June 14 More of Palermo from a bus window

 Once refreshed we were back exploring - enjoy the ride.

There are not many streets with trees. Under these is a market  

The Greeks named the city Panormus meaning 'complete port'. After the Greeks from 831 to 1072 the city was under Arab rule when the city first became a capital. The Arabs 'adapted' the Greek name to Balarm, the root for Palermo's current name

Quattro Canti 

In C18th the Quattro Canti formed the heart of Palermo. The four ancient districts of Albergheria, Capo, Kalso and Vucciria all converged at Villena Square. In each corner are concave Baroque facades, each with four stories with three full size statues in their centers. The street level up to second story feature four fountains, each dedicated to one the four seasons. The third stories have statues in niches of four Spanish rulers of Sicily; above them in roofline are their respective coats of arms. The fourth and top stories of the buildings have statues of four female patron saints of Palermo: Christina, Ninfa, Olivia and Agata.

This was a shanty town. Hard to tell if was condemned but it looks sad.

Post office

The style of the Post office building seemed very stark after the grand elaborate buildings of yesteryear. It is typical of the fascist period, an example of Italian Rationalism a style of architecture from the 1920s - all unnecessary details stripped away.

Grande Albergo

The Grand Hotel et des Palmes is a historic hotel in Palermo. Many notable people have stayed there - heads of State, politicians, musicians and poets and during WWII it was US headquarters.

Teatro Massimo, the biggest opera house in Italy and one of the largest in Europe

Drinks with tortoises!

Even though we spent a lot of time sitting on buses we also walked a fair bit so we took a drinks break at this strange place opposite the Opera house: a central pool housed dozens of tortoises who didn't look very happy.

Quite extensive garden with  many exotics

Like a bird on the wire

The end of a big but engaging day in and out of rain showers which only added to the allure of the city.

We dined in the hotel's rooftop restaurant that night. They brought us a sample of their bread to start with –  black bread which was intriguing, perhaps squid ink? But the oil was to die for. This was followed by a Bruschetta of Mojito's swordfish with beetroot gazpacho and mini seafood pastries.

For Primi pasta, Lindsay had  Risottato in scampi bisque, tuna ragù, peas cream, crunchy charcoal pod and I had a most rich fungi risotto.  Both were delicious as was the wine. 

Dinner with a delightful view

Tomorrow is the start of our 15 day bus tour of Sicily, the Aeolian Islands and Malta. More anon ....