Make Time: Palermo, Sicily

I wake up and jump on the bus to the airport and easily get onto the plane and into my seat, which luckily has no one next to it. A nice easy 2.5 hour flight into Palermo, Sicily, and then I’m here: Italy. I’ve wanted to visit Italy since I was in high school, and so this has been a long time coming…with a lot of expectations. We land and I have the directions to my AirBnB – so I can either take the train or a bus. I opt for the train but as I’m walking down towards its location I see only darkness with a very loud siren going off. There are a few people walking into the darkness in front of me, and a few people coming out, so I decide I’ll give it a shot. I walk in there and the siren is deafening. Earplugs on. I try to buy a ticket but the machine is not working. I have about 45 minutes until my train, so I decide to go up and check out the bus situation. There’s a 20-person queue but it goes quickly and soon enough I’m on the bus heading into Palermo. We make a few stops along the way and the scenery and the town we are in doesn’t look so nice – a little grimy and not really aesthetically pleasing. I figure we will be in Palermo in the next town…until we pull into the Palermo Central Station in this same town. Ruh oh. I guess I wasn’t expecting much, but this is definitely not my style. I walk out of the station and my AirBnB is only about 10 minutes walk, so I get there and check in with my host Alberto. He is amazingly Sicilian – super nice with a huge accent. I love how detailed he is about his town and how much he wants me to enjoy it. He gives me a map and details not only the restaurants to visit, but what to order in each restaurant. Very cool. I head out around 7:30pm and walk along the waterfront in Palermo and take some great pics. I think there is a Catholic Confirmation ceremony going on, because there are a ton of kids dressed up in all white and a bunch of photographers around. Cute. Very Sicilian. I walk and take a bunch of pics and then make my way to one of the restraurants that Alberto, my host, recommended. He specifically said this was the best place for seafood, but they don’t speak much English and they can be rude. Hm – ok. I walk down this small street and there is a couple restaurants across from one another. One of them has a huge display of fresh seafood on a table, as well as a big fat Sicilian cooking on an outside grill. I am greeted by a very slick guy who says welcome to Salvo’s, and when I say I was sent from Alberto he gives me a huge smile and tells the owner, Salvo, as well. Salvo is a pretty chubby guy, wearing navy sweatpants, sneakers, and a maroon button down which looks like he’s been wearing it for 4 days straight. I love him right away. A waiter comes up to me and I tell him the order that Alberto told me, and he says no to each thing I say. Hm. Not sure what’s going on here. Salvo then walks by and I ask him as well, and he says, in his own way – without any words – that he’s gonna take care of me. Love this shit. So Goodfellas. So Italian. A perfect first meal here in Sicily. I sit and drink a glass of red wine and just watch as the restaurant hums. There are about 5 waiters running here and there: from the inside kitchen - to the outside table of fresh seafood - to the fat guy grilling outside - to their tables. No waiter goes back to any table without first consulting Salvo. This guy is literally consulted on every dish for every table. Somehow he knows what everyone wants and makes sure each dish is prepared to his standards before going out. Amazing. You hear the waiters calling his name every 2-3 minutes, just for another consultation. So great. Eventually my plate comes out – filled with a few prawns, a huge squid, an octopus, a full fish in the middle of the plate, and one fish which I don’t even recognize. Normally I don’t eat a fish that still looks exactly as it did in the water, but I dive in and it’s amazing. So fresh and so minimally flavored, but great nonetheless. All the other fish is great as well. What a treat. I compliment Salvo and thank the waiters, sit for a long time enjoying my food and wine, and then get up to head back to my apartment. As I’m walking I remember that Alberto told me there was a great place for limoncello, which I really enjoy, so I try to find it for a while and just as I’m about to give up I come upon it – Monkey Bar. Yeah, doesn’t sound too Sicilian but it was fantastic. I’m sitting having this drink in the outside area overlooking this huge old church. Very nice way to end my night. After my drink I head to the apartment where I clean up and pass out – happy as can be.