Sicily 4

I am still trying very cautiously to learn using my new laptop, as if I can hurt it or something. I haven't loaded my vacation pictures yet. I've scanned some of them and I think they are amazing pictures. Palermo and Catania are very old and decrepit cities, everywhere are evidence of neglect. The first hotel we stayed in was an old and rundown palazzo but it has so much character. The whole of Sicily is like that, it's old and rundown but that's what gives it the character. Disneylandnish, it it not. The first impression was almost scary, imagine arriving in town on a cold and wet night at almost midnight. Self-doubt hits you and you wonder if you've not made the biggest mistake of your life by going to Sicily. It turned out to be the best trip I've ever taken so far in my short travel life. Paris, it is not. It is not even Rome, Rome can be intimidating and intense. The whole of Palermo and Catania, the 2 biggest cities in Sicily is full of old palazzos. Underneath the muck, there is incredible beauty. It is full of Baroque churches with amazing interiors. The genius of the sculpture work of Giacomo Serpotta, his father, his brother and his son fills a lot of churches in Sicily and they are the most delightful. The mosaics in Monreale, the Palatine chapel, Cefalu cathedral and La Mortarana are so beautiful. I've never seen anything like them. The plentiful Greek ruins is enough to satisfy anyone who's never been to Greece. There is Baroque churches galore, the only place in the world where Baroque churches and buildings dot the landscape. If Baroque is your fancy, like it is mine, you've come to the right place. The food is substantial and good, it is rustic at it's finest. I can't rave enough about Sicily.