Palermo

One thing to know about Sicily is that they have established an excellent bus system. Whether it be inter-city travel or intra-city, the service is highly reliable, inexpensive, and, as a result, it is a very popular choice of transportation for Sicilians. As an example, a bus ticket from Baia del Corallo into Palermo costs 1 euro and is good for 90 minutes after stamping it upon entry in the bus and it is good for the entire transit system which means you can transfer onto connecting buses with the same ticket provided you do so within 90 minutes. This morning, I overheard one old woman remarking with a happy grin that the odour of the hot morning air in the bus reminded her of ripe fromaggio. Palermo is a very large metropolis and there is no way to see half of all the interesting attractions in a few days, so we did what always seems most appropriate under the circumstances in any large city and that is to visit the museum of archaeology. So, after locating the ticket office of Tirrenia at the port and procuring our boarding ticket for the ferry tomorrow, we did that, and what a treasure trove of antiquity! We alo visited the Teatro Massimo, but unfortunately, no shows were scheduled until June (Cosi fan Tutti...would have been nice but we were a couple of weeks too early), and then afterwards a most remarkable fountain at one of the nearby piazzas. The city is punctuated with so many statues and piazzas that it is easy to become insensitive to their presence and beauty. Saw a man on a motorbike with a passenger weaving in and out of pedestrians while talking on his cell phone...whatàs remarkable about this is that he was driving on a pedestrian walkway and no one seemed to give him any notice. One more day to stroll about in town as the ferry departs Palermo at 17:00.