Russian guide to Sicily: review of the Light from Palermo

I don’t want to lie and write that with Sveta - a guide to Sicily from Palermo - We know each other personally. That she conducted a city tour for me, so good that she decided to write a review about her on BlogoItaliano. Not. It was not so. Not at all like that. Neither this nor last summer I went to Sicily. But this acquaintance left such a strong impression that I wanted to devote a separate article to it. Perhaps this is his main charm.

Sicilian gambit

A few years ago I was already looking for a guide in Sicily. Through one major service, I wrote immediately to 4 or 5 guides, but it did not end there. Only one girl answered me. Moreover, the letter was such that any desire was lost to continue communication. As a result, the trip to Sicily then went without a guide for me.

But a couple of days ago everything changed: we called up with Katya, a familiar guide from Venice, and she, among other things, mentioned her plans for a vacation. Her husband is from Sicily, and therefore, traditionally, she spends August with her family in Palermo.

“You are strange,” Katya said after listening to my Sicilian experience. “I have a very good friend living there, and she is an excellent guide. Moreover, you know each other in absentia - I told you about it. Do you want me to type her?”

I didn’t mind. And in the evening of the same day we met with Sveta.

Siberian from Palermo

I guess I have not talked so much on the phone for several years. Over the next two days, we talked for a total of 5 or 6 hours, and you can’t exactly lay out everything you hear in one article.

Sveta is a Siberian from Omsk. She is 44 years old, of which 13 she lives on the island. For several years, she registered her state of emergency and officially conducts tours of Palermo and other most interesting places on the northern coast of Sicily.

Like Katya, Sveta married a Sicilian, and considers this act one of the most correct in her life: “Many of my friends are amazed at how harmoniously I adapted in a new environment that is completely opposite to life in Siberia,” says Sveta. To be honest, I I’m amazed how it happened. I’m sure that where your family is there and your home, your homeland and that’s where you are comfortable. "

Svetlana (left) with her tourists

After 10 minutes of communication, the question of what it was like for her to adapt disappears by itself. Sveta is definitely an extrovert: she talks a lot and fascinatingly, spills facts and quotes, sometimes using some local expressions. Her husband calls her a Molotov cocktail, and gradually you realize that he is still very soft in his assessments.

In general, she recalls the husband of Light through a word: she is happy in marriage and is proud of her Sicilian. In part, it was thanks to him that she chose the path of a guide. “A talented artist and restorer, he opened a new world in front of me,” says Sveta. “He dedicated me to the life of art and history, letting me penetrate and appreciate local traditions on my own.”

Guide to Northern Sicily

As in the case of Katya, the house of Sveta is littered with literature in Sicily, and she continues to buy all the new items on the history and culture of the island that appear on sale. “This is incredibly exciting,” says Sveta, “there were so many things here: Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, and every culture left its mark.

According to the subtle remark of one traveler, a walk with a guide replaces the years in the library. Personally, I did not go out with her, but after several hours on the phone, knowledge of Sicily significantly increased.

Beach Area Palermo Mondello, Sicily

It turns out that in the XII century the Kingdom of both Sicilies occupied the territory of almost half of Italy, and the state capital was located exactly in Palermo. It was here - under Federico II - that the modern Italian language was born. Norman kings held harems, and mosques for Muslims grew in the city at the same time as Orthodox and Catholic churches. When Sveta starts talking about Palermo, she cannot be stopped. Yes, actually, I don’t feel like it: you listen to her with your mouth open and forgetting about everything in the world.

According to the guide, her interests extend far beyond the borders of the city: “I’m sure that I can easily and interestingly talk about any city in Sicily, even about Syracuse, although it’s quite far from Palermo,” she notes. “But I think that there is something to offer excursions are dishonest. I don’t know the local, their favorite places, how they live and how they spend their free time. The local guide can do it much better. But in Palermo and the surrounding area I feel like a fish in water, and I can show a lot of what is not included in the standard tourist programs y ".

Excursions with Sveta

Our conversation is drawing to a close, and I ask Sveta to send me a description of her most popular excursions in order to post them on BlogoItaliano. In general, you can turn to her for organizing any trip along the North Coast, but, nevertheless, it is better with route descriptions than without them.

While she is preparing them, I, with her permission, post the contact of Sveta for those planning a trip. You can learn about current excursions, free days for their conduct and cost by writing to Sveta by email email protected or through the feedback form below.

According to the guide, if your trip falls between the beginning of spring and the middle of October or during the New Year holidays, then you should contact her in advance. At peak times, many excursion dates can be booked several months in advance.

Nevertheless, even a few days before the trip, Sveta can also write. If she is busy on the selected date, then in any case she will try to help by recommending one of her colleagues.

Have a good trip!