# Campari & Soda: 0, # Gelati: 1
I checked out early just in case my airport shuttle arrived early. It didn't. In fact, it turned up 10 minutes late. The hotel receptionist was nowhere in sight either so I had to call the company myself to find out what was going on. They spoke no English which I found odd for a tourist operation. Then, once I was in the car we went to pick up another passenger. She wasn't waiting as she'd been told 9:45am and the driver had been told 9:25am. Several phone calls back to the office and to the customer took place. We left without her. Then it was off to pick up someone else. Finally we headed out of Lecce for Brindisi airport only to get caught up in a massive traffic jam. We didn't actually get out of Lecce until 9:45am and I had hoped to be at the airport by 10am. I kept telling myself not to climb the walls. If I missed my flight I could always catch another one. Inconvenient (and expensive) but perfectly doable. At least once we were out of Lecce the driver was able to floor it and we only arrived at the airport 20 minutes late. And the incoming flight was late so everything worked out. My apologies for the claw marks in the upholstery.
When I was in the queue to board my flight to Palermo from Rome I could have sworn I saw Jennifer Coolidge in the line ahead of me. The woman was a dead ringer for her. Even the voice sounded right. I kept trying to sneak peaks at her boarding pass but I couldn't see her name. It can't have been her though. A successful actress woudln't be flying on a budget airline, never mind down the back in cattle class with the rest of us plebs.
When I got to Palermo I had planned to take the train into the city and then a taxi from there. However, I just missed one and the next wasn't for another 40 minutes. Instead, I braved the shuttle bus. I had to ask the woman at the ticket booth for a ticket, where the bus stop was located at the airport and which of their 10 stops downtown was closest to my hotel. I also had to ask the bus driver to be sure he would stop where I needed to get off. I did this all Italian. Admitedly I was about as articulate as a toddler but I still managed to communicate!
My hotel here in Palermo, Hotel Tonic, is currently undergoing renovations. I assume my room has not been renovated. At least, I sincerely hope it hasn't been as there are cracks in the plaster, chips in the bathtub and the shower screen is missing. Still, it is clean, if shabby, and enough room for one. Although, it is definitely the least upmarket of all the places I've stayed in so far. The receptionist was friendly though and helped me practice my Italian as well as showing me where to buy a good gelati.
After checking in I went for an amble around town. The hotel is on the edge of the historic centre, just 5 minutes away so the location is decent. However, Palermo itself is a city, not a small town like the ones I've been in for the last week. It is big, crowded, noisy, dirty with strong whiffs of inadequate drains and all a bit of a shock to the system. I had planned on having a drink at a bar before having a leisurely dinner somewhere nice but decided to have an early dinner before retreating to my room (which has its own interesting smells). I have a food tour organised for tomorrow morning and then I need to organise something for my afternoon. Many of the museums and other tourist sites shut for a siesta so perhaps I should follow suit.
The place I had picked for dinner wasn't open. Or at least, wasn't open yet. In the end I settled for a tourist trap, Zia Anna . It was close to a main site, it had an English menu, it was open all day from midday to midnight and had a waiter standing in the street trying to coax people inside. In spite of all the warning signs my meal was decent. I started with an antipasto platter of typical Sicilian dishes, which was all very good except for the olives that were too salty. For primi I had rigatoni with a "traditional" Sicilian sauce - capers, olives, mushrooms and 3 types of meat - sausage, guanciale and slices of salami. I have traditional in quotes as I've never heard of putting all those things in a sauce but it was tasty. I skipped dessert as the place was filling up and the service standards were falling off a cliff.
While I was having my dinner two German speaking women sat at the table next to me. They just wanted drinks. One woman asked for an Aperol spritz but without too much Aperol as they were too strong for her. From the way she was speaking (and gesturing (and generally moving)) it seemed as if she'd had at least one somewhere else already. Last night's Frenchman would have been quite cross. I was just disappointed I didn't understand what she was saying. She and her friend seemed to be having a good time.
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