Why? I drove to Sicily from London in a Ford Capri, the poor spiv's car. I'm not a spiv but I enjoyed driving the car - and it took me about two months to reach the end of my journey, Palermo. Within 24 hours of arriving, someone had taken me on to a balcony, whispered in my ear and I was involved in some kind of conspiracy. Sicily is not like the rest of Italy, it still has some of that old intimacy. But the countryside is much more abandoned than I'd expected; the bandit and mafia history means that people don't live in the country in little cottages - they live in what they call villages, but we would call large towns, in blocks of flats. They prefer the security of others being around.

What's the best thing? The hospitality of the people and the number of "secret" palaces that still survive there. I went to several palaces, including one that is not easy to visit. It is yellow and blue inside, old and crumbly, tiled, arcaded and colonnaded. Sun dropped into the courtyards, which were filled with yellow canaries singing in dozens of elaborate wire cages. The palace was empty; there was not much furniture, and it had wonderful echoing floors with the odd fading sepia photograph of the house's ancestors posing with the likes of George V and Queen Mary.

My perfect day: If I were there now I'd like to spend the day with Kris Mancuso, the woman who introduced Palermo to me. I'd like to spend a quiet afternoon chatting with Kris while walking through the old part of the town. She would be chain-smoking and telling me wonderful stories of the goings-on in the old streets we were ambling along. Sicilians love gossip, by the way, and so do I.

My advice: If you can, approach Palermo by sea - there's a wonderful boat you can get from Genoa and Naples. It's still a dangerous city so be careful. The street boys - young robbers on scooters - can pick you clean like piranha if you are stupid enough to wander around with a gold watch on.

How to get there: British Airways (0845 7733377) flies twice a day to Palermo, via Rome. Flights cost from £239 return.

Duncan Fallowell's new book To Noto: London To Sicily, is published on October 10 (Gibson Square, £9.99).