What a difference a few blocks can make! Today, we hit Palermo's streets, and now I want to retract all the negative thoughts I had about this city. We got off to a rough start, but she has proven us all wrong.
Palermo is an awesome, vibrant city oozing with history, colorful culture, grand architecture, unique shops, art, hip bars and enticing eateries. It may be one of the coolest cities we have visited thus far. Though it's pretty rough around the edges, it's well worth the trip inside.
We have to give kudos to the Sicilians. On the COVID-prevention meter, they rate a 9.0! There are moderate crowds here, but people try to keep their distance and 9 out of 10 wear masks!
Because Kate loves anything to do with theatre, we took a guided tour of the elegant neoclassical Teatro Massimo, known for its opera performances. It is the largest opera house in Italy, holding almost 1500 people. Kate and I envisioned ourselves wearing elegant, hoop skirt dresses and practiced our curtsies.
After walking around the eclectic city, the main difference I noticed between Sicilian architecture and the other areas we have been to is that all the buildings are made of the same colored tan stone. They are garnished with intricate wrought-iron balconies dripping with various lush cascading greenery. There are potted plants and trees everywhere. All of the plants remind me of my plant babies at home!!
Venice and Rovinj's buildings were colorful shades of corals, blushes and yellows with neutral shutters and mainly stone balconies. Other than the Italian influenced Rovinj, white stone and emerald green shutters grace almost every Croatian building. They reminded us of our white home with green shutters!
Almost every Croatian building has green shutters.
The outer perimeter is littered with garbage, but the city's heart is filled with great vibes.
