40 hours after leaving home, we arrived in Palermo, a mammoth effort interspersed with a 4 hour break in Perth and then direct to Rome and a longer break of 8 hours before the 45 minute flight to Palermo.

The transit through the recently introduced EES was seamless and a lot quicker than Melbourne Airport, even with the machines inability to deal with Jean's fingerprints, not that it was a problem, she was directed to the "manual entry" gate and went straight through without further checking.

As if to alleviate any feelings of lethargy when we arrived, the next 45 minutes in a taxi from the airport to (near enough) to our accomodation gave the adrenal glands a workout, but once installed, all that was in the past and we were ready to explore Palermo with the first task being to find a place to eat.

It is said by some, that Italy will be a beautiful place once its finished, and that's certainly true of Palermo.

Following the murder of the anti-Mafia Judge, Giovanni Falcone in 1992, the Government launched an unprecedented crack down on the Mafia, and with their stranglehold on the city seriously diminished, together with the €3 billion of seized assets, there began a restoration of the city. While this is, and will be for some time to come, a monumental task, the results are already starting to show, and they are truly spectacular.

The contrast between what was and in many places still is, and the partial as well as the completed restorations is a testament to the resolve to bring Palermo back to its pre-eminent status as a cultural capital.

Notwithstanding all of the scaffolding, hoardings and building activity, Palermo is a very gritty city, crowded streets lined with eateries offering every type of cuisine and narrow side streets that defy any sembulance of a straight line. Thankfully, most of the historic area is flat.

Having established ourselves in a nearby cafe where after one day our routine morning caffe and cornetto was anticipated without any need on our part to verbalise the order, we started each morning doing my favourite thing, crowd watching. Then, off to the Ballaro Market where every manner of food was on display, including BBQ intestine stuffed with who knows what, a delicacy that we were quiet happy to forego.

After a few days of local wandering, which included a chance encounter with an outlet clothing store, we took a day trip to Cefalù, about 1 hour train trip from Palermo. Situated on the coast where the mountains meet the shore, all memory of flat ground quickly disappeared as we set out to challenge the long trek to a Neolithic ( as well as many other subsequent occupiers) hilltop fortification, 400m above sea level.

The following day it was off to Monreale, that took 45 mins to travel the 10km to get there. Monreale is perched on the top of a hill, naturally, but the vehicle drop off is at the bottom. The town was established in the mid 9thC by Christians fleeing the Arab armies who had captured and occupied Palermo. Then came the Norman conquests in the 11thC and when things had settled down, William II of Sicily built the Cathedral as shown in Jean's FB photos which do a far better job describing the opulence than any words from me.

Another day and another hill top town, this time Erice where we indulged in some Arancini and Genovese tarts. On the way we stopped at the site of some Roman, and before them, Greek ruins near the town of Segesta, a city said to have been founded by Trojan refugees after the fall of Troy in the 8th C BC. Here there is a Greek temple with all of its columns and capital beams in place, but there has been no evidence of a roof. Either it was never completed or it was intended to be dedicated to an open air cult.

All that needs to be said now is that the food culture has reflected the city's cultural past. A cous cous dish with chicken served in a broth, shades of Arabic influence. Bowls of peppered mussels and of course fish, all made every evening's choice that much harder.So after a week its back on the road to our next stop, Syracuse.