I felt better after all the pills I took during Budapest week, so I decided to go to Palermo.
This year I chose tournaments I have never been to. And Palermo was one of them.
I took Alitalia flight together with C
atalina Castano. We were warn by some italian tennis players that Alitalia looses bags, so I took some stuff with me on the plane just in case if the bags didn't come. And as it turned out it was a right thing to do. Our bags were lost.
And by "lost" I mean nobody at the airline could tell us where they were. So for two days me and Catalina were washing one t-shirt, a pair of shorts and a pair of socks and putting it to dry on a balcony under hot Palermo sun.
A couple of time at breakfast I was asked if I am here to coach, or went out the night before because of my casual look. I really started to hate my favorite jeans and shirt after wearing it for three days straight. And just as me and Catalina decided to go shopping for new clothes our bags came as a surprise. I was never happier to see it!
Our hotel was originally a hospital and was
transformed into hotel. And I assume when that transformation has happened nobody really thought about updating the inside of the hotel.It was still stuck in 1960's.
While the inside of the hotel was not impressive and the price of the room was 160 euro
, at least the breakfast was great. Nothing can beat Italian Latte Macchiato and Nutella!
Also the hotel was located almost right on the beach and many players enjoyed warm crystal clear waters and white sand.
Matches started at 3 pm because of the heat. And I was happy to play 2nd or 3rd after 3 pm. At that time heat went down and it was nice and cool.
I felt a little better in my first round and managed to win it, the 2nd round was a bit more difficult. I was coughing again and my energy was only enough for one tough set.
And even though my stay in Palermo was short, I really enjoyed it. There was great Italian food, free all you can eat gelato at the courts and beautiful beach with warm clear water.
