I’m the type of traveler who likes to stay in one city and get to know it in the most complete way.  I’ve always enjoyed becoming part of a place and trying to blend in with its people, at least a little bit.  I am also of the belief that every city has its underlying beauty that you don’t see right away, that you have to stick around to discover.  Even the most obviously beautiful cities such as Venice or Florence have hidden gems that require patience and sensitivity.  To me, getting to know a city means walking its streets, getting lost, visiting markets, meeting people.

Recently I was in Palermo, Sicily.  I explored the city alone, in my way, for a few days until family reached me from the United States.  With their arrival came a different type of tourism.  Due to physical limitations on the part of my relatives, we needed to find a way for them to explore the city without too much walking.  Luckily, we found that there was a hop-on, hop-off bus that takes you to all the important sites. Perfect!  I decided to tag along and experience a type of tourism I have never given much thought to.

Instead of hopping off and on, we opted to stay on the bus for the whole route.  They handed out headphones and we were able to choose the language we wanted.  I chose Italian as I never trust the translations into other languages.  I quickly became bored with the commentary and switched on my ipod instead, and tango music accompanied me on this bus tour of Palermo.

It was interesting to see people get on and off where they chose.  My relatives were satisfied that they saw a little bit of everything, and they were able to pick out a few sites to come back to, to explore in more detail.  I can see why somebody would take a tour such as this one, but it’s not something I will do again.  I really get satisfaction from trying to figure out how to get around on my own and discovering the deeper layers of a city.  I may not get see *all* of the important sites, but I do get to know the city.

What’s your travel style?

Tina Ferrari is a tango dancer, translator and writer currently based in Lecce, Italy. She writes at AffordableCallingCards.net as well as on her own blog, Tina Tangos. Comments are always welcome!

Tags: Italy, Sicily, Travel

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