Shopping, dining & drinking in Palermo

We slept in ridiculously late today, but I was about to justify it because we had gotten such little sleep all week in our transition from Hawaii to BA. Also, Hawaii is very much of a daytime place, where we were naturally inclined to get up between 8:30-9:00am, and go to bed shortly after midnight. However, we are already learning that BA is a nighttime community, so we're not quite sure what it's going to do to our sleep patterns – we might have to learn how to take siestas.


Once we finally got out of the house, we headed to another nice neighborhood called Palermo. There are 2 distinct parts of Palermo, one which is focused on food, and the other is focused on shopping. I learned that this is a newly upscale neighborhood because it has recently become a trendy area to dine and shop. However, the infrastructure has not been able to keep up with the popularity, and the sidewalks are in terrible shape.  That day I had worn a pair of black boots with a chunky heel – staple footwear in SF. However, I soon realized why virtually EVERY woman here sports the “flat boots over their pants” look – it's incredibly difficult to walk on the sidewalks. I wasn't planning to buy any footwear here, but my fear of taking a tumble might have to prompt a purchase. I also realized that I need to buy a leather purse with a long strap – another staple among all BA women (hey, we were told to try and look like locals for safety reasons!)

We figured out the Subte (subway) system well enough to make it to Palermo, and went on a mission to find a restaurant from the guidebook that proved to be elusive. However, we found another cute Italian pizzeria where we were able to strike up a elementary school level conversation with a really nice waiter. After dinner, we headed to a bar that Robert had also read about – Mundo Bizzaro. This was located in a part of Palermo which reminds me a lot of the Mission District in SF, where everyone is a hipster, and you are surrounded by restaurants, bars and boutiques. This particular venue was dark with sinister red lighting, and sported a rockabilly look in both their décor and bartenders. It reminds me a lot of a red-hued version of Blondie's on Valencia in SF – they take their drinks very seriously, and have a huge menu of options. We ordered a couple of items off the menu (I of course had to have a California Cooler) but for our next round we opted to order martinis, which has become Robert's favorite drink. The bartender made Robert's drink with a touch of a liquor called Parfia de Violet - it was delicious, and we will definitely be looking for a bottle at a grocery store. Also, I think it's interesting to note that all of the music they played was American, I think specifically they were rocking Peter, Bjorn and John the whole time we were there.