mike & rhonda's latest adventure: The Train that Walks on Water (Almost)

Yesterday, we left Salerno and took a 9 hour train ride all the way to Sicily. How can that be? Sicily is an island upon itself. Now I must admit, I drank a bottle of wine along the way but somehow the same train we got on in Salerno was the same one we departed in Palermo, Sicily, sitting in the same seats all the way. It was actually a very comfortable ride. We arrived at the southern tip of the mainland and our train backed onto a large ferry that went across the Strait of Messina, and then took off again once we reached the Messina, Sicily harbour. This was not a totally new experience for us since earlier this year we took a bus in Dubrovnik, Croatia that left the mainland, boarded a ferry, and took us to the island of Korcula. So now we have swum from one shore to another, taken passenger, car, bus and train ferry's to cross waterways........what can be next?

We really enjoyed Salerno. It was bustling with people on a ped-friendly main street, especially at night. Families with young children, couples and groups of friends all out enjoying the city. It also helped that Christmas lights had been lit throughout the historical centre making evening walks even more enjoyable. One of the main parks, Villa Communale, even had a large moose and polar bear lit up to make us feel at home (albeit with a much warmer temperature). Their waterfront had a beautiful tree-lined promenade that stretched for many kilometres along the seashore that was very pleasant to stroll along.

Today we walked around the historical centre of Palermo. The Ballaro market was busy with the vendors out in front of their stalls shouting encouragement to the crowd to purchase food products from them, reminiscent of Arabian markets (which is part of Sicily's history). The churches, including the Cathedral, had an Arab-Norman influence as well and had spectacular architecture and internal art which has become commonplace in Italy. The Norman Palace (12th century) was immaculate and perhaps part of the reason many conquering regions took their turns in ruling Sicily, so that their emperors had a nice place to stay.

Sicily has been invaded and conquered by just about everyone......the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Spaniards, and most recently the Mafia 😉 Together with the baroque styles, this makes Sicily one of the most architecturally varied and pleasing places to visit.

Tomorrow we will pick up our rental car and commence our circular tour of the island, our final segment on this adventure.

Remnants of an ancient aqueduct in Salerno.

Inside the Crypt beneath the Salerno Cathedral, believed to house the remains of Matthew the Apostle.

Walking around the historic centre in Salerno which was already decorated with Christmas lights. I had to stop for a street food seafood snack (calamari and small fish) prepared on site and served in a paper cone.

The Pretoria Fountain, a famous Palerno monument.

At the Quatro Canti intersection in the historic centre, all four corners were adorned like this one, with statues above the fountain.

The lively Ballaro market where we watched a tuna get sliced up for a customer and the swordfish in the background desperately needing a drink of water.