I did a little reading about Palermo over the last few weeks, knowing I’d be visiting there during my post-Cannes travels. And having yesterday spent a few hours traipsing around Palermo’s mean streets, I can now state with authority that certain travel writers and travel websites have lied through their teeth about the largely ugly … Read more
Season #2 of The White Lotus has sparked interest in the scenic beaches and cultural pleasures of Sicily. Let’s visit there next summer! Well, not so fast when it comes to Palermo. Here’s a Facebook exchange between myself and director Rod Lurie earlier this evening. “Sack of Palermo,” posted on 5.27.10: I did a little … Read more
Last night I watched episodes #6 and #7 of Steven Zallian’s Ripley, and what a soothing, transporting dream trip this series is…a silky and serene monochrome soul bath…a reminder of how much better life was and still is over there in certain pockets, and (this is me talking and comparing, having visited Italy six or … Read more
Late last week Harrison Ford, 79, lost his credit card in the Sicilian beach town of Mondello. It was found and quickly returned (great!), but the more important question was why the hell was Ford, a man of wealth and taste, chilling in an area adjacent to Palermo, which is widely regarded as one of … Read more