Palermo, Italy may be one of the most depressing and disgusting cities in all of Western Europe, and maybe even all of Europe. Although I haven't seen a lot of the rest of Southern Italy, so maybe there are cities that rival it.
We had another kid puke so that makes three total for the cruise, and one complaining about his stomach for several days. All that to say, Jannica, Beverly, Charlie, and I were the ones to trek into Palermo for the day.
This is the market. It is supposedly the best of the three main markets. I though I was in the middle of India or Africa with how depressing it was. There was broken glass all over the street, graffiti all over the walls, and rotting fish in the stalls. Overall not what I think of when I think of the great cities of Europe.
We did find this "beautiful" little square in front of a church. The first thing that we spotted was the fencing around all the monuments. I'm not sure what that is really all about. Probably to keep the graffiti artists away. But it sure ruins the setting as a place that you can sit and relax.
There is one site that I thought was very interesting in Palermo and it really supports the creepy vibe of the city. In the catacombs, there are the mummified remains of people here.
Apparently, families used to come by and redress the mummies for special ocassions.
Many were dressed up in what would have been nicely dressed 100-150 years ago.
We were not supposed to take pictures but I just couldn't resist taking a couple. Shame on me. This guy reminded Jannica of the guy from the plate from the Corpse Bride.
After the catacomb, we tried to get back to the ship, but with unclear bus times and stops, it took a lot of time to get back. It was everything you might expect from a third world public transportation system. Nothing like the beauty and reliability of public transportation in Amsterdam, or even Spain.
We did find a nice area around the Palermo Cathedral. It appeared that all the fixing up done in the city was in about this three block area around the cathedral.
We did find some of our entertainment along the way. Jannica thought it would be a good idea to put Charlie in the backpack. So we did. I have to admit that it turned out to be pretty cute.
And finally when we made it on the bus, Charlie thought it would be a good idea to do Beverly's hair. She enjoyed it even if he did pull on her hair a bit.
We made it back to the ship thoroughly disappointed in our first port of call in Italy. This absolutely is one of those places where you should book an excursion.
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