Climbing into Palermo, Sicily

by John Wilbanks (United States of America)

I didn't expect to find Italy

First day in Sicily. The flight was uneventful, as was the bus ride into town and the taxi ride to the hotel. I check in, trading passport for key. Room 310. The elevator is broken they tell me. I must have looked young and healthy enough to carry my bags up the stairs. Three floors, no big deal, I do that at home all the time (sans luggage). So, there I was walking up flight after flight, when I realized that the third floor in Europe is actually the fourth floor in the US; not to mention there are 30 steps in each flight of stairs. I get to the 300’s and see a sign that says 301-304 with an arrow pointing left and 305-309 with an arrow pointing to the right. No mention of 310. I glance at my key again and sure enough: 310 is printed on it. I look back at the sign, no 310. Something doesn’t add up here, so I figure I should just go with the higher numbers. I find a maid in the hallway and ask her and she says “oh, follow me”. I’m lead down a hallway to 309, then past a door that says private, up yet another set of stairs and there it is: the elusive Room 310. She opens the door for me and I’m greeted with...yep, you guessed it...another flight of stairs. I think I’m on the 6th floor by now. Undaunted (okay maybe a bit daunted), I take off up the stairs once again and am greeted by a tiny room with a queen sized bed that nearly fills the room save for a nightstand, tv and small refrigerator. My first thought as I drop my bags on the bed is ‘this is it?’. Then I notice a door with a key in the lock and I’m thinking that must be a door that connects to the neighboring room. Only problem is there is no neighboring room, it’s a small sitting room off the bedroom. I notice another door, look out the window and see a small balcony. No chairs, no table. Might as well take a look around, so I go through the door onto the balcony take a left and there is yet another terrace with table and chairs looking out over rooftops and the cliffs and hillside in the distance. This must be the reward for being the first one at the hotel that looked like he could climb 8000 sets of stairs. So here I am as the sun is setting. Sitting on my little rooftop terrace, on a little chair, at my little table, blogging about stairs.