Palermo

We woke up early the next day to gather our things. As we were heading out the door, our host stopped us and gestured us to join him for breakfast. I'm glad he did. Mario treated us to a great breakfast which included freshly baked bread and hand squeezed orange juice and a variety of cheeses and pastry. Although I appreciated his gesture, we had a bus to catch. So we went to the station and we were on the road by 10 am. The ride to Palermo had some beautiful sites, which evoked hope for our voyage ahead.

The bus left us at a busy town square. As we exited the bus, we were faced with a beautiful opera house and rustic buildings all around. The streets were all made of stone bricks which complemented the brilliantly detailed buildings. As we walked the streets, we watched for hotels, hostels or any place that we could stay for the weekend. After asking around a bit, we found a 3- star hotel that gave us a discount because we were students. They also gave us a map and some recommended sites. Stroke of luck.

After settling in, we started our exploration by voyaging down the city's main stretch of shops. Along the way, we saw some beautiful cathedrals, museums and play houses including the Teatro Massimo, Mondella, Martorana, San Domenico and Palazzo Abatellis. These were all beautiful buildings that the city is known for. We worked our way down to the coast where the view was majestic. The clear blue water against the bottom of a range of mountains was a site to see. The opposing shore was faced with parks and gardens such as Orto Botanico and Villa Giulia. These gardens had beautiful trees and flowers, even fruit bearing ones.

A taste of their fruits sparked our appetites so we headed back towards the hotel to grab some dinner. There were so many places to chose from, so we picked one at random. It worked out nicely. Some of the best food i've ever had only cost me 7 Euro. This included Pesto Sicilia and a buffet of Antipasta.

After over indulging twice over, we were ready to call it a night.