Week 3: Sick and Still In Sicily
So, I have vowed that I will make this entry shorter than the last two and it should be easy as less has happened this week than the
past two, thanks in no small part to my being sick.
The week began and ends in Taormina, though that is not where most of my time was spent. I had a lovely revisit of the Alcantara. The second last visit I’ll get. I didn’t make it quite as far as I did the first time with Stu but I had my laptop with me, got some good writing done and my new Ipod emerged alive and undamaged. Take that Alcantara.
The next day, my last real one in Taormina was spent relaxing in the gardens, writing and reading. I have rediscovered my love of reading on this trip so far, having already devoured 6 books and onto the 7th. (I am not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells) That 29 pound nook turned out to be an awesome investment already. While reading and writing in the gardens a met a charming artist from Argentina and we conversed for a while in Spanish, English, French and Italia, which was an odd experience. He’d painted a picture of my exact view from the bench where I have written so much and even asked me to take a picture of him with it. I spent the evening at the lovely hostel Taormina and relaxed with a nice take out pizza and peach iced tea (Something I wish they would bring to Canada more).
The next morning I woke up and it was off to Palermo. I almost slept through my bus but dragged myself out of bed and hurried to the bus station. There I met a new friend from the hostel, who, by happenstance, was also headed to Palermo. It made the 4 hours on two buses pass more quickly chatting with someone about Sicily, life in general, and the passion we share, travelling. She, at one point, said she planned to return home for Uni at York in the fall (Good luck!) and sell off many of her belongings so that she could afford to travel more next summer. I was struck by two things; one, she was absolutely right, so many of us build up, at the expense of our bank accounts, huge collections of crap that we don’t really need and barely want, and second, I realized how incredibly lucky I am to be in a place here I don’t need to sell of my precious crap to explore. Maybe when I run out of money I’ll start doing that though.
Palermo as a whole was a beautiful city, and mercifully flat. I ended up spending 4 nights there in three different hostels, all of which were awesome. The city was somewhat shut down because of Feragosto and unfortunately upon my arrival I got quite sick. With my energy down I missed the chance to party at the beach and just sort of wandered the city for 4 days, writing, reading and seeing some of the sights. Palermo was certainly dirty, but at the same time I really enjoyed the vibe and hope to return there soon. The English Gardens became my favourite writing spot in the city, watching fountains spray up jets of water and Italians of all ages congregate and get along or not was very enjoyable.
The sickness really did leave me with no energy but it also did something good: disposed of my appetite, in those 4 days in Palermo I had 2 real meals and now I’m trying to manufacture that into a diet. I figure eating less alongside the heat and increased exercise of travelling will do me wonders. Turns out (If scales are to be believed) after the sickness and just general travel, I’ve already lost about 20 pounds. So yes that’s exciting. Hopefully I will return to Canada a thinner, healthier, and sexier man. (Not sure the last is even possible but miracles do happen)
Manchester United got off to a great start and I enjoyed watching their 4-1 victory over Swansea in my last hostel, a new one called Sunny Side Up. All of the owners at the various hostels were very welcoming and kind, and on the 3rd night at Casa di Amici I even got air conditioning which was a very nice special treat. I did manage to not take a single picture in Palermo as I’m bad at forgetting my camera or just not bothering. I was spoilt with Stu as my companion, he took tons of shots and I could steal them, so sorry for the lack of pictures this time.
Some of you who pay close attention might be wondering why I spent so long in Palermo, since I was supposed to fly to Milan. Well on the day of my flight I’d still not received a placement with Acle and turns out there weren’t quite enough camps this year so they didn’t have a place for me. They did offer to put me up in Baiardo, but I chose to skip my flight and stay in Sicily. I’m very sad I won’t get to teach and stay with any family’s this year, but also very happy to be in Taormina.
So the new plan from here is eat well, write lots, and start discovering new places. I have a few more nights in Taormina (because I never can seem to escape it) and then I will be heading up to Naples and Rome before flying to Croatia august 31st. I’ll be sad to say goodbye to Italy but very excited to see a country where I have never been, that also seems to have some pretty interesting looking waterfalls around.
It’s been a quieter and calmer week but I am feeling quite a bit better and it should be a nice couple of weeks to come. I’m also reading lots on South East Asia and getting very excited to fly to Thailand in November.
Song of the Week: The Game – Hallelujah. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnmn-5dVAsU
Just listen to the chorus, so ridiculous it’s enjoyable, and Jaime Foxx with the gospel feel is awesome. I might have to write a song over this beat.
