Sunday 6th September 2026

Alarm at 0830. Got up and made tea, though it took me a few minutes to get the kettle plugged in, the consent being positioned behind a desk. Aki on her way in to Palermo with George from No.127…they are heading to a museum re-designed by Scarpa. Showered. Walked out into the quiet Sunday morning streets…I was greeted with a friendly boungiorno by a couple of elderly folks outside a church…then realised they were begging! 

Made my way to the square in front of the impressive Teatro Massimo and found a table in a little cafe…ordered a latte. Joined the food tour gang outside the theatre…about 12 of us were led off by our guide, Alessandra. She walked around the back of the theatre to the famous Le Capo street market. Another narrow street packed with stalls…it was rammed. She pulled up at a chum’s stall…

he sold us all frozen cappuccinos…very refreshing, though I managed to spill some of mine down my new t-shirt! Had the occasional chat with some of my fellow travellers…one of whom was so allergic to dairy that she couldn’t eat anything on the food tour…her husband enjoyed double portions! I was also approached by one of the Canadian chaps, he having clocked that I was from North London…he turned out to be a Gooner!!! 

We wended our way down the long street, stopping at one eatery to enjoy some deep fried Sicilian street food specialities. Came out at the southern end of the street into the Piazza Duomo, which afforded a look at the cathedral…a weird hotch-potch of different styles as the building took shape over the course of some seven centuries…Norman, Arabic, Baroque. We parked up in the street facing the entrance and were treated to arancini…they were huge! 

Mine was stuffed with sausage and mozzarella. By now we were all struggling to eat our portions, but Alessandra had one more stop planned…cannoli at Santa Caterina’s old monastery near the fontana. We stuffed our faces in the busy courtyard, said our farewells, and went our separate ways. Managed to find Aki and George enjoying lunch in a secluded piazza not too far east of where I’d ended my food tour. Said our farewells to George from No.127, who was flying back to London this evening. Waited in vain for an Uber to show up. Managed to flag down a taxi to drive us to the accommodation…got Aki installed. Rested up for a bit…very warm out there. As we ventured back out to meet Anya, another rowing mate, for dinner, we found Kim and Shelly at the bottom of the marble stairs, struggling with their key box. 

Helped them get into their two bed unit, next door to ours, then walked Aki into the city centre. Stopped for a beer on the main drag. Met up with Anya at the Focaccia where we had had lunch with George…though she was a bit late, having gone to the wrong Piazza San Francesco! Food was OK…we were served by a jolly waitress who recognised us from lunchtime. Walked back up through the crowds having arranged to meet Anya tomorrow at the Norman Palazzo…