Technically, or administratively, the city belongs to the state of Bavaria but truly there is nothing about Lederhosen, Weißwurst, Bier and Biergartens. Würzburg, the wine capital of Franconia in the northwestern tip of Bavaria, will show you that there’s more to life than beer and sausage. The dialect is different, the choice of sausage is…
Never in my life did I think I would have an honour of traveling to Kosovo 🙂 Booking this trip was a bit of a bullet in my throat but it ended up being totally thrilled with the state/non-state. Depends on which side you are. Travelling from Skopje to Prishtina, our local guide welcomed us…
When you dive into the story of this city, you go medieval. Let me show you where I ended up. This city is the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It has been founded in the 8th century by Charlemagne by building the Cathedral dedicated to Saint Paul. The cathedral stands by the Münstersche Aa river. Upon arrival to the…
Koki the rooster, Lupo the dog, Burlón the cat and Tonto the donkey. And me. Starring in Brother Grimm’s story in Bremen. 🙂 The story tells they formed a band playing guitar, drums, trumpet and saxophone with the aim of winning a contest in the city of Bremen. Let’s start at the beginning. In medias…
My summer Scandinavian road trip finished. From the Trelleborg port, we took the ferry to Rostock. It took 6 hours to float on a Huckleberry Finn passing down the Danish islands like Bornholm. Rostock is a city in northern Germany, located on the coast of the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the…
Sweden’s second city gets much less attention than its fancier east-coast alternative (Stockholm), but for me, that’s all the more reason to visit Gothenburg. Yes Patrick, this is how you write it in English. The city was named Göteborg in the city’s charter in 1621. The name was given after the Göta älv, the nearby…
Living in Belgium, I have been saying I need to visit this city for so long. The most I got of this city for all these years was flying from the Charleroi Airport. I knew there was no beauty in this city as it was built in 16th century, as an industrial hub, exploiting people…
My little jubilee, the 50th country visited was Liechtenstein. And boy what a ceremony happened. The Principality of Liechtenstein and the Swiss Confederation were celebrating the 100 years of their common Dounae contract. We were about to cross the bridge that was built over the river Rhine, but we were stopped as the celebration was just…
Krapina is my hometown. Zagorje runs through veins. Kajkavian dialect is spoken out loud by my core. So please, allow me to show you a portion of heaven given to us people from Zagorje to enjoy, nourish, and remain proud. Krapina Krapina was first mentioned in 1193. It has always been a favorite site for…
This is a post of a lovely, walkable city that will charm all wine, gastronomy and history lovers. From Markets to Mustard! This capital of Burgundie is calling you to get all its tastes. And you will not know all of these existed! The province was home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until…
Avignon is a city on the Rhône river in the south of France. It is surrounded by walls of Avignon (French: Les Remparts d’Avignon) – a series of defensive stone walls that were originally built in the 14th century during the Avignon papacy and have been continually rebuilt and repaired throughout their subsequent history. We entered through Porte Saint-Michel. The…
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So much to discover about about Sicilian capital, and so less time… I had a day and a half and made my best of the days! I woke up early […]
So much to discover about about Sicilian capital, and so less time… I had a day and a half and made my best of the days! I woke up early in the morning and crashed into the buzz of the Saturday’s streets.
The city is such a mixture of Western, Islamic and Byzantine styles which is the reason many of the region’s churches have been granted Unesco World Heritage status. My first sightseeing was stunning Palatine Chapel to see the ornate mosaics, the royal chapel of the Norman kings of Sicily. The chapel dates from 12 century and it is dedicated to Saint Peter.
It is the place where Joanna of England married becoming a Queen of Sicily, just before the third Crusade, 12 century. She was a little sister of Richard the Lionheart who was leading the Third Crusade. Allegedly, he was even offering her hand to Salamon, but Joanna refused as she did not want to marry a muslim. History remembers her as a woman whose masculine spirit overcame the weakness of her sex.
Next to it I discovered Catacombe dei Cappuccini – mummified remains of the 16th-century Capuchin monks. With the time, rich citizens of Palermo started to be burried in their crypt. It actually became a bit of a status symbol. Families would visit the catacombs to pray with their deceased loved ones, and there are thousands of bodies there, in different states of preservation, and some set in particular poses. The most schocking for me was a 4 years old girl, the youngest burried body, died of cholera and hence preserved in its best condition. For the personal respective reasons of mine and finding it inappropriate, I will not post the photo here of her.
After this, I just needed a refreshment so I walked around and discovered the streets, admiring the architecture and noticed lots of balconies on the buildings. Streets were loud, chaotic, lots of cars and neurotic drivers, but I guess it is Italian way 🙂 It is one of the reasons why sicilian mafia Cosa Nostra is succesful. The city is constructed as cross points of many small streets ending in weird directions which was fruitful for the development of crime in small, abstruse and dark streets. The local government decided to reshape the city and built some avenues to make it a bit more spacious.
Basta! Time for a coffee!
And this is what you get when you order a coffee to go in Palermo! 🙂 As the Italians are famous by drinking their small espresso at the bar quickl while it is still hot. My failure of trying to be local, obviously! 🙂
Wondering around I discovered the birth house of Giuseppe Garibaldi. The Italian general, politician and nationalist who played a large role in the history of Italy, by uniting the city states into a kingdom during the Italian Revoluiton of 19th century, placing King Vittorio Emanuele l at the throne.
Birth house of the revolutionar Garibaldi
Memorial stone on the birth house
Close by is the theater dedicated to him called Teatro PoliteamaGaribaldi located in the central Piazza Ruggero Settimo. It is aristotratic opera house, built in the neoclassical architectural style.
Note on the photo cheerfully painted wooden carts. It was the Ancient Greeks who brought the concept of a simple, rectangular cart with two wheels to Sicily and carts of this type can be seen in the Roman mosaics at Piazza Armerina. They are called Patti Chiari.
By that time I was already hungry so I ran towards the market. And there I realized Palermo’s importance as a trading centre. Just the spirit that lives on in the city’s lively markets, like Vucciria (meaning ‘chatter’ or ‘hubbub’) made me feel lively as well. There was lots of cheap food, vegetables and even cheap vintage clothes, all while inhaling the scents of flowers and spices and taking in the bright colours. 🙂 Sicily you are vivid!
Market Vucciria, fish.
Market Vucciria, green vegetables.
One of the sites of Palermo is Quattro Canti at Piazza Vigliena. It is a baroque square built in 17 century, with the facades of bronze and marble that contain fountains with statues of the four seasons, the four Spanish kings of Sicily, and of the patronesses of Palermo, (Christina, Ninfa, Olivia and Agata).
You can certainly see your skills within the article you write. The sector hopes for even more passionate writers like you who are not afraid to mention how they believe. Always follow your heart.
I’m not that much of a internet reader to be honest but your sites really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your website to come back down the road. Cheers
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You obviously know what youre talking about, why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to your blog when you could be giving us something enlightening to read?
Hey there! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a team of volunteers and starting a new project in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us beneficial information to work on. You have done a marvellous job!
I’m really impressed along with your writing abilities as neatly as with the structure on your blog. Is this a paid subject or did you customize it your self? Anyway stay up the nice quality writing, it’s rare to look a nice blog like this one these days.
I am really inspired along with your writing talents and also with the structure for your weblog. Is that this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Anyway keep up the nice quality writing, it is uncommon to peer a nice weblog like this one nowadays.
The catacomb looks amazing, respectful and mesmerising. Looks like a fantastic city to visit. I’d like to travel to Italy as I have family from there
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Oh my goodness! This looks absolutely gorgeous. You captured the beauty of Palermo quite nicely in your photos 🙂
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Great photos . I would like to visit Sicily 🙂
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Palermo is yet another stunning italian city. I love exploring and visiting churhes and chapels. I can easily spend days wandering around.
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I hate my life but at least this makes it beaerbla.
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You can certainly see your skills within the article you write. The sector hopes for even more passionate writers like you who are not afraid to mention how they believe. Always follow your heart.
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I really want to travel the world and your blog is exactly what i was looking for.
Maggie x
http://theskindirectory.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/top-5-traditional-african-beauty.html
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Thanks for sharing a beautiful and comprehensive tour of Palermo! I haven’t been to Italy, Sicily or Sardinia yet, but it’s on the travel bucket list!
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Wow Palermo is in my list! Hope to be there the coming year! Will take some tips from you girl!
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I’m not that much of a internet reader to be honest but your sites really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your website to come back down the road. Cheers
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Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You obviously know what youre talking about, why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to your blog when you could be giving us something enlightening to read?
LikeLike
Hey there! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a team of volunteers and starting a new project in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us beneficial information to work on. You have done a marvellous job!
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Like!! I blog frequently and I really thank you for your content. The article has truly peaked my interest.
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I’m really impressed along with your writing abilities as neatly as with the structure on your blog. Is this a paid subject or did you customize it your self? Anyway stay up the nice quality writing, it’s rare to look a nice blog like this one these days.
LikeLike
I am really inspired along with your writing talents and also with the structure for your weblog. Is that this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Anyway keep up the nice quality writing, it is uncommon to peer a nice weblog like this one nowadays.
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