First Post: Palermo, Sicily.

Quickly, let me introduce myself. Years ago I use to photograph nature and wildlife professionally. Then our son was born and I retired from the life of traveling all over the place for weeks at a time. As he got older I drifted into being a Party Planner and a Custom Cake Artist. Basically just another way to play with art. Over my lifetime up to 2009 I'd managed to travel to every state in the US except for Alaska but had never been to Europe. In 2009 my mom and I traveled with a tour group called Go Ahead Tours to Northern Italy. I'll post photos of that trip soon. What I found was that it was wonderful to live inside my camera for two weeks solid at a time. To have the freedom to let my photographic eye wander wherever it wanted. Fortunately I travel very well with my mom and this tour group, Go Ahead Tours, we travel with takes us to wonderful places and gives us plenty of time to explore on our own. 

This past May found us in Sicily for 9 days. I'm going to cover one small bit of that trip at a time, in separate blog posts, and share with you the 40 best photos from that trip. (Just click on the photo to see it in full page format.)

Let's start with Palermo...

 I'm a Californian girl and while I had always wanted to try a Canoli, I had never picked one up whenever I visited New Jersey or New York. Someone told me that they originated in Sicily so I had to give one a try. The cup o' green stuff is actually called Pistachio Crema. Think "mostly melted smooth pistachio ice cream". You start off eating it with a spoon and then finish it off by drinking it. Very good. Sicily is also, we found out, known for it's pistachios and citrus.

 The first tour included the Palermo Duomo. The spires look like sandcastles to me. Lots of details. We drove past this one on our way to Monreale. We returned later.

 The gates of Monreale. This Duomo is stunning enough to make the hike up the stairs and streets worth the trip. I loved all of the details.

 Inside it's all gold and cream. Yes, real gold. The effect is very welcoming and warm. If you visit take a few moments to just soak it in and take in all of the millions of details this cathedral has to offer.

 The Duomo is a combination of 3 different cultures. Roman, Arabian and Baroque. The outside is very ornate while the inside is very subdued. This intricately carved marble had me stunned trying to take it all in.

Lastly is the inside. The many domes are simple but beautiful, letting in the light from each oculus to help naturally light the church.

Thank you for stopping by. I'll be sharing photos off and on every few days so check back often or subscribe to be notified when a new set is ready to view.

If you want to see the rest of what I do just stop by my Cake Blog or Party Blog pages.

Cat