Palermo, we are happy to say, feels like it should. Hard against the sea it is both beautiful and a bit run down at the same time. Our first impression is that it reminded us a bit of Mexico, with the mix of jagged peaks set against the sea. A little chaotic, but compared to Naples, pretty calm all things considered. It’s Friday night and people are out and about. (They say Palermo is a bit behind on trends, and the bars that advertise 1.50 euro tequila shots kind of reinforces that idea.) As for the trip over, we expected US Air coach to be travel hell, but it was just the usual purgatory. We did, oddly enough, chat with the marketing director for the NBC affiliate in Philadelphia. A Sicilian who attended Temple, she was returning home to attend a wedding for the first visit back in three years. She wasn’t that eager to visit. Maybe it was the scrum that passed for Al Italia boarding on the Rome-Palermo flight that reminded her after years in the US that it was different in Italy. All in all, it feels fairly comfortable here. Choosing our fresh fish at an outdoor cafe next to a full-service betting parlor isn’t exactly the same as dinner in Trenton, but it’s not all that alien. Spending time in Rome and Naples probably helped acclimate us too. We’re looking forward to the market that was referred to as a ‘souk’ for tomorrow. Plus, there are the mummies in the catacombs…