Exploring Palermo with Karen (kk): A Senior Traveler's Guide to Italy's Jewel
You all know Karen ‘kk’ Taylor. Her Mind + Body classes calm and inspire us. For one month, kk has been touring Europe with her friend Dian, and we get to follow along. As kk says, ‘I am ready to have fun.’ This senior travel adventure is just that; we can share her experiences and keep our minds open and active. Follow kk’s warrior poses as we ‘get in our steps’ and lean into the experience. Getting our steps in is easy when the inspiring sights are just ahead.
I will post Dian’s commentary and kk’s photos as they arrive. Come back often to check in with her.
Leaving the beautiful town of Taormino, headed for Palermo, we knew there was one place we had to visit on our way across the island. What would a trip to Italy be without seeing Corleone? …. The small village of 11,000 in the heart of the Italian Mafia territory….made famous worldwide by Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather. The landscape as we made our way thru the countryside was absolutely beautiful. When we arrive, we stopped at a small bar in town to sample their local wine…of course, it had The Godfather on the label😉. Then we toured what was touted as a house that supposedly belong to several mafia bosses over the years. A lot of original antiques and pictures showing how they lived. Not a bad stopover to get the feeling of what the movie portrayed.
On the road again…(just like Willie😜) we finally arrived at the “Dirty City”. Yeah, that’s my nickname for Palermo. I’ve never seen so many cigarette butts and trash on the streets… Even more than in Rome.
Our Flat was located right outside the “old town” walls-but 2nd worst lodging yet for the trip (Split, Croatia had NO VIEW). The flat itself was clean ….yet we were super disappointed in the amenities. NO washer and dryer as advertised.
The first full day we were there, we headed over to the Church of Santa Catarina D’Alessandra and found out it was closed because it was National Liberation Day… but we did get to enter the chapel of the Church of San Cataldo next door …built in 1154….and it was truly remarkable. It’s so difficult for my brain to compute how something this intricate and magnificent was built over 1,000 years ago.
Just walking around town was fascinating …so many amazing old buildings and parks. Very impressive architecture ….and if it wasn’t for the graffiti & trash everywhere , it could be a really nice city to visit.
Our second day, ended up being somewhat more productive after our first stop being a disappointment. We initially went to go see the famous chapel in the palace, but once we arrived, we saw a waiting line of at least two hours to buy a ticket and no tickets available online. So we walked down a few blocks and lo and behold…there stood one of the most impressive churches I’ve ever seen was right before us. Wow! The Cathedral of Palermo. It felt like walking back in time to see such a massive structure built in 1185 with so many treasures from the past and so much history. We spent more than an hour exploring and marveling at all the impressive sculptures and paintings.
Later, we lucked into meeting some new friends from Switzerland and enjoying our last night here with …you guessed it… more pasta for Kk …but I tried octopus and calamari…MISTAKE!
Off to Lisbon, Portugal
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