Sister bonding

With my sister at the Teatro Massimo, Palermo

Sisters. Not all of us have one and those of us who do often think, while growing up, that our sisters are a real nuisance. I certainly did. You know what I mean. Parents go on about 'having to share' and such like. God,  there were times I could have killed her! but I also saved her from drowning, when she was a little girl...Luisa Dillner wrote a few years ago  The Complete Book of Sisters, which is a most entertaining read, sisters on sisters.  I highly recommend it.
I have lots of sisters but the one I grew up with is my little sister - not so little now, but I am older by more or less three years, so she still is my little sister to me. We live in different countries and do not see each other very often. We used to fight like crazy (and still do) but when we are together we also find that we laugh at the same things and can communicate most easily without even speaking.
Anyway, we had to go for a family matter to meet up with my older brother. My little sister and I decided to spend a few days together, just us two,  prior to meeting him, so we flew to Palermo, which we had never been to and then slowly made our way by bus and train to where my brother lives, in Calabria.

We loved Palermo and spent the whole of last Sunday exploring it on foot. She was worried because her luggage had not come with her, the usual airline mishap - she was most anxious, in fact. But still, between one call to the airport and the other, we found time to be wowed by the beauty of our surroundings.
Sicily is splendid and Palermo is amazing. We walked everywhere, explored every corner of the 'Centro Storico', and throughout, from a stilted, somewhat formal beginning, we reverted back to being the silly girls that we used to be, laughing at things no one else would understand, saying the same thing at exactly the same time, gently poking fun at each other.
There were great moments, such as when a local approached us thinking that as tourists we might want to avail of his services as guide, only to be stunned by me saying curtly  'Oh do shut up,  I am busy taking pictures of my sister'. She began to laugh so much, she almost choked. The poor guy left us at once. He was only trying to make a living, she said. He was being a nuisance, I replied. It was so hot, we went to get a gelato.

The weather was fantastic throughout the visit and we even managed to go to the beach and swim - the water was icy, I must admit, but it was wonderful and we felt so good.
She and I look very much like each other, more or less the same height, and the same features. We look more and more like each other as we grow older - we were quite different in appearance when we were younger.  She is only a bit curvier and has brown hair - she would not embrace her grey. Fair enough, it is a choice.
But we were not just 'doing the sights'. We also spent quite some time window shopping and deliberating on wearing heels and wondered which colour would suit us best while admiring the latest fashion on display. Like we used to do as girls.

We even went to a music concert on the spur of the moment and it was a lovely experience.
The bottom line is: visit Sicily if you can, and spend some quality time with your sister, if you have one. You will be pleasantly surprised on both counts. And if you go to Sicily, be prepared to put on a little weight: the food is simply delicious.