Today was a fascinating (and jam-packed) tour of Palermo's Arabo-Norman architecture, dating from the 1100s, which combines Byzantine Greek, North African Islamic and Norman French styles. In the process, we managed to see much of the Old Town part of the city, as well as take a brief detour to Palermo's ancient Phoenician past.
( From there, our weary and footsore party trudged the few blocks back to the hotel, passing by the )

Touching down in Palermo after a long 18-hr flight was like walking through a door into summer, with soft blue skies, fluffy clouds, and warm sunshine.

The small airport is right on the beach, and the 20 minute drive from the airport to the heart of the city was amazingly scenic, with rugged peaks plunging into clear blue-green Mediterranean waters ( Read more... )