DESTINACIJA / DESTINATION
a već sutradan ujutro naš je bro- dić uplovio u luku i bilo je vreme za iskrcavanje... U PALERMU La bella Sicilia! Toliko sam pu- ta bila u Italiji, ali konačno je moja noga kročila i na ovo ostrvo! Lu- ka je blizu centra, pa smo krenu- li da osvajamo Palermo peške uži- vajući u mešavini buke, mirisa i uličnog života. Prva stanica nam je bila opera, najveća u Italiji, tre- ća u Evropi – „Teatro Masimo“. Se- le smo u kafić preko puta, naručile espreso, divile se građevini, uži- vajući u operskim arijama koje su plovile trgom. A onda mi je, gle- dajući te stepenice, sinulo da su to iste one na kojima je ćerka pla- tila očeve grehe, odnosno one na kojima je Majkl Korleone izgubio Meri u „Kumu 3“, u potresnoj sce- ni u kojoj bez glasa vrišti uz zvuke opere „Kavalerija rustikana“! Ret- ki su trenuci koji na taj način oku- piraju sva čula i glavu i dušu... Za pamćenje. Tako opijeni obišli smo dalje čuvenu katedralu, pravi praznik ge- ometrijskih šara i lukova, prelepi primer jedinstvene arapsko-nor- manske arhitekture Sicilije. Živah- nom Via Vitorio Emanuele, ulicom punom prodavaca, slatkih kanola i suvenira, stigli smo do raskrsnice sa ulicom Via Makueda i fenome- nalnog trga Kvatro kanti. A tamo, kvartet kamenih fasada iz 17. ve- ka ukrašenih statuama i fontana- ma, četiri identične barokne zgrade koje čine amfiteatar za ulične svi- rače. A svira se sve od Ejmi Vajn haus do operskih arija. Uz muziku smo hodale dalje veselim Palermom kroz uličnu pija- cu na kojoj smo kupile ukuse Sicili- je da ih ponesemo i da nam mirišu u nekim pastama kad se vratimo kući. A onda smo se setile i da naš brod nikoga ne čeka, pa ni nas, pa smo se sjurile nizbrdo ulicama Pa- lerma, nemajući neku naročitu fr- ku kako nećemo uspeti da nađemo naš ploveći hotel jer brod je toliki da ga vidite gde god da ste! Inače, zna se kad je „all aboard“ i bolje je krenuti nazad na vreme.
cause it was the closest to us, but this cruise that toured the Mediterranean (Rome, Palermo, Malta, Barcelona, Marseille and Genoa) can be accessed easily from almost all of these cities, which Air Serbia flies to directly. So, choose the port city that you prefer, and the cruise ship will even provide you with transportation if you de- sire, or you can do that yourself and head straight to the ship. Incredibly but truthfully, there was no crowd boarding when we arrived. And be- fore you can say brunch, we’d already arrived at the restaurant on the 19 th deck, because everyone knows that excitement first makes one hungry. Those two restaurants on the 18 th and 19 th decks, both of which function according to a buffet sys- tem, would be our favourite spots over the next seven days, though in the evenings we dined in the excel- lent à la carte restaurant. This ship ac- tually boasts 13 restaurants, at least half of which are specialised, so hun- ger and thirst aren’t things to fear here. Indeed, we were even warned that people often return from cruis- es having gained some extra weight, and we didn’t want to spoil that stat. The cabin was ready and, dude, it even had a balcony! That was a special ele-
ment, sitting on a balcony, on the 11 th deck, observing the rippling Mediter- ranean, inhaling the salty air, with everything blue as far as the eye can see. Indescribable. The cabin was otherwise like the one in that cartoon when Goofy un- zips a single space to reveal a kitchen,
living room and bedroom, everything as required. Not a centimetre had been wasted, with every detail pack- aged to function flawlessly in such a small space. But we didn’t remain there, as such a huge ship needs to be investigated. It is like a mini planet, containing all the languages of the world, joyous people, a really good mojito and some interesting British people we became pals with... I fell asleep before my head even hit the pillow on that first night, because the day had been incredible, and by the next morning our ship had already sailed into port and it was time to head ashore... IN PALERMO La bella Sicilia! I’ve been to It- aly so many times, but it was only now that I finally set foot on this is- land! The port is situated close to the city centre, so we set out to conquer Palermo on foot, enjoying the fusion of noises, scents and street life. Our first stop was the opera house, the Teatro Massimo, which is the larg- est in Italy and the third largest in Europe. We sat in a café located op- posite, ordered an espresso, admired the edifice and enjoyed the opera ari- as resounding across the square. It then dawned on me, looking at the staircase of the opera house, that it was on those very same steps that the daughter paid the price for her father’s sins, or rather where Michael Corleone lost Mary in The Godfather Part III, in the shocking scene where she screams voicelessly to the sounds of the opera Cavalleria rusticana! Mo- ments that occupy all the senses in such a way, the head and soul, are ra- re... and worth remembering. Feeling intoxicated in such a way, we moved on to tour the famous ca- thedral, which represents a genuine feast of geometric patterns and arch- es, a stunningly beautiful example of the unique Arab-Norman architec- ture of Sicily. Traversing the lively Via Vittorio Emanuele, a street packed with vendors, sweet cannoli and sou- venirs, we arrived at the intersection with Via Maqueda and the phenom- enal Quattro Canti square. And there we encountered its famous quartet of
smo bile u restoranu na 19. spra- tu, jer svi znaju da čovek od uzbu- đenja prvo ogladni. Ta dva restorana na 18. i 19. palubi koja funkcionišu po sistemu švedskog stola biće nam omiljena mesta narednih sedam dana, ma- da smo imali večeru u finom a la cart restoranu. Brod inače ima 13 restorana, od čega bar pola speci- jalizovanih, pa glad i žeđ nisu ono čega se ovde treba plašiti. Uosta- lom, upozoreni smo da se ljudi sa krstarenja često vraćaju sa viškom kilograma, a mi nismo htele da kva- rimo tu statistiku. Kabina je bila spremna i imala je balkon, čove- če, to je bio poseban momenat – kad sediš na terasi na 11. spratu i ispred tebe se mreška Mediteran, miriše so i sve je plavo dokle god ti pogled seže. Neopisivo. Inače, kabina je bila kao u onom crtanom kad Šilja od jedne prosto- rije rajsferšlusom otvara kuhinju, dnevnu i spavaću sobu, sve po po- trebi. Nema bačenog centimetra, svaki detalj je spakovan da funk- cioniše besprekorno u tako malom prostoru. Ali nismo se tu zadržava- le, onoliki brod je trebalo otkriva- ti. Planeta u malom, svi jezici sve- ta, radosni ljudi, baš dobar mohito i neki zanimljivi Britanci sa koji- ma smo se sprijateljile... Te prve noći sam zaspala na putu do ja- stuka jer je dan bio neverovatan,
ovo krstarenje koje je uključivalo plovidbu Mediteranom (Rim, Pa- lermo, Malta, Barselona, Marselj i Đenova) lako je dostupno iz go- tovo svih ovih gradova do kojih Er Srbija direktno leti. Dakle, birajte onaj koji vam je najdraži, kruzer će vam obezbediti prevoz ako to že- lite, a možete i sami, pa pravac na brod. Neverovatno ali istinito, kad smo stigle, nije bilo neke gužve na ukrcavanju. Dok si rekao keks, već
94 | Mediteran » Mediterranean
Mediterranean » Mediteran | 95
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