My humble house

Casa Botanica,Palermo , Sicily , Oct 2 , 2026

zorahak

We got a flight ( RyanAir ) from Bari to Palermo . The flight time was 1 hr 10 mins so not too long on the plane . But both Rahiyah and myself fell asleep . I think we both more tired than we realized . Met my old classmate , Jannet at Palermo Airport and got into a mini van to the Central Train Station ( €8 each which is fine ).

Casa Botanica is a charming accomodation that I booked . Its a large apartment of 3 bedrooms & 2 bathrooms for us 3 girls. So we each had a bedroom hahaha . Another girlfriend was suppose to join us at Palermo but she backed out which is a pity . Another girlfriend also could not make it . This apartment is large enough to accomodate 4-6 persons . Has an old style lift that you had to properly shut before it can work . It was lovely and quaint . I love the apartment , it was worth the euros that I paid for ! The location was excellent too .

Living room
Collage of botanicals , probably hence the name Casa Botanica
Quite like all of these photo frames of botanical frames
One of the 3 bedrooms . Floor tiles  are lovely and typically Sicilian . My bedroom has got lovely Murano chandelier.
Tasteful Murano chandeliers , not too multi colored and not gaudy
Sicilian floorings
Dining room with table
Small balcony at the back where I can put washing
Different floor tiles for dining room
The grapes chandelier in the kitchen- very whimsy as my niece says hahaha
Hallway
Back balcony with my washing
The rather derelict looking building infront of my bedroom
The street outside with the wet market

This apartment , Casa Botanica is in the historic centrio of Palemero . It is right next Ballaro market . This is a huge wet market selling fish, seafood, vegetables and fruits. This is also where the migrant quarter is so its just a minute away from nearby halal shops to get meat Yay ! Many people here look African , Bangladeshi or have the same color skin as me ! Haha. We bought sea bream ( 2 whole fishes ) . We cooked it with the curry paste I brought  and cooked rice and had a very satisfying dinner !! It was great ! The next day, we walked over to the Royal Palace to visit the Palatine Chapel , a UNESCO world heritage site .

Rahiyah and Jannet
Me and Rahiyah on our way

Walking to the Royal Palace took us 20 minutes . Could not get a reduced rate for entrance tickets  for over 65 year olds as we are not a member of the EU ! We told the ticket guy , how about England as my 2 gfs live in England , he wryly replied , Brexit hahaha

The architecture is of Norman and Islamic. Normans took over Sicily in the 11 Century from the Arabs
The lower ground of the Royal Palace
We went into the gardens of the Royal Palace first
Birds of paradise and Banana trees
A small fountain
I like this garden bench . Its wrought iron and sturdy to sit on
Jannet posing on my garden bench !!
Lime trees but soil looks really fertile
Promegranate
Dont know what clump of flowers these were

We went to visit the Palatine Chapel. I actually bought a book on this Chapel ! How intellectual is that hahaha

Us, three at the Gardens of the Royal Palace, Palermo
Jannet posing to show how big the aloe vera is

We then proceeded to visit the Palatine Chapel which is in the Royal Palace of Palermo . The Palatine Chapel is a UNESCO heritage site and I can see why ! The goldy 2x are made up of tiny mosaics , by the way .The islamic part ( thats ironic, isn’t it ) is from the mosaics .

All this is made up of tiny mosaics – intricate work
Ceiling of the chapel
Mosaics that are islamic
Mosaics
Close up of mosaics
Mosaics again

Part of the Royal Palace was also visiting the Royal Apartments .

Chinoserie room
These leopards are a Sicilian emblem . Need to check whether leopards were around a long time ago in Sicily . These leopards are also the brand logo of Ortigia Scilia
Tiny, tiny mosaics in golden splendour
Painted, wooden ceilings
Jannet and me resting at steps in the Royal Palace

Since we were in the area, we took a short walk to the Catherdral which is another UNESCO heritage site. Palermo has 7 UNESCO world heritage site.

Catherdral
Jannet saying her prayers in the Catherdral
Shared this seafood plate haha . It was yummy .

So we did visit 2 UNESCO world heritage sites out of 7 ! We walked back, went to nearby bakery to buy bread and supermarket to buy some groceries. Arrived back to Casa Botanica by 7.30 pm but too full to eat dinner. Able to watch netflix haha from my netflix account on the tv here .

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