In the streets

My walk from Palermo station to my downmarket room unsurprisingly gave me a view of run-down Palermo; even so I walked past the building I'm staying in, not imagining it was a holiday let. Aluminium shuttering across the entrance and builders' netting covering the whole of the front (last extra). But yes, 64 steps up (no lift) was my room. It's basic but it will be fine.

Then a meander to get a sense of Palermo. It's Liberation Day and I'd been warned that things would be closed. But very quickly I came across Mercato di Ballaro, large, lively and noisy. And lots more crumbling buildings.

I walked upmarket but the Norman Palazzo Reale was closed by the time I got there so I went for a coffee instead. Opposite the cathedral. Wow! A vast and elaborate edifice, definitely worth gazing on. I didn't take photos - there are loads of good ones online. 

There seemed to be some sort of youth happy-clappy event going on inside (much less impressive than the outside) which I gradually understood a little more over the course of the afternoon. I left them to it and stumbled across a baroque confection on all four sides of a crossroads which I later learnt was a 'must-see' place called Quattro Canto. There were some steps where I could sit and rest my feet and I was soon joined by a procession of the happy-clappy youngsters who turned out to be the youth wing of the local Franciscans. They started chanting 'pace, pace, pace,' suddenly accompanied by loud, wild beating of air. I looked up to see 50-odd white doves racing for freedom down the street. Quite a sight.

My map told me that the 'must-see' Fontana Pretoria (more baroque, not my thing - I find a lot of the street art much more engaging) was seconds walk away and I then made my way to the Teatro Massimo square where, blow me down, the Young Franciscans were clapping at loud rock music from a temporary stage. I know nothing about monks, and maybe this is more common than I imagined, but men in brown robes and rope belts were doing a conga in the square and trampling my stereotypes on the stage.

I saw the sea at the end of a street and chased it. It was further away than it looked and I had to walk quite a bit further to get to a section that wasn't blocked off but I sat and rested on rocks before dragging myself back to my room.

Somewhere there were Liberation fireworks but I couldn't see them. I was much more excited to be allowed to use the B&B washing machine.

Extras
- Mercato di Ballaro
- Colour coordinated
- Closed
- More street art
- The entrance to my B&B


Apologies for not keeping up - with you or myself.