Well, actually we open in Palermo, but close enough. Palermo is quite a change from yesterday's visit to Agripoli and the ruins of Paestum. The bustling streets reminded me a bit of Napoli, from where we went to the ruins of Pompei.

I have found myself quite taken aback by the strong Greek, Spanish and Arabic influences on the island of Sicilia. We just saw a Byzantine Catholic church that was originally Orthodox Christian and had latin words spelled with Greek letters. It is interesting to see so many influences combine to make one strong, proud ethnicity that even has its own dialect. The melting pot of European nations is also well represented by the crew of the ship. Our hosts come from the Phillipines, Italy, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Germany, Poland, Greece, Croatia and more! Infact my new Greek friend/ship staff member Vasili is recently married to our Croatian hostess Anna. Getting to know these interesting people has been a huge part of the trip for me.

This afternoon the other guests go by bus to the Medievil city of Monreale, which is about 45 mintues away. Deborah, James and I will stay on board to relax a bit and prepare for our first performance on board the Corinthian II for what seems to be an extremely eager audience of opera fans.

Wish us good luck!

Dean K.