So I have just returned from my weekend away in Palermo, Sicily. I went on Friday night and returned very early Tuesday morning (5am, what a nice time). Me and my brother have wanted to go to Italy for so long, and we were meant to in August but it didn't work out. So this was a nice make-up for it, and it was an amazing weekend.
Friday
Once we had settled in and found our hotel on Friday night it was already almost 11pm, so we decided to just go out for some food and rest before the long next few days ahead of us. We went to a small restaurant, but only one of the waiters knew how to speak English. So that was an interesting and an amusing challenge. Someone also gave us some roses, and it didn't take much for us to already get lost.
So I ended up taking 800 photos, in which I managed to cancel down to 500, so I won't post too many, although this post will be more pictures than words I imagine. The Saturday was spent exploring the city, the monuments, the cathedrals and churches, gardens and other sights. The weather was pretty lovely too, it got up to around 25 degrees, with a few odd rain showers but can't complain really. The architecture in Italy is amazing, especially in the churches and cathedrals. We also went to some Catacombs but obviously I have no photos of that. They were interesting but also makes you realise how scary life can be. In the late afternoon we went to the marine, It started to rain a little and we saw a cute rainbow. A storm was blowing over, so we started to head back after a little while. Don't think it ever actually happened though. Although, this on and off weather did result in my brother swinging umbrellas around all the time as we were walking.
In the evening we went for a meal, and then for a few cocktails. We ended up in this funky bar with a little band playing, it had some cool vibes. Plus the waiters were all dressed in matching suspenders and shirts and it was cute. You can tell we were English though, not as if our super pale skin and touristy vibes weren't enough.
Sunday
Sunday was spent going through some art galleries, more gardens and churches, the marine again, and the beach in Mondello. The art galleries were interesting, I loved how there were a few different ones linked together across the city and how one was in an old abandoned (almost) building. There were literal wardrobes hanging from the roof in one gallery. None fell down and landed on me thankfully.
We also did a little shopping before we went into Mondello. I got some little souvenirs and some new shoes (why not). My brother got excited and wanted to get a football shirt. To be honest though, it was a cool shop, was loving the colour scheme. The staff were really nice too. My mum got into a habit of speaking in English but with an Italian accent. It got a bit awkward to witness, but apparently she didn't know she was doing it. Can't take her anywhere.
We did get lost before we got to Mondello. Pretty sure we walked through most of the city until we finally asked for help. We did end up in Mondello though eventually and we had lunch before we had a little wander and headed on to the beach. It was cloudy one minute, and sunny the next but thankfully and luckily it didn't rain.
As you can see I can be really awkward when people take photos of me. I just think I'm funny and laugh, which I do most of the time anyway. After some time on the beach we went back to Palermo and went back to the marine and went on the tiny little beach there and then wandered around the city some more, including another garden.
We had some down time for a few hours before going back out in the evening. We went for a few cocktails again and then we went for a meal but took way to long deciding on which place to go for some reason. We also kept hearing fireworks but didn't manage to find where they were coming from, even though they were still going hours later when we returned to the hotel. Please excuse my over dramatic pose in the photo with my brother below, I kinda thought ''why not?'' at the time and now I know why not.
Monday
Monday was our last day, so we tried to make the most of it before we had to go to the airport at about 5pm. We started by visiting the markets and there were so many! We then did a little more shopping, took a horse and carriage tour around the city and then explored the Botanical Gardens before packing and heading for the airport.
Our flight wasn't until 9.35pm but it was a little delayed. I didn't end up getting home until around 5am because we flew from London so we had to drive home as well as the flight. So that was a nice cold, long, and tiring journey home.
This post has been pretty basic and mostly pictures, so I may come back and add more detail at a later point. But It was an amazing weekend and I can't wait to go visit Sicily again!
I will be posting a few photos on Instagram gradually some of which probably won't have been included in this post, so if anyone's interested check it out.
