Palermo

On January 10th, we continued with our original plan, and traveled from Catania to Palermo. However, Julia told us how to get bus tickets and helped us figure out the schedule, and we were not going to make the same mistake that we made a few days earlier. This time, we would take the bus to Palermo. Our ride would take a little over 2 hours, instead of 5! The reason that the bus is so much quicker is that the regional train has a large number of stops to make.

The bus ride was so much better than the train. We were also able to see the Sicilian countryside. It was beautiful. The rolling green hills, quaint homes, and rocky outcrops didn't remind me of anything that I could find at home. I hope that someday soon I can come back to Italy and spend more time in Sicily.

Anyhow, we arrived in Palermo in great spirits. It seems that Gieuseppe, our host at the hostel, planned on attending a futbol game and he invited us along with him. Palermo was playing Atlanta. We arrived at the hostel, unpacked, ate, and then traveled with Gieuseppe to the futbol game. The match would start at 3:30 (it was only 1), so we would have plenty of time to take in the spectacle and try some local foods. We tried Panella e Crocche (a fried chick peas), spleen, deep fried fat (yes, deep fried fat), and sfinciuni (the local pizza).


Also, on the way to the game, we tried some cheese with mandarin oranges in it!


Palermo won the game 1-0 via a penalty kick and there was much celebrating.


After the game, we headed back to the hostel and relaxed for a bit before heading for dinner. Tonight, we would dine on spaghetti with meat sauce made with sardines! (Pasta con sarda).