The last weekend in March, I went on my first solo adventure EVER.  Before I came to Florence, I set my heart on going down to Sicily, so when I asked around and couldn't find anyone who could come with me, I decided to just do it on my own!  Part of my family stems from Palermo, so it was very important for me to be able to go and see a glimpse of one of the places my family originates from.  The night before my departure I was VERY nervous- I had to get up very early and was afraid I would sleep through my alarm, and I had never gone anywhere for an extended period of time by myself.  However, when my 3:30 alarm rang, I got up, got ready, met my cab, and started my adventure.

I made sure I booked the earliest flight into Palermo because I only had two days to spend in Sicily, and I wanted to make sure I had a full day to explore Palermo.  The airport is about an hour outside of Sicily, but from research I did before my departure, I knew exactly which bus to take into the city.  With a little help from the EXTREMELY friendly Sicilians around the train station, I found my hostel and checked in around 10 am.  I stayed in a hostel called Quattro Canti Hostel, and it was wonderful.  It's very small and very homey, and the owners are extremely nice.  When I got the hostel, he made me a cup of espresso, then sat me down, gave me a map, and circled absolutely everything I should see and do during my time there.


After we spent a good 30 minutes going over everything there is to do in Palermo, I headed off on my own.  I first decided to go to the nearby market and check out the church that we can see from our terrace, the Chiesa de Gesu.  It was beautiful inside, and although pictures were not allowed, I (naturally) took one sneakily anyways.  The church was right around the corner from the Ballaro market, so I headed there next.  In all of my time abroad, I have never felt like I really got to experience the true personality of a city or country, because everywhere I have been has either been guided by the school or was a place that greatly caters to tourists.  For the first time this entire semester, this market gave me a glimpse into a place's true culture.  The market was alive with people bargaining with stand owners, everyone shouting in a local dialect, music was playing, and there was so much DELICIOUS and CHEAP food.  Everything that I had in my mind about what Sicily was like was brought to life here.  I strolled all through the market, and on my way out, and decided to buy a carton of strawberries, which cost me less than 1 Euro.  Unfortunately, when I threw away the carton and the wrapper, I accidentally threw away my map as well.  So, it was back to the hostel for me.


As I approached the door, there were two girls trying to figure out if they were in the right place, and if so, how exactly to get up to the hostel (it was on a top floor of a building under construction, so it was difficult to find).  The owner, after laughing at me for losing my map after 30 minutes of being out on my own, sat me down with the two girls and walked me through another map with them.  We then decided that the three of us would go out and explore together.  We started with heading down to the water to get arancine for lunch.  An arancina is, basically, a deep fried ball of rice, meat, and veggies; it was a heart attack in a ball, but it was delicious and only cost 1 Euro and 30 cents.  We headed down to the water and sat, talked, and ate for a while, taking in the beautiful view.


With the help of the hostel owner, we knew exactly what sites we wanted to see that day, so we started our self-guided tour of Palermo.  First, we headed around the harbor, and over to see the Politeama.  On our way to the Teatro Massimo, we passed the street he recommended we go to to try Sicilian desserts.  I decided to get a cannoli, and it was one of the most delicious things I have ever had.  We then went to see the Teatro Massimo, the second largest theater in Europe (you can fit elephants on the stage!), and the location for the final scenes of the Godfather trilogy.  We then walked by the actual Quattro Canti, went to see the Cathedral (an interesting mix of architectural and artistic forms), and headed over to see the infamous Catacombs.


The Catacombs are some of the most famous in the world.  It was such an interesting and creepy place to be, and I would have been COMPLETELY freaked out to be there if I was by myself.  They have countless corpses hanging on the walls, with the same facial expressions they died with, some even still with their skin.  There were some bodies, which were kept in glass cases, that were so well preserved that the people inside look like they're still alive, but sleeping.  It was incredible.

After the Catacombs, we headed up to Monreale, a small village up on a hill surrounding Palermo.  Unfortunately, the cathedral there, which contains a very large and very famous mosaic of Jesus, had already closed, but we were able to explore the village for a while and see an incredible view of the city.


On our way back down to our hostel, we stopped at a very famous bakery, which is known for being the inventor of a dessert known as Sette Veli.  Sette Veli is a small piece of cake, with seven layers of chocolatey goodness.  The hostel owner talked it up a lot, and it was every I had hoped for and more.


When we got back to the hostel, we were so tired that we didn't want to go back out for dinner, so we ordered sandwiches in.  We then called it an early night, because we were all so tired and had early mornings.

The next day, the two girls and I went out separate ways.  I went to the market to pick up some sunscreen and fruit to snack on, and went to get breakfast.  I had been told I HAD to get gelato con brioche for breakfast one morning, so that's exactly what I did.  Gelato con brioche is, essentially, gelato in a sweet roll- not your typical breakfast, but it was SOOO GOOD.  After I finished my wonderfully unhealthy breakfast, I headed to a town called Mondello.  It is a beach front town, situated between two mountains.  The water is warm, clear, and blue, the sand is white and soft, and the view was spectacular.  I got there a little before noon and sat there for the entire day, just soaking up the sun and snacking on strawberries and the most delicious blood oranges I have ever had in my life.  If you put me on a beach, I am a happy girl, so this was such a wonderful day.  Eventually, the sun had sunk to the point where I was cold, so I headed to a seafood shack for some delicious fried calamari.  As I was leaving the beach, I saw a sand sculptor making a merman!  It was awesome.  I then headed over to the shack, ordered my food, sat, ate, and took in the view until it was time to catch the bus back to Palermo.


When I got back to the hostel, I showered, discovered just how terribly burnt I had gotten (despite using SPF 30 sunscreen four times during the day), then headed to the harbor for dinner.  The hostel owner recommended a place for me to go that gives his guests a discount, so I decided to go there.  For 15 Euro, I got a HUGE plate of an assortment of fresh fish and a liter of wine.  A day at the beach followed by a wonderful seafood dinner made for an incredible day.

An early flight on Sunday morning concluded my solo adventure to Sicily.  Even though I was unbelievably nervous about traveling on my own, it was exactly what I needed.  I was able to do what I wanted, when I wanted, and at my own pace.  I had gotten so stressed over the past few weeks, and I was able to get away from all the drama and just relax by myself.  For the first time all semester, I truly experienced the personality of the place I visited, even though I was only there for two days.  I ate delicious food, barely spent any money, met some great people, and enjoyed myself 100%.  I say this about every place I've been so far, but Sicily is a place I will definitely be returning to.  I was only there for two days, and only got to see a small fraction of what the beautiful island has to offer, and I want to explore the other towns, the ruins, and the beaches and natural reserves some day soon (I also know I will be CRAVING those cannolis soon!).  I am also very confident that I will be off on my own solo adventure again sometime soon!


Abbracci e baci!  xoxo

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