Historic beauty and delicious delicacies

Palermo, like the rest of Sicily, can feel a bit like the land that time forgot. The buildings are crumbling, run down, and beautiful.
While I was captivated by the somewhat shabby beauty of Sicily's main city, I was on the hunt for something else. The very first thing I wanted to do in Sicily was eat a cannolo. I had read about the sweet, crunchy pastry treats and wanted to go straight to the source. I didn't want to just pick up any old cannolo from any old Sicilian bakery. I wanted my first cannolo to be the religious experience I had been dreaming about. For that reason I was persuaded to go on what can only be described as a pastry pilgrimage, which took me right to the outskirts of the city. I had read about a café, at the very edge of Palermo, that served the perfect cannolo. I set out, expectations high, only to find the café I'd spent the afternoon searching for was cold, quiet and uninspiring. I ordered, and was sent upstairs to wait for my food. Like the downstairs section, it was completely deserted. I sat there wondering how I could have made such a mistake, before two things happened that changed my experience: firstly, my cannolo was brought to me with the double espresso I had asked for. Secondly, a Sicilian pensioner made his way to the table next to me and sat down to wait for his food. He seemed to be right at home - clearly a regular. As we started eating he struck up a conversation. Delighted to hear I was Irish, he reminisced about his years in Dublin and we shared stories about our favourite pubs in the city. He then proceeded to give me some of the best travel tips I've ever received. The next few days around Palermo could have been totally different if I hadn't met him. Thanks to his advice, I wound up in the hilltop town of Monreale running from angry bees and eating the best pizza of my life, enjoying the rocky beach in the fishing village of Aspra and eating in the best and cheapest restaurant of the entire trip in Palermo city centre. The cannolo was, indeed, a religious experience. The sweet ricotta inside the crispy pastry casing was thick and rich, and the contrast between the two main ingredients made the whole combination irresistible. What made my pastry pilgrimage worth it, though, was the chance meeting with my new Sicilian friend.

I could give you a hundred recommendations in Sicily but if I had to narrow it down to one piece of advice, it would be this: get to know the locals and listen to their advice.