Although it was rather chilly all day today in Palermo bits and pieces of the weather such as clouds, sun, rain, sleet and wind were constantly changing. We knew it would be silly to let these little atmospheric changes rule the day.
The noise and "grittiness" of this metropolitan area that we experienced a few years ago are still there. Maybe because there was less rain and more peeks of sun this time around our impressions of Palermo were much more favorable.
We enjoyed roaming for miles along busy streets ducking into many of the large and well adorned historic churches. Many of these churches were 500+ years old. They were established well before the 7-10 word praise and worship songs and theatrical displays we have in so many churches today. Heck, I doubt these old churches even have an audiovisual team but they seem to still be plugging along.
We wandered far enough to run into the Royal Palace and Palatine Chapel which were added to the world heritage list back in 2015. Touring this palace was like a walk through history since the original construction started shortly after the coronation of Roger ll in 1130. Additions to the original construction continued through the early 19th century. The architecture and artwork from below your feet to the top of the ceiling were really impressive.
Speaking of impressive and dramatically switching gears. One thing we did on our first visit that we didn't do this time was go to the Piazza Cappucini Catacombe. The catacomb is a big crypt where you are surrounded by hundreds of folks who have been dead for centuries. It's hard to describe but very interesting to see if you ever find yourself in Palermo looking for something to do.
I'll add a link when I get to a computer, and as was the case with our fall trip I'm doing this blog on my iPhone so pictures and captions are difficult. More will be added at a later date.
The shipboard entertainment can range from bad to cheesy to very good. The production cast onboard are pretty good. They did a show a couple of nights back that featured a bunch of rock music from the 70's and 80's that was nice.
Last nights show was a Beatles tribute band called The Moondogs (seriously, that was their name). They were Italian guys so imagine four lads from somewhere in Italy with strong accents and probably named Marco, Guseppie or something trying to impersonate four lads from Liverpool.
I'd give them a solid A for effort as for pulling it off ........
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| No trip to Sicily would be complete without a cannoli! |
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| Main cathedral in Palermo |
