Palermo Part 2....Dinner at Carmelo's...and a Parade....
After a well-deserved afternoon rest, we walked to Carmelo and Rosaria's new home for dinner. They recently moved into their family home in the harbor of Palermo, and have done extensive and beautiful renovations to the 6-room apartment. Their friends Maglio and Alyssa, and their son Manfredi were also there, and it was great to see them again, as we had met them three years ago. Carmelo presented Joe with a book on the history of Alfa Romeo, a generous gift which will be cherished.
We unfortunately didn't take many photos at their home, I guess we were just too busy enjoying Rosaria's delicious dinner and conversing, or at least trying to converse the best we could!
It was a wonderful evening. It is the third time we have been invited to dinner at Carmelo and Rosaria's home, and we are always gratefully honored to be their guests. As we were leaving, Carmelo gave us a jar of red tuna, produced by Maglio's company Coalma. More on that in a future post!
Carmelo drove us back to the B&B after dinner, and we enjoyed a long and restful sleep, that lasted well into Saturday morning. Late morning we set out to look for a flea market at Piazza Marina, but what did we find...? A parade! Just a few blocks from our B&B, in front of Teatro Massimo, musical groups from Spain, Turkey, Scotland, Japan, and of course Sicily were gathering for a parade to celebrate almond blossoms, or Mandorlo in Fiore, in Italian. What a great excuse for a parade! We joined right in, following the Scottish bagpipe band most of the way down Via Maqueda to Quattro Canti.
As the parade reached Quattro Canti, each group performed in the square. The large group from Spain didn't play music, they built a human mountain!
It was truly amazing, even the Palermo policeman with his paddle tucked in his boot enjoyed it!
We watched the entertainment for a while, then set off to find the flea market. It turned out to be a dud, only a few sellers, and not much of interest. On the walk back, we came upon the monumental Pretoria Fountain, just behind Quattro Canti. The fountain was built in 1554, and it is a joy to behold. The gates surrounding it were open, so we could get a close-up view....
After absorbing the stunning beauty of this incredible monument, we set off to find another sight that Palermo is noted for, the Capo street market. It is spread over several streets behind Teatro Massimo, and it is just a feast for the senses, offering the best fruits and vegetables, fish and meat, that can be found in Palermo. The "aisles" between the stalls are narrow, yet scooters and the occasional small car will find its way through....
After two days of taking in stunning sights, enjoying great food, marching in a parade, and logging miles of walking, we retired to our B&B for some well deserved rest. Next adventure.... a 3-hour drive to Agriturismo Baglio San Nicola in Naro, near Agrigento.
Touch any photo to enlarge....
We unfortunately didn't take many photos at their home, I guess we were just too busy enjoying Rosaria's delicious dinner and conversing, or at least trying to converse the best we could!
It was a wonderful evening. It is the third time we have been invited to dinner at Carmelo and Rosaria's home, and we are always gratefully honored to be their guests. As we were leaving, Carmelo gave us a jar of red tuna, produced by Maglio's company Coalma. More on that in a future post!
Carmelo drove us back to the B&B after dinner, and we enjoyed a long and restful sleep, that lasted well into Saturday morning. Late morning we set out to look for a flea market at Piazza Marina, but what did we find...? A parade! Just a few blocks from our B&B, in front of Teatro Massimo, musical groups from Spain, Turkey, Scotland, Japan, and of course Sicily were gathering for a parade to celebrate almond blossoms, or Mandorlo in Fiore, in Italian. What a great excuse for a parade! We joined right in, following the Scottish bagpipe band most of the way down Via Maqueda to Quattro Canti.
It was truly amazing, even the Palermo policeman with his paddle tucked in his boot enjoyed it!
We watched the entertainment for a while, then set off to find the flea market. It turned out to be a dud, only a few sellers, and not much of interest. On the walk back, we came upon the monumental Pretoria Fountain, just behind Quattro Canti. The fountain was built in 1554, and it is a joy to behold. The gates surrounding it were open, so we could get a close-up view....
After absorbing the stunning beauty of this incredible monument, we set off to find another sight that Palermo is noted for, the Capo street market. It is spread over several streets behind Teatro Massimo, and it is just a feast for the senses, offering the best fruits and vegetables, fish and meat, that can be found in Palermo. The "aisles" between the stalls are narrow, yet scooters and the occasional small car will find its way through....
After two days of taking in stunning sights, enjoying great food, marching in a parade, and logging miles of walking, we retired to our B&B for some well deserved rest. Next adventure.... a 3-hour drive to Agriturismo Baglio San Nicola in Naro, near Agrigento.
Touch any photo to enlarge....
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