12 Nov
We are up early to get the included breakfast. I am the first person in the dining room. There is yoghurt, oranges, sweet croissants and donuts, I take one of each and a coffee, there are other items like cereal and packaged cookies, sliced ham, cheese and small bread rolls so a decent selection.
One young woman eats 9 donuts with Nutella, and she wasn't a big person. When she took that plate of donuts to her table we thought her family would be joining her, and when they didn't come along I thought well she's going to put some in her purse for later. Nope, she ate them all.
Nothing better to do than judge others eating habits!
We walked to the opera house, a beautiful building. It was raining so I didn't take a picture and I thought we would pass it again on the way back but we took a shortcut and didn't,
I wanted a picture of myself on the steps ; pretending to be murdered like in the Godfather 3, Filmed here,
I waited in line for half an hour to try to get concert tickets but there weren't any for this week.
The Opera house is right by the old town so we went there.
Had a coffee on a patio 
The Quattro Canti was the space used for public celebrations and capital executions. An ancient Palermo saying goes: “celebrations and gallows in Piazza Villenalan”. For these reasons Piazza Vigliena is sometimes also called “Theatre of the city”
This is a busy square, a busker is singing and chestnut carts are set up, all kinds of people gather to take pictures and selfies.
The Library: was started first by Jesuit priests as a free education centre in the sixteenth century.
Papè di valdina palace was hit by Allied bombs in 1943. The ruins are in the heart of Palermo old town. A palace owned by nobility has been here since the sixteenth century. Plans are underway to rebuild in 2025 and create shop space and about fifty residential units.
Palermo Cathedral
Saint Rosalie born in the twelfth century is the patron saint of Palermo. She was a high born girl who chose to become a hermit and lived in a cave in Mount Pellegrino 
We spend time on outdoor patios and also like to walk through city parks. This park in the old town is across from the old Norman Castle 
The old Norman Castle stands in the highest point of the ancient centre of the city, just above the first Punic settlements, whose remains can still be found in the basement.
After the Normans invaded Sicily in 1072 and established Palermo as the capital of the new County of Sicily, the palace was chosen as the main residence of the kings. In 1132 King Roger II added the Cappella Palatina to the complex.
Porto Nuevo, the old city gate from the 16th century.
We stop for a late lunch. I had a beer which always seems to make me feel happy judging from the pictures.
It seems to be an extra long walk back. Some kind of shortcut, through sketchy neighbourhoods. No we aren't dodging tourists or well heeled shoppers, but there are people here and there and quite a bit of garbage. I preferred the walk this morning but that's just me. Walking back I passed the time holding my breath every time we passed garbage and this kept me busy, I could hardly gulp for air before we passed more garbage. There's garbage on the nicer streets too but not as much. As our bus came in last night there were so many overflowing garbage bins I wondered if there was some kind of garbage strike.
I was glad to finally get to the wide avenue that leads to our hotel. We are a block from Gucci, only a few blocks from Prada. We are on a nondescript side street but still adjacent to the good side of the tracks.
We are also a block from a grocery store, there's an old gypsy lady sitting on the step shaking a cup.
This featured blog entry was written by CherylGypsyRose from the blog Europe on a Budget 2024.
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