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Palermo Sicily Travel diary

Palermo was our second stop in Italy. Although its not on a typical Italian itinerary of Rome- Florence-Venice-Milan, the first time I went to Catania, Sicily, I fell in love with it. Very warm weather and people, different landscape and amazing variety of food, what’s not to love.

We landed mid morning and it was already super hot. It was one of those few days where the temperature was hovering around 100F. we reached our Airbnb, tucked away in little tiny lanes of the old Palermo town. I was so pleasantly surprised. The airbnb was just perfect, clean rooms, great hosts, good breakfast spread and close to all old town attractions. Our host Vincenzo was super helpful and I would highly recommend his place for those visiting Palermo.

Our apartment was more like a condominium, a small kitchen and a living room on the first floor, and two bedrooms with attached bathrooms on the second. Our host Frederico had some soda and beer in the fridge waiting for us, it was really nice of him.

Here is the link to the AirBnb

We were super hungry and wanted to get something quick to eat. My hubby did a quick search and we walked to the downtown. We walked through the beautiful lanes of Palermo, it was so hot that not many people were on the street. We came to Villa Emanuel and found the place we were looking for, a cafe with a gelato parlor. We were so excited. We ordered many dishes but one of the favorites was the simple margarita pizza, delicious crust, topped with fresh cheese and cherry tomatoes. The pistachio Gelato was a perfect end to a great meal

The old town is so beautiful and charming, just as I had imagined. Cobble stone streets, small shop, gelato everywhere and of course amazing people.

Cathedral de Monreale

We were at a walking distance from the cathedral and the palace. The cathedral is very different from the ones we had seen in Rome, but magnificent in its own way. In fact I felt a very nice vibe in this place.

The church is beautiful with intricate decoration, it had such a serenity.

My favorite part in any town is the local markets, whether its vegetable market or a art market or a food market, I love them all. There are many small markets but four major ones and I visited three of them.

One of the markets was very close to the AirBnB

Mercado del Capo ( here is the exact location)

This was on a walking distance from my Airbnb. I wake up fairly early in the day so one day while the family was sleeping I decided to take a trip to this market.

Apparently this market was established by the Arabs and one feels like they are in one of the souks as you walk the lanes of this market. You can get anything here it seems.

When you look at Sicilian food, you can see Arab influence very clearly everywhere. Pistachio in Gelato, combination of sweet-sour ( orange, resins), rice & saffron in arancini and so much more.

Vucciria Market

It was super hot and which meant that it was pretty much necessary to stay indoors during the afternoons. One such evening after a good siesta, we stepped out to check out another market. This market apparently was a known fish market at one point in time, however you don’t see any signs of that if you go here during the day time. But the same place just transforms itself into a whole different scene. As you step down from the street into the square where count-less vendors have set up their tables, you are taken over by the sounds, smells of Vucciria. The evening starts with apretif and ends with cannoli and music and drinks and can go on till the wee hours of morning. There is some harmony in that chaos indeed.

We enjoyed freshly cooked octopus salad, pan e panele which reminded me so much of the Vada Pav from India, and of course feasted on the cannoli. I must tell you, that ricotta is something else.

It might not appear to be the most hygienic place, and it certainly is not a high end affair, but this market captures the essence of Palermo.

Puppet show

Sicily is known for its puppet theatre, so we could not miss attending a show. Just before the show we hung out and enjoyed some Italian mule and some snacks. There are these alleys that suddenly open into an area where there are tables set up and every restaurant is trying to get you to dine with them. We loved the vibe of that place and ended up going another evening.

Teatro Massimo

We are big time Godfather fans, every thanksgiving we watch all three parts, a tradition as special as a Thanksgiving meal. So we of course could not miss visiting Teatro Massimo while in Sicily.

We made a day trip to Mondello beach, it was a beautiful beach but it seemed like all of Sicily was there. I suppose it gets busy in August. We made a stop on the way back at San Lorenzo Mercado. A fun place where you can buy many local products, enjoy good food with some live music. The only issue was getting a cab to go back to Palermo. It seems like mostly locals come here in their cars hence the cabs are not that easily available.

We had an awesome time in Palermo. Enjoyed some incredible Sicilian food like amazing pasta, pizza, Cannoli and so much more

I love Italy so much that I hope to live here some day. Sicily although a part of Italy, has a charm and character of its own. From its people, landscape, families and food, everything is just amazing.

Hope you enjoyed my quick tour of Palermo!

Mercado Ignacio Ramirez

After breakfast, we decided to go back to Mercado Ignacio Ramirez.

Ignacio Ramirez was a famous poet from Mexico and this market is named after him. When you walk past the cathedral and the gardens and navigate through some busy areas, you come to this market. There were some celebrations happening at the cathedral so I decided to not go inside. There were some vendors selling small craft items, young kids were also helping their parents, but I decided to keep focus on the market :), I get distracted very easily.

Cathedral
Garden
Kids hanging out
Paper flowers and mule

This place is full of all kinds of things, fresh fruits and vegetables, groceries like beans and rice, flowers, shoes, clothes and so much more.

We landed so early in the morning and were super hungry, when we saw Tortas being served with eggs, salsa and some tempting looking chilies, we decided to enjoy that with a glass of fresh juice. The Torta was not to die for but it was perfect for us, because we were starved. We also ordered some fresh juice and that was ok as well. We saw people around us eating seafood cocktails as well.

Salsa picante
Torta con huevo
Flowers market

When we came back the second time, we decided to explore the market more. You can see that there are different sections of this market. As you enter the market you see many stalls that sell fresh fruits and vegetables, and also some other things like dry chilies etc. You can get pre-made packets of spices and nuts needed to make the mole. I loved seeing the different types of dried chilies that were in the market. You can also buy rice and beans, a staple in Mexican cuisine.

Check out a video of the market walk below.

As you go deeper you also see stores that sell other household items along with things like shoes, bags etc.

I thought the market ended there but it was like a never ending treasure. I went further in to find many cool things. There was a whole market where you could buy vegetables, fruits, juices, cheese etc. They were also selling prepared food like Tacos, Tlayudas. They had such interesting toppings or fillings, it was super cool. Zucchini blossoms, Nopales and even purslane.

We were hungry and decided to give the Mexican breakfast food ‘Atoles’ a try. I had been reading signs for Tamales y Atoles, I knew about Tamales but had no clue what Atoles were. Atole is a drink made with masa, cooked with water to make a porridge enjoyed at breakfast. I tasted 4-5 different varieties like guava, cacao, coconut but my favorite was the one that was flavored like Arroz con Leche, touch of cinnamon and dulce de Leche.

I enjoyed a roasted ear of corn with some chili and lime, its not one of the hybrid super sweet corn, it was earthy, you had to chew a little but well worth that effort.

I continued going through the market and talking to people to learn and understand more about the food, culture, customs, its always so fascinating.

My walk was filled with interesting spices, some herbal medicines and so much more. I had a chance to taste the fresh cheese they were selling, and it was so delicious.

This lady was so helpful and explained not just what she was selling but how it was to be used. I was curious about some green balls that looked like spinach, she explained that it was purslane and often used in soups with potato.

I even tasted fruit of nopal, it’s called tuna (like the fish), an interesting tasting fruit. I would love to cook with it when I get back to California. This is the best part about traveling, meeting new people and learning something new about culture and food expands your horizons.

It seemed like that the Ignacio Ramirez market was never ending. As we made our way through the area where they were selling these vegetables, we could see some stores selling jewelry but also some clay pots and other crafts items. As we made our way towards those shops we saw a banner that said ‘Welcome to the Artisan Market’, there was a huge unending lane full of all kinds of artisanal things in Mercado Artesanias, we will take that tour in a different post

But for now if you want to go back to my original post on San Miguel de Allende, click here 🙂 .