(I didn't shoot either of these)
Palermo driving on a motorcycle
We drove down to St Domenico church, and let me tell you, the scooter rides (this wasn't the last) were a blast. Zooming, and zipping in and out of traffic, it is like a ride at an amusement park. When we got there, Ciro explained the way the tickets worked. When you get on the bus, you have to insert it into a machine, that time stamps it. That ticket is now good for 90 minutes, so you can get off the bus and back on anywhere, on the same ticket, but once that time is up, you have to stamp another one. They do random checks of people while the bus is driving, so he said to make sure I always stamped the ticket. I bought about 5 tickets, since I guessed this wouldn't be my last day riding the bus. St Domenico's is right next door to the famous Vucciria market.
<---Saint Dominic's cathedral It's an alleyway of people selling everything from fish and olives, to toys and vegetables. I took a bunch of pics last trip....
The next couple pics are from the trip last year, I didn't take any of the market this time there.
Ciro checking out the selection. (last year)
Fresh fish anyone? (last year)So I walked a bit down the street to the bus stand, and I quickly learned to stop the bus you want, you stand in the street and hold your arm out. I filed in, punched my ticket, and chose to stand in the back. It wasn't crowded, but I figured that would prevent me from having to get up at another stop to give my seat up to a woman. My instructions were to take this first bus to the end of its line, get out, and find my bus to Mondello. As we drove and kept stopping to pick people up, the bus starting getting crowded. By crowded I mean after 10 minutes it was shoulder to shoulder even standing. I shook my head as the driver kept stopping, and people shoved their way on board. I saw a few people start working their way towards the door before a stop, and they weren't able to actually get out before we drove on. When the bus stopped heading west, I guessed we were done, and got out. I searched around for my next ride, but couldn't see a bus stop anywhere. I went around the street, and saw where all the buses park for the drivers to take a break. About 10 buses all line up with the drivers outside smoking. This wasn't a bus stop though. I found one the driver was still sitting in, and leaned inside. I asked in Italian if he spoke English, he didn't. I asked where seis un quattro (614) and he signalled me to sit down. He drove the bus right around the corner, and pointed to the stand I needed to be at. I thanked him, and jumped off. I found my bus among the others and climbed aboard. This bus never got crowded, and about 20 minutes later, I recognized the beaches of Mondello, so I got out.
Why is it when you travel, you refer to the wind as the 'breeze', but at home its just wind?
I'm sitting with my back to the Sea, and I think I could easily sit here for the rest of the day. That 'breeze' cools you off from the warm Sicilian sun, and the even more foreign to me foreigners arguing in Indian or Hindu (dunno) isn't even disturbing me. I'd trade my passport for a hammock in the shade right now. I walked around town, got some gelato, drank a beer, watched people, and took a few pictures. It was time to head back to Palermo, so I got my bearings and headed back to the bus stop. It took awhile for the right one to show up, for a few minutes I thought I was in the wrong place, but about 30 minutes of waiting and the right one came by. I was a little proud of myself while riding back, for so far not getting lost or having to call Ciro.
We got to Palermo, and I exited the same place I got on. Right next to the soccer stadium. Since I had been here, I knew where to go for the second bus. When I found that one, I started trying to remember where Ciro told me I needed to get out. I was listening to my iPod, and enjoying the views. The second bus' route was from the soccer stadium on one side of Palermo to the train station on the opposite end of the city. I never saw any of the landmarks Ciro said to watch for but all of a sudden I recognized his street he lived on. So I went ahead and got out at the next stop. When I got to his apartment, it was just me and Gloria (his wife) and we tried to talk about my day so far. Her English isn't great at all. She told me Francesca was going to pick me up at 7:45 to go out that night. I turned on CNN International (in English) and relaxed. Ciro has talked about me taking an adventure on my own the next week to Taormina by train if we could find reasonably priced places for me to stay on short notice. I thought it would be a good idea, because there aren't many places to buy souvenirs in Palermo. I had to at least get something for the lady watching my dogs, and my backup at work. When Ciro got home, he said I needed to dress up a little, because Francesca said it was a 'cocktail' party we were going to at a hotel bar. So I took a quick shower and changed into the one pair of nice slacks. When it was time to go, I cringed as he handed me my helmet. I'm not being girly, but I have to use hair gel when I style my hair, because I have calics, I think I spelled that right, but you know when your hair wants to lay a certain way in certain spots? If I don't put some gel on those, I'd look like Alfalfa, from the little rascals. Riding on the scooter, you are required to wear a helmet, so every time I styled my hair, that dang helmet messed it up. Ciro dropped me off early, so I walked around for a bit, until it was time and Francesca found me. She looked amazing, as she always did, and she started introducing me to more of her friends. None of these ones spoke any English though. Her friend Allesandro was a really cool guy, and we did our best to communicate, but I liked him. Francesca told me her father was planning on taking me to Monreale the next day, and I quietly got excited to have another adventure with him. After we had some drinks, we left and they took me to a pastry shop so they could get me to try some traditional deserts. Then they took me home. I'm sitting in my bed, and man do I miss my dogs. It seems at night is when I really miss them the most. Well, that's it for today, I'm excited for tomorrow, and Rosario, so I'm heading to bed.
ciao!
1 comment:
Proud of you for finding your way "all my by my self"! (what i used to say when I was 3)
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