The Mob Rules

Just returned from the motherland of italian pastries, frutti di mari, and, of course, the mafia. Sicily was a winner. We started our trip by driving down to Naples to catch a ferry to Palermo. Our plan was to eat some of the best pizza in the world and then walk it off by taking in the sights. The pizza search was a success. We sought out a pizzeria that was a finalist in the international World's Best Pizza competition (4 of the finalists and the winner are located in Naples). We did some diligent research and found out that the contest winner only serves their award winning pizza once a year so we settled for a finalist instead. The best pizza of our lives. I should actually let Sam recap the meal because he makes it sound like epic poetry the way he tells it. The pizzeria was very modest in appearance: floor to ceiling white tile with white formica tables. There was also a light dusting of sawdust on the floors. There were only three types of pizza, tomato sauce with cheese, with extra cheese, and without cheese. It was pizza in it's purist and most unadulterated form. Then there was the crust. Incredibly, it was something close to naan - but better than the best naan I've ever had. It was ultra thin and soft without being soggy. The edges of the dough were just crispy enough to offer some contrast and give the pizza structure. The rest of the afternoon was literally a wash since it was pouring out, so we don't have any pictures from that day. But we did love Naples despite the weather, and we highly recommend Pizzeria di San Michele to anyone planning on making the trip.

The ferry trip that night was a lot of fun. We think that the ferry companies may use old cruise ships for their overnight trips because our boat was bigger than expected and looked like something out of The Loveboat. We rode in dated style and relative comfort. I was impressed. Eli had a blast with the new mode of transportation.

We arrived in Palermo in the morning. We had heard that Sicily was poor, and the ruling mafia could care less about civic pride, but the historic center of Palermo was crumbling away. In fact, I would say the old city is practically gone. There are a few beautiful sights, such as the Duomo and the Teatro Massimo, but much of Palermo's population live in condemnable slums right next to these beautiful monuments. It was a bit of a downer to say the least. You could tell though that Palermo was once a beautiful and fascinating mix of Greek, Arab, Norman, and Spanish influences. There are only traces left.

Hate to end on a downer, but I don't want to overwhelm. We stayed in Palermo for two days and then moved on the western coast of the island. From there the sights got more impressive, and the surroundings more pleasant. We'll include that portion of our trip in the next post.


Above: The ferry lounge.
Below: The fam hanging out in our cabin.

Above: Sam and Eli on the ferry.
Below: Eli is taken in by the gold and glitter of the flashy Italian soccer shoes.

Above: Door within a door construction. We posted this one for Blake. Hobbit doors galore in Sicily.
Below: The fish markets were fantastic. We checked out whole swordfish, moray eels, sea urchin, tubs full of roe and so on.

Above: A sightseeing break at the port.
Below: The Teatro Massimo. There was a seen from Godfather III that was shot inside. It was closed for the two days we were there so we didn't get to go inside. It's supposed to be one of the best theaters in Italy though.

Above: The streets of Palermo were paved with marble.
Below: The Duomo.

Above: An example of the buildings that are crumbling away in the city center.
Below: This is the best English sign we've found in Italy. What makes it even better is that the awning for a nightclub.