Off to Sicily

 It seems like our travel this year is involving islands.  First, Tasmania, and now Sicily.  While we have been to Italy several times we have never made it to this lovely island.  American has a direct flight to Rome and then it’s just a short hop over to Palermo which is the first stop on our trip.




We arrived mid-day which gave us time to have our first pasta of the trip at a cute little restaurant very close to our hotel, Grand Hotel et des Palmes.  The restaurant was definitely a family run operation with family members taking turns serving the patrons while the others enjoyed their lunch.  David is easing in slowly by having a hamburger for his first meal while I endulged with pasta with artichokes and mushrooms.  I think it’s impossible to have a bad meal here.





We returned to our hotel for a shower and nap to help us ease into our new time zone which is 7 hours ahead of home.  The hotel is lovely with large, modern rooms.  For example, to turn the shower on you push a button.  That’s right, no handle just a little push to start the water flowing.  

I had reserved a place for four of us to eat at reportedly the best pizza in Palermo.  Archestrato di Gela was a 25 minute walk from our hotel but after a day of sitting on a plane it felt good to stretch our legs.  It appears there’s a pizza restaurant around every corner here but I have to say this one will be hard to beat.  The crust had a nice rise and char to it and the toppings were fresh and unusual.  One of our pizzas actually had potatoes on it.  Mine had a pistachio pesto with Parma ham and a big ball of mozzarella in the middle.  I think the best one had roasted tomatoes and sausage with fine threads of chili that gave the pizza a nice kick.  They were all good in their own way.



After our walk back to the hotel I was definitely ready to get a full night’s sleep.

Tomorrow: The workshop begins

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