Thoughts About Nothing #3

Palermo, oh my Palermo!

Today I have nothing prepared for my weekly newsletter. It was a tough week and I have been working on a commissioned piece that has required my full attention and for my literary intellect to be 100% dedicated to researching and fact checking. Fun stuff, but also my brain feels like a blob now.

Anyways, I spent the weekend back home in Palermo, and as I walked around and rediscovered all of the reasons why I love my city, I noticed a copious amount of horrible, new tourist-trap bars and restaurants that sell things like watered down Spritz and fast food-grade arancine.

Speaking to a local shop guy, he told me tourism has been on fire since April and while that’s great for business — particularly his as he owns a vintage shop on one of the main streets — the quality of visitors has decreased massively.
Residents of the city are capitalizing off the influx of foreigners, but all in the wrong ways. Too many Airbnbs, not enough rentable houses. Too many franchise cafés, not enough art galleries.

As summer approaches and people come to me for advice on what to visit, where to eat and what not to miss, today I decided to make my personal map of Palermo available to you all, with the hope that if you decide to visit, you will do so in the right way.

Check it here: https://goo.gl/maps/69QHZmExCtGaHvcc6