I’ve said in the past that one of the things we love about travel is the process of figuring out how things work in a new place. Ironically, the best part is getting to the stage where there are some things you don’t have to figure it out anymore. You just “know” you have to turn left, without checking the map. You find the best place for gelato, or find a favourite restaurant. We were just starting to see some of that familiarity by the time we were getting ready to leave Palermo. We found a lovely fish restaurant for lunch, and for dinner we went to a local trattoria that will absolutely be a favourite, if we return.

The trattoria was packed, but we managed to get a table after only a short wait. Nothing pretentious, just very practical and down to earth. The paper table covering had the menu printed on it.

The prices were fantastic – a glass of the local white wine was very tasty and only four euros. The trattoria was decorated with artwork by the locals.

The food was delicious. I had “fish balls” in a marinara sauce, and Jan tried pasta with sardines, fennel, and breadcrumbs. I know I said that I don’t like taking pictures of food, but it was so tasty that I couldn’t resist.

It was a wonderful way to finish our visit. Unfortunately, driving out of Palermo today wasn’t nearly as pleasant. I’m tempted to say that Google Maps is next to useless in the center of the old city. We found several streets that were one-way … the opposite direction to what Google thought. The bad news is that trying to navigate Palermo with paper maps would have been so much worse. We managed to make our way out of the city with only one small mistake and a minor scratch to the car. But there was nothing minor about our stress levels, and by the end of the two-hour drive we were beat.

Fortunately, the parking in Marsala is plentiful and free. We parked and found a lovely restaurant for lunch. We have been sampling caponata on this trip, and I decided to try it again today. The local caponata seems to come with chunks of swordfish in it. I was curious, and I’m very glad I tried it. Yummy.

Our room wasn’t ready yet, so we walked around the city for a bit. You will be shocked to hear that we found another church. On our evening walk, we passed it again and could see mass inside.

We wandered into a courtyard with a very large tree and benches in the shade. The tree had hundreds of air roots. We first noticed those when we were in New Zealand earlier this year.

After checking in to the apartment, we found a grocery store to stock up on a few essentials. While we were there, a local Sicilian grandma started talking to us. We think she was trying to tell us that we shouldn’t be wasting our money buying yogurt, when gelato was available in the city. Fair enough, but it really doesn’t go with granola for breakfast. But the really interesting thing was that she knew even less English than Jan knows Italian. In other words, she knew absolutely zero English. But she kept talking anyway, and we ended up being treated to the experience that people all over the world have experienced when English speakers just talk louder and slower, assuming that will make everything clear. It doesn’t. But it was interesting to be on the other end of that dynamic for a change.

With the essentials taken care of, and after a short nap to recover from driving out of Palermo, we went for an evening stroll through Marsala.

The sun was setting by the time we returned to our apartment.

By then it was time to sample some of the essentials we picked up at the grocery store. I found a lovely local IPA … but in this case, the “I” stands for Italian. It pairs well with Fennel Taralli.

We tried to book a Marsala wine tasting at a local winery for tomorrow, but they all seem to be closed on Saturday. Fortunately I found something even better to do, and it’s only a short walk away. But you will have to wait until tomorrow to find out what it is.