Here is the first of probably a series on Sicily because it was simply too beautiful to fit all the photographs I love into just one post. We flew into Palermo from Bergamo, a quick one-hour and twenty minute jaunt. As soon as we hit the road with our rental, we knew we had to head for the sand, surf, and...seafood! Our first stop was Sferracavallo just outside of the city of Palermo where the seaside was rocky, the water clear, and the seafood just steller. The food photographs here show the octopus salad topped with the most glorious onions I've ever tasted, and Massi's mixed seafood plate which should probably be re-named "the best damned shrimp of your life". If you think you know how onion or shrimp taste like, I can assure you that you don't unless you've been to Sicily. With full tummies, we nestled into the rocky seaside for a post-lunch suntan and swim. This was followed-up with the obligatory frosty beer before heading to our hotel, Hotel Bel 3 (www.bel3.com). It comes highly recommended by yours truly (should you have a car) as we paid very reasonably and got to enjoy a one-of-a-kind view of Palermo from the outdoor jacuzzi, well worth the price and the distance from the city center. Palermo is quite chaotic just like any other large city and I found the hotel to be a wonderful refuge every night. For the evening, we headed over to Monreale (sounds like Montreal). It's a smaller city at a higher elevation than Palermo but very much accessible from the city center. We loved it. I'm not sure you could spend a whole day there but it was absolute perfection for a couple hours while the sun was setting. It has the kind of old-school Sicilian charm you'd hope to experience on a trip to the island (also, they've invented this amazing concept of gelato in a pastry so do try that on your next visit!). That's it for now folks, stay tuned on the blog to see our city tour of Palermo, Mondello Beach, and the famous beach town of San Vito lo Capo! P.S. I swear Massi was on this trip, for some reason the first set of photos I chose feature exclusively me but he'll pop up in the next batch, note the hairy arm in the background of the second food photograph as evidence.
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