Nutting out Palermo

Mission:
1 - Find the perfect breakfast spot
2 - Start exploring and come up with a navigation plan

Mission accomplished!

Started the day with a great coffee and Genovese biscuit - crisp crust, soft inside, filled with ricotta and chocolate - at the Touring Café on the corner of Via Roma and Via Venezia, one block from the apartment.  Apparently their arancini are fabulous...so this could be our lunch/light dinner go to - they're open till 11pm every night.

A little later, we stopped for coffee and discovered Casa Stagnitta - a bar/café/ice cream shop.  It's a short walk through a narrow side street, opening onto a piazzetta - wonderful, and we'll be back tomorrow!

Coffee aside...

Close by to the apartment is the Quattro Canti, the intersection that marks the centre of the old city and divides the area into quarters.  We spent today in the Albergheria quarter, taking in some, but not yet all of the sights in the area.

The municipal office building was a treat - as was the security officer who explained in a raspy purr (think Marlon Brando in The Godfather), "Go up the stairs, find a door, do not close the door"...?  Such fun!  Then on to the royal apartments of the Palazzo dei Normanni, which is home to Sicily's regional parliament, and includes the glorious Cappella Palatina, a chapel designed by Roger II in 1130 and illustrates a mix of Latin, Greek and Arabic influences.  The mosaics in the chapel were just beautiful.  A wander back along Corso Vittoria Emanuele, via a photo exhibition at the Biblioteca Regionale, and then home for a short siesta before aperitivo time.

Palermo is a chaotic, noisy mix of traffic, crumbling buildings, graffiti, history, rubbish and some slightly scary narrow alleys around the markets!  We've learned some Palermitan things:

• It's normal to be served a brioche with your granita.  It's a summer breakfast treat.  You can eat them separately, or dip pieces of brioche in the granita, or even spoon your granita into the pulled apart brioche.  The ice cream brioche is another story...stay tuned!
• During the day, Sicilian men gather in groups of at least three - on park benches, around tables in the park to play cards, or simply to chat around vehicles or motor bikes - I think at least two to discuss the intricacies of life, and one to referee!
• Motor cycle helmets appear compulsory for only the driver.  When you pick up your girlfriend/wife/buddy, they ride sans helmet on the back...and sometimes a child sits in front of the driver, so three on a scooter...crazy!
• The street food pane e panelle - fried chickpea flour fritters served in a sesame roll - really hit the spot after a day spent wandering the city.  On the other hand, I will never be sampling street food staples of pani ca meusa or stigghiola, which involve spleen, intestines and hot lard!