Pre-Tour
It is very important to arrive at least a day before your tour starts. Why? Well thank you for asking... you will be tired from your flight. We left on a Friday arrived on Saturday and started at 4pm Sunday and that was perfect for us. It gave us time to rest a bit and do a little exploring on our own.
Peter enjoying a Campari Spritz at a cafe in Palermo a few hours after we arrived!
Me asleep not long after that......
Arriving in Palermo
Our flight was 14 hours total from Los Angeles to Rome and on to Palermo. The travel was very easy and the guide book will make your transition from plane to train in Sicily simple and straight forward.
As we exited the train we had to laugh because the first thing we saw was McDonalds. The walk to our hotel was nice after all the sitting. The directions were easy to navigate and the hotel staff was welcoming. Make sure to book your pre-tour hotel at the same one you will be staying in when the tour starts. It will make your life easier. I thought yes, we are going to relax a bit but NO...... Peter said let's go we have things to see!
Day 2 Pre-Tour
Before we met up with our group for the welcome meeting we wandered Palermo and soaked in the vibrant city life.
Local Flea Market. I was only allowed to look and not purchase. No suitcase room. It was still great fun!
On our second Pre-Tour day before we met our group we were able to walk over to the catacombs. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures. It was worth the walk and very interesting.
Granita
We are big foodies and one thing we saw while researching Sicily was that granita with brioche was a local favorite. So, we found a little spot to try our own afternoon snack and it was delizios! Fun fact: granita can be traced back to the island of Sicily during the Arab rule in the 9th century.
