Paleremossa

 Wohoo! Despite trains being delayed and leaving from mysterious places and not having restaurant cars and so on, we have now safely arrived in Palermo.

It is lively as I remember from January. And the hotel owners remember me, as I stayed in Hotel Posta for two weeks back then. Now, for 8 days.

Weather is just it it was in June in Helsinki, so we will not find it too exotic. No rain is in the forecast, though, so we can maybe head for the mountains before Xmas. Who knows?

Next: something to eat and drink.

Hotel Postan kattoterassin näkymiin en saata kyllästyä. Aivan vieressä kulkee kaupungin pääkadun - Via Roman - liikenne, mutta terassia suojaa talo, jossa asuu mummo, joka pesee ja kuivattaa pyykkejään aina kun terassilla satun pällistelemään. Valosaastetta on Palermon keskustassa vähemmän kuin Suomen kaupunkien lähiöissä, joten taivas on tumma, sitä vasten lokit hohtavat valkoisina ja tähdet ovat miten sattuu väärissä paikoissa.

Hello! It is Freddie here in Palermo. It is about time for me to get out of the bag and tell you what I think about traveling. I love it, but I consider my human friends a bit lazy. They should take more pictures of me so that I could post more in the social media. I have so much to say about the state of the world, but I will first drink my espresso and Sambuca. Maybe tomorrow I will write my opinions in a clear and concise way. Suffice to say that peace must prevail and solidarity must drive all hatred away.

But first and foremost all plushies and humans have a laughter together. Life is not that serious business, if it is a business at all.

Bis Morgen!

Good morning, Palermo!

The owners of the house opposite our hotel rooms seem to have some other interests than fixing their property. Maybe they have invested their money in the stock market where it grows like mushrooms in autumn. Or maybe the owners have just abandoned their property. There are lots of decaying houses in this part of Palermo - in and north of Vucciria whereas to the south, in La Kalsa, most houses are in good repair. Strange because there is only one 10 meter wide street between Vucciria and La Kalsa.

Today, as we slept for 10 hours after not sleeping well in the night train, and after good dinner, we shall take it easy. First we must find some breakfast. Maybe the good people running this hotel can fix us a some coffee and sandwiches even though the official breakfast time is well over.

Adventure continues. Stay tuned! I have so much to share!

Hello! It is Freddie here in Palermo. I took my friends with me and went out looking for a drinks kiosk. And we found one in piccolo piazza with a cute small church. For drinks we had Prosecco and freshly pressed orange juice. Very refreshing. Afterwards, we visited the Cathedral of Palermo. They say that only one column remains of the 12th century original Muslim mosque which were there before. And we saw it: some wise words from the Qur’an, which we could not translate.

Now we are back in the hotel. Later we will visit a local cycling demonstration. Exciting!

Critical X-mas Palermo - a demonstration for better cycling took place on the 20th December, 2023. One does not see many cyclists in Palermo as there is no infrastructure for cycling and traffic is crazy. So, maybe it was not surprise that not a large crowd of cyclists turned up. But there were some, and when the guy with the dog cycled up the hill to the meeting place one could see how things are here: it takes courage boarding absolute dedication to cycle here.

I have seen and met the same characters, the freaks, in Boston, New York, Helsinki, Rome and even in Paris. It is amazing how freaks can change the world, as in all these cities cycling is now a normal way of commuting and going around the city. So it will be the same also in Palermo. The power of the bicycle is not to be underestimated.

Palermosta päivää!

Torstai herää mopojen pärinään. Hotellia kunnostavat rakennusmiehet ovat saapuvat pian ja alkavat porata ja vasaroitaan heilutella. Nyt jo kuuluu työkalupakkien avaamisen kolinaa.

Lämmintä on nyt 11 astetta, päivällä lämpimmillään 15C. Taivas on liki kirkas, mutta jotkin sääennustajat ennakoivat tihkusadetta. Noin pienet pilvet tuskin paljon vettä pudottavat.

Minä ennakoin ensiksi aamiaisen, sitten vierailun UNESCOn maailmanperintökohdelistalla olevassa museossa ja kirkoissa, ja illaksi balettiesityksen Teatro Massimossa, Italian suurimmassa ja Euroopan kolmanneksi isoimmassa ja tärkeimmässä teatteritalossa. Ainakin kooltaan.

Ja niin rakennusmiehet saivat pakkinsa auki. Kovasti kilkattaa vasara seinää ja kiroilu kaikuu talojen seinien välillä.