After a thrilling fall break of travel outside of Italy’s borders, I have resumed my exploration of my host country. This time, I headed south to the town famous for its cannolis, beaches, and The God Father: Palermo.
Palermo is located in the South of Italy on the island of Sicily. While it is accessible by car and train, I opted to travel by plane, which was faster and surprisingly cheaper. At a price of 40 euros roundtrip, the one-hour flight was almost as fast and cheap as the taxi from the airport to the hotel!
I was accompanied on my Palermo experience by an eclectic group, including Piper, my roommate at AUR who is from Boston, Pablo, my boyfriend from Guatemala, and two of his childhood friends. Pablo’s friend Jacobo now lives in Switzerland and his friend Bianca lives in Austria. The diversity in our languages, origins, and experiences enriched and enlivened our weekend together.
We stayed in an airbnb near the center of the city on Via Vittorio Emanuele, Palermo’s main road. Lined with pastry shops, aperitivo (pre-dinner cocktail) bars, and pizzerias, the streets around our accommodation were so enticing that we had difficulty venturing away. Nevertheless, we made out best effort to see and taste as much of the city as possible.
As the organizer of this short trip, I felt a certain level of pressure to plan and coordinate our daily activities. Although this was a bit stressful, it also gave me the opportunity to suggest sites and experiences that I was most interested in. At the top of my list was visiting the sparkling turquoise coast of Mediterranean, so I suggested a taxi ride to the coast for our first excursion.
The beach we decided to spend our day at was called Mondello, and is located about 12 km from the city. It is accessible by an hour-long trip on public transportation or a half-hour journey in taxi. Considering the taxi fare would be split five ways, we chose the faster route.
Although we were visiting in the chilly off-season, the pure white sand and translucent sea were just as beautiful – perhaps even more so in the absence of the tourist crowds. With a sleepy costal town to our backs and a view of rugged mountains to either side, Mondello beach was certainly one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. Four of the five of us even summoned enough bravery and internal warmth to go for a cold swim. We didn’t last long in the chilly, salty water, but we enjoyed drinks and music on the sand afterwards while drying off and warming up again. Towards the end of our beach time, we saw a local man ride his beautiful horse past us through the shallow water: truly a movie moment!
Afterwards, we headed back towards the city center for a treat of prosecco, gelato, and, of course, cannolis. The fact that Palermo is famous for this sweet, creamy Italian dessert may have secretly been one of my motives for planning this trip. I was disappointed to find that Rome does not have a thriving cannoli scene, but I made sure to make up for it by having two freshly filled cannolis each day in Palermo.
That evening, we spent some time having an impromptu reggaeton dance party in our spacious airbnb. The five of us were fascinated and amused to learn which songs and pop music styles our generations shared as we were growing up in different parts of the world. Sharing stories, memories, and perspectives with new friends from such different parts of the world is one of the most rewarding benefits of travelling. It has made me realize how big and exciting the world is, but also how small it can feel and how similar its inhabitants are in the end.
That night, after a dinner of seafood and pastas at a local restaurant, we all decided to get some rest in order to be energized for a full day of sight seeing the next day.
The next morning, while Jacobo and Bianka slept in, Piper, Pablo, and I left for a breakfast of cappuccinos and (even more) cannolis. Now that the English speakers were in the majority, my brain got a break from trying to understand and speak Spanish and even interpret conversations for Piper. Language barriers certainly can be a very real challenge for social situations and can add another layer of complexity to meeting and integrating with new friends. Nevertheless, participating in multi-lingual situations has pushed me to expand my language abilities and has given me a new incentive for improving. It is one thing for me to study Spanish in order to pass a class; it is a completely different motivation for me to study so that I can speak to my boyfriend’s family and friends and understand his facebook posts without google translate.
Following our delicious late morning breakfast, the three of us headed in the direction of the Palermo Cathedral. On our way, however, an advertisement at a small church caught our eyes. For only 2.50 euros, we could climb to the top of the structure’s dome for a view of the city. I hadn’t heard of this attraction before or read about it in my extensive trip advisor research but, nevertheless, it looked fun so we gave it a try. After overcoming our minor fears of heights and climbing the rickety spiral staircase, we were met with a stunning bird’s eye view of Palermo’s rooftops and the surrounding mountains and coast. Coupled with the cloudless blue sky and the flocks of birds soaring above us, that view made this experience my very favorite during our stay in Palermo. While I would love to recommend the name of the spot, none of us had even taken note of it. After trying to recommend the spot and describe its location to some other friends staying in the city, they told us they couldn’t find it anywhere online or in the city. While I regret that our friends couldn’t see the same view that we did, it was a good feeling to know that we had experienced something truly off the beaten path.
My advice for anyone looking to visit this stunning rustic city is to do just that: venture off the itinerary. Have a dance party. Swim in the ocean in the off season. Discover your own favorite cannoli café and feel the satisfaction of knowing that your experience was 100 percent your own.
