Before Taylor had made his plans to come here, we had booked tickets to Sicily (because we got them for FREE, just had to pay the taxes and fees). So when Taylor made plans we let him choose if he wanted to go to Sicily or not. He decided to go, which was good because it ended up being his favorite thing. Having Taylor along we changed our plans and instead of hanging out on Sicily, we took a ferry out to an island known for scuba diving (we figured we better take advantage of a babysitter! And Taylor likes to scuba dive too, win, win). Upon arriving in Palermo, we found out that we had missed all the morning ferries (which are cheaper) and that we would have to pay double and wait until 5 pm, ah the joys of travel. So we lugged our luggage all around Palermo. Which was not so fun. Palermo is a dirty southern Italian city, with lot’s of sketchy charm.
But then we made it to Ustica. And we scuba-ed, hung out, hiked and ate seafood. Ustica captured Taylor and Nick’s hearts. And Taylor finally captured a lizard.
Jonah loved this guy at the scuba company, his name was Dario. He didn’t speak English but he was SO good with kids. And he was a great dive master. When I had some trouble with my ears he very patiently took my hands and held me steady and waited for me. He showed Jonah a sea rabbit (like a sea slug but it moves faster).
Above is a photo of Ustica’s main square. There are benches on either side that are always occupied by the elderly locals. Cars can drive through one way in the morning and the other way in the evening.
We had to spend one more night in Palermo before flying out. It was a Sunday evening and they did this awesome thing that I have heard of some Italian cities doing (they also do it in Ukraine). They closed down the main road from traffic so that everyone could stroll. Too fun.
