My final leg to the end of Mediterranean

British Summer time officially starts this morning at 3am, and got me completely confused of the time. Instead of moving it forward by an hour, I end up moving it backwards, meaning I slept for an hour more today than norm. Was wondering why the folks in the room suddenly woke up so early today when I checked my phone as it was only showing 7am!

By the time I was ready, most of the hostelites have already left for the activities of the day and I've also missed the 0905hrs ferry to Capri. Might as well since the weather has not be the greatest - it was raining throughout the night and the winds are especially strong, with overcast sky. The owner of the hostel said it cost €34 for the return ferry but added that it was probably not the best day out in the island. Ended up spending the morning sorting out my itinerary to get back to London instead. Was particularly annoyed by Ryanair's code logic to check for the phone number entered. If you take this crap airlines, you will know what I mean (I had to as it was the only affordable flight leaving from the last city that I was heading). Also found out that my hotmail account has been hacked, probably during the time when I used the internet cafe in Venice to check my mails - If you have received a dodgy looking email sent from my hotmail, please do not click on any of the links and delete it immediately. Please accept my sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Another last minute decision to take the overnight train to Palermo, on Sicily island, probably the southern most tip of Italy; in a way to complete the journey that I have set out to do from the onstart, as well as one of the places where I can get back to London in an affordably way. Apologised to the hostel owner as I had indicated on staying an additional night but is checking out now instead. As usual, left my bag in the hostel and headed out to explore Naples in the day.

Unfortunately most if not all the museums were closed on Sunday, similar to most shops as well, although the main street of via Toledo was closed from traffic for pedestrians. Had a local snack called "BaBa Rum", sold in a patisserie that seem busy by locals. The lady behind the counter took one, poured some liquid over it, before handing it to me for €1.30. Not cheap for a flour desert that is very moist and sweet, and the liquid seems to give it a strange taste initially. Visiting mainland Europe at this time is really bad for UK pound owners; even the typical Big Mac index shows that the burger cost a whopping €3.50 here, literally the same price as what you can get a meal for in London. I don't think it is suddenly become more expensive, it's just that the pounds has dropped so much that mainland Europe has become very poor value destination.

Has been quite a boring day as most shops were closed and just strolled down to the promenade where the waves were smashing against the breakwater from the howling winds. Did enjoy a good game of clay court tennis competition at the local tennis club though. The streets were quite deserted as I continued to wonder into the little lanes, often filled with rubbish by the side, ever so vigilant of any unusual activities - pickpockets and thefts are really very common here, although I have been wondering in the streets alone after dark for the past 2 nights. Was back to the hostel by 1600hrs and ended up watching the movie "Into the Wild" with the others as it started to rain. Left for Sorbillo at 1900hrs only to find out that it was closed for Sundays. Really craving for pasta but figured I really have to eat pizza in this city. Ended up having another Capricciosa at a another shop on the way to the train station.

Bought an overnight train to Palermo for €36 - it is a standard seat ticket, sleepers cost double the price. Hoping that it will be empty enough for me to lie down on the 3 seats and save the difference. A friendly Romanian sat opposite me in the cabin, constantly offering me his snacks in Italian which I kindly turned down using the few italian phrases I know and sign language. He soon fell asleep as the train sped towards the southern tip of the main island of Italy, where it will then be transferred to a ferry across the straits where it will then continue its journey across Sicily; something that I am definitely looking forward to.

Half 4 in the morning, with dreamy eyes, I checked the the time on my phone; the train was still moving, definitely not on the ferry. I went back to sleep. 6am, I looked out of the window - the sign displayed Messina, not sure where, but the train has stopped. I stayed awake for 10min and the train is still not moving; not sure why but I went back to sleep again. By the time I was up again, it was already 8 in the morning; darn...I missed the crossing - really gutted as I wanted to see this unusual transfer of the train and I literally slept through it. Really annoyed with myself!

10 to 10, the train arrived in Palermo Centrale and I hiked about 1.5km to the hostel A Casa di Amici along via Volturna. Cost was €22 for a bed in a 3 room dorm, one of the cheapest ones that I could find in the city. First impression looked ok and the owner, Claudia allowed me to washup and put my bags aside whilst the bed/room is been cleaned and tidied. Just before I began this trip, I read about the a story in National Geographic about mummified corpses in a small monastery in Palermo, and this was one of the main reasons why I decided to make this last minute trip here. Entrance costs only €1.50 and I paid an additional €1.50 for a pamphlet of the exhibit - it is a non-profit setup, all profits I understand are donated to the poor after the running costs. What I saw can only really described as astonishing - you have to see it to believe it. Rows of corpses lying in open coffins but most of them are just hanging by the walls. Some of the mummies have been there for the past 300 years, which were initally meant to preserve high monks but opened up to public after numerous requests from many to have their loved ones preserved. You can still see the clothings that they wore when they were alive and some even still have their hair intact! Probably the most amazing corpse has to be that of Rosalia Lombardo, a 2 year old girl who died in 1920 but still looked like she is sleeping in the glass coffin. A word of caution, it can get quite creepy especially if you are the one and only person walking in the underground passageway.

Strange places often have strange cultures - Palermo is no exception as they practice siesta too! Ended up the most of the museums and cathedrals that I wanted to visit were all closed till 3pm. Walked to the promenade by the Gulf of Palermo instead to enjoy a great day of lovely weather and sun as this part of the world is definitely enjoying an early spring if not summer-type weather. After walking for 4 hrs covering almost 15km, decided to head back to hostel for a rest before heading out again for a nice pasta dinner on my last night in Italy.