It's hard to believe that my time in Palermo is rapidly coming to an end. Tomorrow, I drag my suitcase down to Stazione Centrale and hop a bus for Agrigento, home of the Valley of the Temples.
This has been a good stay. My b&b, Alle Martorana, has been OK, a little funky, some might say down-in-the-heels, always a little chillier than I'd like, but a good place to call home for a couple days. I've really enjoyed the company of the other visitors over the breakfast table. Maybe I'll see the German couple in Agrigento tomorrow, they left for there earlier today. And I've liked Andre, the volcano chaser who wanted to speak Spanish this morning, so I got in some Espanol on top of Italiano, and, of course, English, because everyone speaks English except Luigi, who runs the b&b. It's been fun calling this place "home" for a few days.
Went to the archeology museum and discovered, much as I expected, that the main exhibition areas are closed for renovation, which is really awful because this museum holds an amazing collection of artifacts from the Phoenician and Carthiginian settlements in Sicily as well as all kinds of good stuff from the Greek occupation. But I follow someone's suggestion and went a block on the other side of Via Roma and found the Palazzo Biancaforte, which houses a collection of 5,000 artifacts, many of which were taken from Grecian grave sites on the island.The Biancaforte is a specialist's museum and I'll never claim to know a lot about the differences in style between red, black and white Greek vases, but I was very engaged by the way the human figure was represented in each of the styles. I'd like to know if there was any relationship between the vase art and the development of Byzantine art, which relied heavily on Grecian artists.
So after an hour or so studying vases, I found a cool street with a puppet theater and a row of artisan shops where craftsmen either made marionettes or built miniature objects or entire, small scale scenes. And then lunch. A great buffet for 10 Euro, a big plate full of friend anchovies, sausage, mussels and steamed veggies. While I was chowing down, I heard my name and there were Charlotte and Deborah, my two new girl friends from the bus trip to Monreale yesterday. They sat down and drank wine and coffee and we continued our chat. They asked me if I had met any other Americans on the trip, and in fact, they are it. I don't count the obnoxious kids from Connecticut I met in the airport in Rome. This has been a mostly Italian trip, forcing me to speak as much in Italian as I can and that's been wonderful. And I discovered that Deborah was born in the same hospital that I was, Hartford General, and in the same year. She speculated we had the same doctor. That would be really amazing. I'll have to check my birth certificate.
Charlotte and Deborah went on their way and I found a cool street where there's an busy outdoor market. I got my digital tape recorder out and kept it running as I walked through the market. Workers were taking down the stands, shouting at each other in that intense, sing-songy dialectic that I just don't understand but think is pretty cool. I haven't listened yet, so not sure what I got, but the way people talk here is fascinating.
By the time I ended up at the Cathedral, I was feeling bushed. I decided the skip this one -- it's a massive building and I'm not sure I can take another warehouse of religious art. I stumbled around, found yet another puppet theater, snacked on cappuccino and a pastry and then headed back here to rest. Big travel day tomorrow. So far I've been getting around by train (except, of course, for the flight here on Saturday). Tomorrow I get the Pullman bus experience. Looking forward to a ride through the countryside, away from Palermo, which is really the biggest city in Sicilia.
I wasn't sure about Palermo when I first got here, but it has grown on me. Lots of hidden treasures on these winding streets. Now on to hilly Agrigento and hiking about from temple to temple. Weather looks good for the big hike on Thursday.
Arrivederci Palermo! A dopo!
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