12 hours in Palermo........

Well the couple i met take to the hostel they're staying and i get a room with a beautiful view over the roof tops of the city.We drop our bags in our rooms and head out.This being the biggest in southern Italy, is constantly busy, every other person on a scooter plenty of places to eat,and alot of sights to see,especially churches.Walking around you find a part of town for you shopper out there with your typical brands.The one thing i love about italy is the small streets,alleys with little shops to eat, salumerias,bakeries.After a brief stroll we find a street stand serving shaved ice drinks top with various choice of syrups,i chose mint.Just like the old days crushed ice with a flavored syrup,refreshing!We venture on to look for something to eat we find this alley with all these restaurants preparing to open with plates upon plates of various antipasto,olives,eggplant,roasted red peppers.Mussels tossed in lemon and black pepper was my choice,penne con gorgonzola was her choice and a pizza with salume he orders.all the food was fantastic but the pasta could've used a bit more gorg. We pay and move on to venture thru the city finding little street with markets selling fresh fruit,meats, cheeses,spices,and of course food!We find a stand selling a mystery meat sandwich.We had to try it,he place a couple good spoons of meat on a bun with a squeeze of lemon and thats it.I think it was liver,kidneys and all sorts of unhealthy goodness.Moving on we find lots of old architecture and then come upon this restaurant that does not pay money to the mafia!Yes in order for you to operate your own business you must pay a monthly to the you know who according to what a local told us.Not sure how this restaurant got away with it but that will be another story.It's rated as one of the top fine dining restaurants in all of Palermo. Antica Focacceria S Francesco is the name.I'm on a budget but i will make sure to come back here again and eat.As the evening darkens, the city becomes more alive more and more venues are opening,bars,pubs,clubs,begin to open as people flood the streets.Everywhere bar or pub we pass they are full with people drinking beer preferably a Scottish ale called "Tennants",then there's Peroni,Desperado,Corona,Heineken and other local beers.We check out a few more spots a couple clubs 3am arrives and we head back.This was a fun12 hours,i truly recommend coming to Palermo for having a good time!