Anniversary Vacation Notes 2017: Day 6: 2/21 Tuesday: Palermo

Palermo is the capital city of Sicily; it is situated 14km south of the Gulf of Palermo and faces the north-west coast of the island.

So why did I copy directly from the ship’s brochure? Well, in terms of cruise-ship stops, I don’t believe that Palermo has figured out the best means for separating tourists from their dollars—not counting traditional means such as scams, kidnapping and ordinary muggings. But Palermo doesn't get all the blame. As tourist, I think we came up a little short in terms of making the absolute best of this opportunity.

The morning started out promising; sunny and warm, at least warm for February. At the very least it was finally legitimate short-sleeve shirt weather. With no in-depth research to guide us we decided to rely upon the generally trustworthy Hop-On/Hop-Off bus tour. We purchased our tickets at a tent set up on the dock, still inside the gates.  The woman selling tickets told us the pickup-point was one block away. She provided some general directions.

Obviously, by one-block she meant three, but that was OK. It was a pleasant day and a chance to wander around a bit in someplace new is always welcome.  We eventually found the bus and boarded, only to be told that we would have to get off at the first stop. It turned out that this bus was only a shuttle to the actual bus. Why you would pick up a bus load of people only to take them to a second bus remains beyond my comprehension.

The transfer was without difficulty and we boarded the real bus and the real beginning of our Hop-On/Hop-Off tour. We had the day in front of us and the sun was shining—although it did remain a little cool in the shade. We decided that our first hop-off would be at the Villa Giulla. This was a pedestrian gardens, or park, that were actually only slightly more than two blocks from a marina, which wasn’t too far from where our ship was docked.

The park was pleasant, palm trees and citrus fruit trees were prominent. The park was also decorated with statuary. Neptune was the only recognizable luminary immortalized in marble but there were lesser angels and saints, and a mortal or two, in various locations throughout the park.

In most places—every other place actually—the great thing about the Hop-On/Hop-Off services is that buses travel in a loop and you can just get on the next bus whenever you feel you’ve seen enough and wish to move on to another destination. That is how it works, usually.

According to the brochures, and re-affirmed by the ticket agent, and our driver, the buses should have been arriving in 30-minute intervals. Well, in Palermo, at least on this day, it seems that 30 minutes can sometimes mean 90 minutes.

You can moan and groan about your fate and complain the day away, or you can make use of the time and attempt a Plan “B”. We decided to visit a nearby botanical garden—at least the free parts. We considered going through the locked doors but an additional twenty Euros for each of us seemed a steep price to pay to view vegetation, so we opted out.

Eventually a bus did show up and we immediately hopped on. Perhaps we’d been roasting in the sun just a little too long, but none of the remaining Hop-Off sights looked particularly appealing. Most of the stops appeared to be tourist contrivances of dubious historical distinction. Palermo, has a great history hidden away somewhere. Perhaps they would prefer if it remained that way.

Still, I can’t say with any authority that our experience was indicative of all of Palermo. I can only refer to the stops along our route. The ride itself was pleasant and the history-lesson-for-tourist was fascinating. It seemed to me that Palermo has been a region that worshiped power regardless of intent.  Whether one was good or evil seemed incidental; it was the power that mattered.

We reached a point on our journey where we thought it would be more interesting to get off the bus and walk back to the ship. Our bus had been driving around in a tight loop, that never seemed to travel too far from our original location. The point where we decided to get of turned out to be barely more than a mile from where we had gotten on.

This was not a lost day, however. Walking the streets can be fun, and somewhat illuminating.  Before reaching our ship we ran through the usual gaggle of vendors. Many opted to sell Godfather memorabilia rather than Sicilian or Italian goods. We purchased a few blue T-shirts and a zip-up sweater. We chose one of the more obscure designs, a blue background with “Italia” written on the front. We decided not to purchase the much more plentiful design; the black products with the iconic image of Marlon Brando as The Godfather. (Interestingly, I saw no Michael Corleone merchandise on display.)

Palermo—what little we saw—was an unusual experience. It appeared to have been lost in time, existing somewhere between thriving and abandoned. There were plenty of construction sites but no clear sign of any actual activity. It sits on an island in the Mediterranean, yet seems dusty and arid. There is plenty of natural beauty. Whether native or not there are fruit trees such as orange trees. There are also palm trees—apparently the only reproducing palm trees in the Mediterranean.  The architecture is dominated with classic Roman design and decorated with statues that could serve equally well in either a museum or a mausoleum.

But I do not intend this entry to be a slam of Palermo. That wouldn’t be fair. Cruises are great, but there comes a time in every cruise where you just need a breather and too much, really does become too much. It could just be that Palermo fell on a day that demanded a rest.

It is possible that, at least on this day, our impression of Palermo suffered from two common cruise-ship curses. The aforementioned sensory overload suffered by the weary voyager, so much beauty so fast that my wow-glands have been stupefied.  The second cruise-line curse is just the impossibility of beginning to understand a new place in the six to ten hours provided by a cruise stop.

The rest of the evening was enjoyable, dinner with our table-mates, some empty-threats by the men to visit the clothing-optional pool, followed by an unusually early retirement for the evening.

Tomorrow brings Malta!