“By the 1980’s, the Sicilian capital, once a Mediterranean jewel, was dilapidated and dangerous. Now, freed of the grip of the mafia, a revival is under way”- Amy Kazmin, FT

This past Saturday’s Financial Times included a piece about Palermo. We were fortunate to see this vibrant city firsthand five months ago. Despite its turbulent history, we took a chance.

Traveling can be refreshing, relaxing, and adventurous. With small children, not so much. When my oldest child turned three, we decided to go to Sicily with our next-door neighbors. The journey included four hours in the car, followed by an overnight ferry ride and long shuttle ride to our accommodation WITH A TODDLER. I vowed to never put myself through that again. There are only so many ways to get creative in the middle of the summertime when you are stranded on an island without a vehicle and your husband isn’t “a beach person”. It’s also hard vacationing or simply even going out with couples that don’t have kids. It’s amazing how much time people spend just sitting in one place, you never notice until you have a toddler. The toddler years mean you never get to “just sit and relax”. By default, the toddler will want to do the complete opposite of what the rest of the group is doing. Resulting in me having to follow my child around while everyone else enjoys vacation. I learned that it is just easier to stay home. Now I have two children and my youngest is currently a toddler. The level of difficulty is off the charts and this second child has much more stamina. I was really worried that if we ever travelled with both kids I would just serve as a lion tamer to my feral kids in a strange city and be miserable. I talked myself out of taking trips half a dozen times…

2023 had so many plot twists in store for our family. We were evicted from one day to the next without notice and ended up living in an apartment meant for two people. We are a family of four. To say we are packed like a can of sardines would be an understatement. So by the time the Christmas season rolled around, we were about to burst like a jack-in-the-box doll. We toyed with the idea of doing a destination Christmas. One of the reasons for doing this was so we could stretch out and perhaps have a shot of giving the kids a normal Christmas. Our apartment doesn’t even spare room for a small Christmas tree or to hang stockings. The best way to describe our house is that it’s like wearing a pair of shoes two sizes too small. Destination Christmas sounded like a well-deserved break from our tiny, cold, cramped apartment. A colleague of my husband’s suggested we come to Sicily for the holiday break. After looking at BnB’s online during the off-season, it was looking like a green light. The next question was how we would get down there. We could drive, fly, or take the train. Sam, my husband, talked me into taking an overnight train. We could get our own little compartment, and have dinner and go to sleep and wake up in Sicily. This sounded nice, I wouldn’t have to drive the whole way or worry about having to stop and break up the trip and unstrapping/strapping the kids in their car seats… Plus Grandpa wanted to come along too. 

We took an evening train from Arezzo to Rome. In Rome, we ate a late dinner and boarded our overnight train. Everyone slept on the train ride, except for me. I was on a top bunk with a toddler and worried that he would take a plunge in his sleep. Once the morning light woke the possey, all eyes were on the window. The seaside view was a nice exchange from olive groves and cypress trees. The kids started to get a little antsy and hard to entertain considering we had been confined in a couchette for the last  14 hours. Fun fact, our overnight train boarded an actual ferry and arrived ashore in Sicily, and continued on the train line until we arrived at our final destination: Palermo. 

The train station was so different from stations in Tuscany. It had a tropical feel, almost as if we were in another country completely. We had our heavy feather down jackets on, but as soon as we stepped off the train we noticed the temperature difference. I was amazed, at a certain point we all began to peel off our layers, I kept repeating that I couldn’t believe my face didn’t hurt while we were outdoors in December! (I am allergic to cold weather)

Palermo has shed its checkered history and emerged as a captivating destination filled with rich heritage, natural attractions, and a welcoming atmosphere. We didn’t see any sketchy mafia activity but this is what we stayed entertained with, I could have easily spent an entire month there. Island life is right up my alley.

Botanical Gardens and Parco d’Orleans

The lush botanical gardens of Palermo blew our minds. We were astounded by numerous exotic plants, flowers, trees but most intriguing were the prehistoric looking ficus trees. Nearby, Parco d’Orleans housed several species of birds ranging from pelicans, flamingos, parrots, owls, falcons, peacocks and some white reindeer.

Puppet Museum (Museo Internazionale delle Marionette)

The puppet museum was on Grandpa’s list to hit up while we were visiting. The three-story building was near the beach. They housed a collection of puppets from all over the world, of all shapes and sizes. Later that night they had a puppet show at an old theater nearby the museum.

Outdoor Street Markets

Bustling sounds and street vendors yelling out their specials will definitely catch your attention. One morning as we were headed towards the beach, we were admiring the aromas of the fish market and examining what we would be consuming around lunch time, promising ourselves that we would be back to this very location for lunch. The fish market we stumbled upon offered to cook what ever fish you selected right then and there. We looked at the time and it was only 9:38, way too early to be considering lunchtime. We walked up a few narrow streets, looking for a small snack to hold us over when we spotted a bakery. Bingo. We walked in and a woman appears from the back hollering random phrases in a dialect at a volume that made you understand that Sicily is it’s own parallel universe. We bought our bread snacks holding back laughter through tight lips, but this woman decided to work the crowd. Her volume just kept slowly increasing, anyone that showed any sign of acknowledgement would only boost her confidence and more phrases would roll out of her mouth. After we were a few blocks away would could still hear her perfectly.

Teatro Massimo area

Although the main strip will keep you entertained. I highly recommend all to wander through the city’s winding streets, where locals and tourists mingle at a relaxed pace. Getting lost in the city will ultimately have you discover Palermo’s culinary delights without breaking the bank. From traditional Sicilian trattorias serving mouthwatering pasta dishes to street vendors offering arancini and gelato, there’s something to satisfy every palate at affordable prices. 

In this transformed Palermo, where the echoes of its past are replaced by the locals taking the city back and placing culture on the forefront. A place where families can create lasting memories against a backdrop of ancient buildings, and other worldly looking ficus trees. Palermo’s architecture reflects its diverse history, with buildings that transport you to another era. Admire the Baroque and Arab-Norman influences as you stroll past historic landmarks. I also have no other way to describe how different the people looked, a very beautiful mix with Greek and African influences.

Our family explored this Sicilian city at our own pace, savoring each moment and discovering Palermo’s untapped uniqueness. University of Palermo also has a great neuroscience program, I was secretly imagining a life in Sicily full time, or at least in the wintertime. I could get used to wearing a T-shirt the week of Christmas.

Will this turn into a new family tradition? I certainly hope so! The Financial Times is predicting that Palermo is currently undergoing a renaissance. We experienced this revival and were left wanting more.