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In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Hotel Bellevue, Palermo, Sicily

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

We never had any intention of going to Hotel Bellevue just outside of Palermo, Sicily.

In fact, we had never heard of it, didn't know anything about it, and wouldn't have any reason to go there to begin with.

But by the end of this night, Hotel Bellevue was a godsend; A literal miracle infused into the lives of these 70+ year olds (that'd be us) who were desperate for sleep.

Let me explain.

the front desk of BnB La Vucciria Di Guttuso, Palermo, Sicily

The empty front desk of BnB La Vucciria Di Guttuso

We arrive from Bari on Italy's southern coast to the airport in Palermo, Sicily by taxi ($60Euro) to the city of Palermo about 9:30pm.

Our hotel, BnB La Vucciria Di Guttuso, was down a teeny tiny vico and we couldn't find it.

We met another young man trying to find his hotel and he says that he’s been walking in circles for 15 minutes. It’s a total maze and he can’t find his place either.

We are terribly lost, and there are no signs anywhere. According to Google maps, it should be “right here”.

I see two women watching the night pass away having a conversation up on a balcony, and I shout up to them “LA VUCCIRIA?”

They were so happy to help and point to a door across the way in a corner – not well marked at all.

We walk over and there is no way in.

A man on a motorcycle just dropped something off in a yellow bucket to someone who pulled it up to the 2nd floor. He could see we were flustered and tired, so he goes to the entry code box, presses the number and the door opens.

We thank him profusely and he drives off like it’s “nothing.”

We walk up several flights of stairs and Billy is pushing all kinds of doors and turning handles until - finally - one opens up.

Not much of a welcome, and there is no one at the desk.

Something isn't right.

Evening view outside Hotel Bellevue, Palermo, Sicily

The stunning view outside our room in Hotel Bellevue

We call out at the reception desk, try some doors, and no one was there.

Then I punch several numbers into my phone and after the 3rd one, I get a woman who says she can't find our reservation. After I give her our Confirmation number, she then says something shocking -- That reservation is not for tonight, October 12, it's for next month, November 12!!

Impossible.

 

 

 

 

 After sending us a photo confirmation of our reservation to show that it truly was for November 12th… I meekly ask if she can do anything to help us.

 She said she is fully booked and there is nothing she can do. There is an event in town, and everything is reserved.

Sorry...

Our jaws drop open.

We’re screwed.

morning view from Hotel Bellevue, Palermo, Sicily

The view outside our window the next morning

This isn’t like us at ALL, to have made a mistake of this magnitude…

I mean, seriously. We are "professional travelers" who have been gallivanting around the world for over 3 decades.

To prepare for this trip we booked a dozen hotels over 73 days of travel in assorted cities in various countries over several time zones. There were airfares, taxis, payments online with credit cards - each meant to be functional like a relay race where we hand off one ticket only to pick up the next one moments later.

Easy peasy,... except that it wasn't.

The best I can figure out is that the Europeans mark their days and months differently, putting the day number first, then the month number, then the year.

October 12th to us is 10/12. In Europe, it's 12/10.

Mix in our leaving date, which is the 13th, and we have a nightmarish mixture of  10, 11, 12, 13, 23... all in different combinations...

Yikes.

That's enough to confuse anyone.

Regardless of how this happened, we don’t have a room, and this sends us on a hotel chase.

 Breakfast buffet at Hotel Bellevue, Palermo, Sicily

Buffet breakfast and view from Hotel Bellevue - a table of fresh pastries is in the center

Completely surprised by this unexpected turn of events, we walk downstairs and meet a young man of 16 who knows we need help but doesn’t speak English. He shouts outside the door for his friend – an obvious body builder with tattoos everywhere - and he is as polite as he can be. A real gentle giant.

He and the young man use our phones to try and find something close by, and the body builder is knocking on doors of hotels, calling places and helping us in any way that we can.

Angels in disguise, but there are no hotels to be had.

He gives us directions to the main street, Via Roma, and directions to the train station because we thought we might try to take a night train, go straight to Cefalu and figure things out there…

 The last thing he said was “stay close together.”

Ahh, Jeeze.

It was now pushing 10:00 pm and we were on a mission.

It was almost laughable - we aren't 20 or 30 anymore, and here we are going down sketchy dark streets and it's getting later and later at night…

View from the balcony of Hotel Bellevue, Palermo, Sicily

The view from the balcony, Hotel Bellevue

 We try a total of 5 hotels in the city, walking up a bumpy stone street with our luggage then down a bumpy stone street with our luggage.

Many hotels are not well marked, and some might be just a single floor of an apartment building. We struggled with this, trying to find lodging at this late hour. 

Concierges at these hotels are calling other hotels and even AirBnB's to find places for us to stay, but nothing.

We must have looked a sight!

A couple of travel-weary old farts wandering the NYC of Sicily alone, dragging their luggage late at night with no place to sleep.

We even tried a plush hotel, the Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa at $500Euros a night - which was also booked.

This just doesn’t happen to us, and we are befuddled by the oddity of it all.

Normally things fall easily into place for us, and I'm trying to stay open to the good in this situation.

People everywhere - young, old, on the street, in hotels, at shops - are trying to help and it’s heartwarming.

But we still have no place to stay!

On the balcony looking out at the sea - Hotel Bellevue, Palermo, Sicily

Looking out at the sea from the balcony of Hotel Bellevue

We have to make a decision as we were running out of time and energy.

So, we go to the train station in order to purchase evening tickets to Cefalu and try to find something there.

 Or perhaps eat in a restaurant in this beachside town and watch the sun come up, who knows, just get us out of here.

 

 

 

 

 Our apartment reservations aren't until tomorrow. We just need to get through the night.

Billy takes a look at the TrenItalia app on his phone and it says that a train is due to leave at 10:15pm.

It’s 10:08 now, so we have time.

We make it to the train station and we try to purchase a ticket but there is no train ticket to purchase.

We are trying everything.

Billy asks some maintenance men if we can sleep there at the station for a few hours, and purchase tickets in the morning at 6am.

They say we can’t sleep there, the station closes at 1am. But there is a hotel across the street from the station and we might try them.

You guessed it. It was booked up too.

Breakfast buffet at Hotel Bellevue, Palermo, Sicily.

Breakfast buffet (all along the wall and to the left) at Hotel Bellevue

The woman at the desk tries to call an AirBnB, but they are full as well.

In exasperation and fatigue, Billy puts his head down on the counter there by the concierge, and we eventually walk out and find this café next door.

They are closing for the evening, and we start asking around.

One man speaks English and we tell him our story.

Our phones are about out of charge, so we ask if we could charge them. We order something to show our sincerity and in gratitude for their hospitality.

On our computers we try and find a 24 hour restaurant where we might have a meal, a drink, and just kind of wait it out.

We even ask about the police station - maybe we could stay in a cell for the night? And the men in the café say it’s closed. A police station is closed?

I keep reminding myself that something good will come of this.

It has to, as this has been so awful, out-of-the-norm, and unexpected.

Billy and I discuss going back to the airport where we might be able to hang out, eat, and put our head on a table for the night. Then we can take a taxi in the morning back to the train station to go to Cefalu.

I don’t have any other ideas, but something will come through. I hold onto that perception, and I don't give up hope.

We are starting to get tired and it’s now after 11pm.

Hotel Bellevue, Palermo, Sicily

The beautiful Hotel Bellevue the next morning

The young man who speaks English says that the owner is trying to find a place for us in a seaside town outside of Palermo which might have a room.

 It’s OPEN.

They have a room for $80Euro for the 2 of us and as it turns out, the cafe owner will drive us there.

Everyone in the shop is saying this hotel is BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL.

It's right on the sea. There are restaurants everywhere, and a harbor!

This hotel has a GREAT VIEW of the sea and the seafood is fabulous.

I can hardly believe it, we are pooped and just want to crash for the night.

This man puts our luggage into his trunk like a real taxi driver and off we go.

He doesn’t speak English so it’s kind of quiet in the car. We head out back towards the airport and then veer off towards the sea to a town called Via Plauto.

As we drive through town, the driver shows us restaurants, stores, the harbor, views we must make time to see. Of course it's midnight and everything is shut down. Finally he goes up to the hill and gets to the hotel.

A Casa Blanca kind of hotel out of a movie.

A man meets us on the steps, and he carries our bags up to the counter. We check in, I pay for the room $80Euro + city tax and it comes to $86Euros for the night, including breakfast.

After all we have been through, it feels like the bargain of the century.

We thank the man profusely and go up to our room. Up some stairs, then some twisted stairs, now up an elevator, then even more stairs… where the heck are we going? I’m just hoping the room isn’t horrible and that the bed is decent.

It’s morning hours by now and WE. ARE. BEAT.

We get ready for bed and I peek out the window and see the night view of the Sicily coastline and the town across the little bay all lit up. It's breathtaking.

We simply crash for the night, and get up 5 hours later.

We shower, come down to breakfast and the hotel is stunning.

I write on Google Translate to the man at the desk who helped us check in last night and told him he was an angel of God to take us in so late.

I explained about the mix up we had with our hotel in Palermo, and said we had nowhere to go. He really helped us and we were most grateful.

The man who drove us there was also an angel and to please thank him for us.

As it turns out, because of this snafu, we found a place just outside of Palermo that is much closer to the airport and much less hectic than the gritty city.  If we ever go back to Palermo, we could choose to stay several nights here at the Bellevue and explore this little seaside town. Then it's a quick drive to the train station and on to Cefalu or elsewhere to continue our travels.

So it really did all work out for the best.

Would we recommend Hotel Bellevue?

ABSOLUTELY!

__________

Hotel Bellevue

Via Plauto 40

 Sferracavallo 90147 Palermo, Sicily

http://hotelbellevuepalermo.com/  

Email:  bellevuepalermo@gmail.com

Tele: +39 091. 53. 0083

 http://bellevue-del-golfo.palermo.hotels-sicily.net/en/ 

Editor's note: Our room was adequate and small, but the rest of the hotel was spectacular.

 

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About the Authors

 
Billy and Akaisha Kaderli are recognized retirement experts and internationally published authors on topics of finance, medical tourism and world travel. With the wealth of information they share on their award winning website RetireEarlyLifestyle.com, they have been helping people achieve their own retirement dreams since 1991. They wrote the popular books, The Adventurer’s Guide to Early Retirement and Your Retirement Dream IS Possible available on their website bookstore or on Amazon.com.

 

contact Billy and Akaisha at theguide@retireearlylifestyle.com

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