Sicily and Malta

Woke up at 7:30, finished packing up, and had a light breakfast. The Airbnb owners, Maarten and Emma, came by at 9 to pick up the keys. Took an Uber to the airport. Checked in and headed to the KLM lounge. Boarded an ITA Air A321neo with awesome lie-flat business seats! Had a two-hour flight to Rome. It was super chaotic in the airport, but we hung out in the lounge. Boarded a one-hour flight to Palermo. Arrived and met Randy's sister, Pam, who had flown over from Boston. Picked up a Seat from Avis (which fit our big suitcases with no problem!). Drove about 40 minutes into Palermo, on a very twisty route with a detour through some very tight streets, to the Borsa Hotel. It was a very grand place, with really nice rooms. Dropped our luggage and walked around the block, where we found a nice restaurant for dinner. Our cute (gay) waiter, Lucca, took good care of us; we had branzino and sausage and vegetables, yum! Then it was back to the hotel around 11:30 for bed.

Had an 8:30 breakfast, then headed out on foot to explore. Walked out to the water, then along the waterfront. Checked out a church, then a small park. Walked towards the city center, through some fun pedestrian areas.

Walked back and had a quiet lunch of pizza. Walked back to the hotel, then had a couple of hours of quiet time. Met in the lobby at 5:30, then walked around the corner to Paradiso Drink Factory where we had some pre-dinner cocktails.

Walked through some of the little streets over to Seven Restaurant, great city views from the seventh floor of a building. Had a great dinner under the stars. Walked back to the hotel, Rick headed to bed, Randy and Pam had a nightcap in the hotel lobby.

8:30 breakfast, then walked through the pedestrian area to the city center. Hopped on a hop-on-hop-off bus for a loop around part of the city. Did a tour of the opera house, then walked to board another hop-on-hop-off bus for another part of the city.

Exited north of the opera, checked out a super busy food/dining street. Walked back across the main pedestrian path to a small alley for a pizza/pasta lunch. Walked back to the hotel, stopping for gelato along the way. Then it was time for a nap before dinner. At 5:30 we walked around the corner to a pedestrian street to have a glass of wine and people watch.

Walked towards our dinner restaurant, Citysea. Google Maps and Apple Maps sent us on a long looping route through a port and security gates; we were sure we were lost. Arrived at a very nice restaurant overlooking the sea. Had a tasty sushi dinner with great servers and a view of the "mini Bellagio" water feature.

Walked back to the center (the right way along the water!), with a stop along the way. Rick headed up to bed at the hotel, Randy and Pam had a glass of wine and chit-chatted until 1 a.m.