As we approach the one-year anniversary of our 2022 Girls’ Trip to Italy, this week La Dolce Vita Travels will publish a series of posts recapping our trip last October. I do this for several reasons: as a means of transcribing my travel journal, to provide fellow travelers with names of restaurants/hotels for their own travel journals, and to plant seeds of interest for our next trip (and there will be another one).
This is an overall recap of the official itinerary. There were pockets of free time almost daily, and while I share what my sister and I did during these times, the truth is everyone will have a different story. Some were shoppers, some were explores, and some were diners … there was something for everyone.
The series will be three parts—Part I: Naples (Days 1-4), Part II: Sicily (Days 5-11), Part III: Rome (Day 12). Our time in Naples was the most intense; after all, it is an intense city and we packed a lot into our itinerary. This meant we did the heavy touring the first few days of our trip, then enjoyed the slower pace of Sicily on the back end.
Get ready, because we are headed to Sicily ...
Day 5:
Palermo, Sicily (Oct. 9)
An early morning flight to Rome, a short flight to Palermo,
and just like that we landed in Sicily. Well … not as easy as all that. There
was a frantic search for a passport which involved unpacking the entire
contents of a suitcase right there on a Neapolitan street at 4 a.m. (no names,
Lou!), and of course maneuvering through airports is always an inconvenience,
but by noon we landed in Palermo.
(About the Palermo airport: according to our tour guide,
only the most seasoned pilots are allowed to land in Palermo because the runway
is sandwiched between the sea and the mountains, which makes for stunning
views!)
By mid-afternoon we checked into the Grand Hotel Piazza
Borsa and it was definitely grand—gorgeous interior courtyard, spacious rooms,
and elegant, uniformed staff. Plus, give a girl a hotel room with robes and slippers
and she is in her element.
Since the rest of the day was ours to explore, that was what
we did. There is something adventurous about arriving in an unknown city and,
without an agenda or map, stepping outside and allowing the cobblestone streets,
small alleyways, and picturesque lanes take you where they will. We fell instantly in love with Palermo.
And so, we wandered through the streets and down to the
harbor. We climbed steps and crossed boardwalks. On a pedestrian street we
stopped for a light lunch: arancini (fried rice balls with meat, a typical
Sicilian street food) and a Fanta. (If you know, you know. Italian Fanta is NOT
like American Fanta, and while I do not drink soda at home, I will have a Fanta
while in Italy. My sister and I introduced the Italian Fanta to several people—no
names, Rose Ann!)
For dinner, the entire group gathered in the lobby to walk
to a local restaurant, Buatta Cucina Popolana. Our meal was incredibly delicious:
anelletti alla siciliana, organic chicken cooked in charcoal, and cassata (a typical
Sicilian dessert that uses the same filling as cannoli but encases it with a
traditional sponge cake).
Later that night we made an interesting discovery: even with
airports and flights we still walked 15,290 steps. And with no gelato today, I
probably lost weight. Ha!
Today was all about kings, convents and pane cunzato. More
on pane cunzato later …
In the morning we woke up to rain, thunder and lightning, so we took our time at breakfast.
Let me stop a moment to mention breakfast. But where to begin? With the frothy cappuccino served by a waiter in a white jacket? How about some cannoli, from the cannoli bar, made to order on the spot? Or the pastries, fruit, buffalo mozzarella with tomatoes? Maybe I'll leave it at that.
By the time we finished breakfast the torrential downpour had turned into a drizzle. So, we donned parkas and carried umbrellas and went on a guided walking tour of Palermo. There is something medieval about rain glistening on ancient cobblestones.
During the tour we learned that, due to its size and
position in the Mediterranean, Sicily was hard to defend and, as a result, the
Island was invaded and subjugated numerous times throughout history—Greeks,
Romans, Arabs, Normans, Spanish. All this is reflected in the architecture, a
mixture of Arabesque, Norman, Baroque, and Liberty styles. One of the best ways
to study the different architectural styles is to visit churches. There
are 200 churches in Palermo and, no, that is NOT a typo and, no, we did NOT visit all 200. Instead, we focused on the Palatine Chapel in the Palace of the
Normans (where there is No crucifix because the king wanted the church to be a
triumphant representation of the faith) and the Cathedral of Palermo (with its
shrine to Santa Rosalia) (Palermo is very, very serious in its love of
Santa Rosalia).
By late morning the sun came out and we hopped on our tour
bus and drove to the Abbey of Monreale, famous for its magnificent Byzantine
mosaics and a Benedictine cloister. I could have spent hours studying the
mosaics, and I took a lot of notes, but I will spare you the art and history
lesson. You’re welcome.
After the tour we had some free time to wander around the
beautiful town of Monreale. Our guide told us to go to the local baker and
order a pane cunzato (seasoned bread, olive oil, tomato, caciocavallo cheese,
salt, pepper, fresh oregano). We finally found the tiny bakery and ordered a pane
cunzato, taking it outside to eat standing up at barrel table outside the bakery. Not to be overly dramatic, but it goes on my Top Five list of favorite
foods EVER.
There was music in the air on our last night in Palermo. We were on our own
for dinner, so a group of us ate dinner in a beautiful outdoor courtyard at
Antica Focacceria S. Francesco. We laughed, talked, and listened to live
entertainment. My sister-in-law and I drank an entire bottle of red wine between
us, and my sister, who is not a drinker, had a Sicilian beer. And the music continued
when we went for an evening passeggiata and came across a young woman playing
the violin in Quattro Canti. The entire evening was magical and despite the
hour we were reluctant to return to our hotel.
By the end of the day we had walked 16,291 steps and AGAIN no gelato. What is
wrong with me? But I did have a pane cunzato and all is right with the world.
Tomorrow we head to Agrigento.
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