Perfect day

The extreme tiredness and fullness rewarded me with around 4 hours sleep so a massive deficit still.  Marion woke with taxi anxiety and I went downstairs to check the booking.  We enjoyed a very light, included buffet breakfast in the short window available to us before our pickup time. Some of our group headed to foro Italia but as I completed that parkrun in 2023, my.destination was elsewhere.  @8 we were on our way to Uditore park, arriving with plenty of time to spare and, unexpectedly, parkrun volunteers already there.  We had a chat with another tourist and some of the team before the start and learning that one of the regulars was running his 100th parkrun, we were invited to join their party afterwards.  With it being a 22 date several of the participants were wearing tutus and Marion, Julie and Yvonne were offered tutus to wear.

On paper the course was not that exciting.  4 laps of a small park amongst high rise housing. What a fabulous city space it was though.  Dog parks, a children's playground, an information point, a small cafe, a small toilet, lizards, birds, cacti, flowers and people walking, running, cycling and kicking a ball about. The parkrun community were so welcoming and we joined them for what seemed like hundreds of photos before and after the parkrun.
After we had partied with homemade cake and prosecco we caught a local bus back into the centre, had a brief stop at the hotel for a change of clothes before Marion, Yvonne and I headed off on another bus to the beach at Mondello.

Marion chatted with some students on the bus and I watched the mountains and Favorita parkrun roll by the windows.  The beach was full of people enjoying the day.  We enjoyed the sun and, of course, a swim.  Then we ticked off another of my trip goals with tomatoes and mozzarella outside. A basket of bread on the side was also rather delicious.   The bus back was less enjoyable as it was bursting at the seams and I had to stand the whole way, aggravating my sciatica and,.after several people stood on my feet, my arthritis too.

Marion was also suffering with her back and by the time we met the rest of the group for dinner I was ready for bed and abandoned them for a nearby pizza restaurant with just Marion, Emma and Elaine.  After a delicious pizza , a glass of red and an unknown aperitif, we were in bed at a reasonable time.