Slight change in plans. Enjoyed Palermo but decided to leave a day early and drive to Trapani on the north western tip of Sicily.
Went to a museum of marionettes yesterday and walked around the marina. Went to the Mercata della Vucciria with a vast assortment of meats, fruits & vegetables, cookies, breads, etc. Actually found cookies almost like the patralli Mama used to make. The venditore told me the ingredients for the filling and it was almost exactally the same. The pastry surrounding was different but still very close.
The weather has been near perfect. Have heard about the flooding in Messina but no rain so far here.
Sunday was a big religious festival in Palermo. Big parades with the statue of the Madonna and bands and lots of Christmas-type lights in the streets, fireworks, etc. I took a video-hope it turns out. The passigiata on Sunday was quite the spectacle.
Palermitans are not as fluent in English as Romans. We are getting to experiment much more with our Italian here. However, it is much easier to ask the question than to understand the answer. At least the hand gestures help to understand the language. Not so easy over the phone, though!
Will be glad to give our feet a bit of a rest today and looking foward to some good countryside scenery.
A piu tarde!
