some of the city. You can see all the photos over on Flickr. Next stop. the dream that is Rome….