Monreale

After a quiet nights sleep, we wake up to the smell of fresh baked croissants floating up the stairs. Our room is on the third floor, which in Italy is the fourth floor so we can get the free stairmaster program in our days. We get downstairs and they bring out our order from the night before. I have a pistachio cream filled one and a chocolate cream filled very large croissant. Carol has pistachio and an apricot one. We get fresh made cappuccino and some juice also. It is simple but very filling.
After breakfast, we head out to catch a bus to Monreale and its famous cathedral. We walk to the train station and thanks to my research, we find the unmarked bus stop for our bus on the street outside. A bus is there and I ask the driver if it is the right bus and where to buy a ticket. He points to a small shop nearby named Fantasy World. I might get more than I bargained for with this ticket. It is not the kind of shop, I was thinking, but they do sell me two round trip bus tickets. We get on the bus and wait for 15 minutes before its scheduled departure time and then we are on our way. The ride up the hill gets more interesting as the streets get more narrower. These drivers are amazing in the way they have to navigate not only the narrow roads, but the many scooters, motorcycles, pedestrians, and the rest of the Sicilian drivers.
We reach the stop and there are no signs to the cathedral. We walk up some steps and I ask a man in my nicest Italian which way is the cathedral. He scowls a little and I think he is blowing me off. Then I hear him ask someone else and gets my attention and points out the way. The scowl was because he did not know. The people here in Sicily have all been very helpful with our occasional bouts of cluelessness.
We walk down a very nice street of the small town and reach the cathedral. We go inside and are just blown away.

Monreale Cathedral

The cathedral was founded in 1172 by William II and a Benedictine monastery was built next to it. It is considered to be the pinnacle of Arab-Norman Art. Much larger than the Palatine Chapel, it is covered in mosaics of a much grander scale. The middle apse has Christ Pantocrater in mosaics from the 12th and 13th century. The side walls have magnificent gold mosaics depicting episodes for the Old Testament. The Royal tomb of William II and William I are in a corner of the transept. There are also scenes from the New Testament scattered around. One mosaic of Jesus being baptized is unusual in that the water is transparent showing his body underneath.

Advanced for the Times

It is very beautiful indeed. On the exterior one of the bronze doors done by Bonnano da Pisa in 1185 has 42 biblical scenes on it. It also contains a panel with a lion and a griffon, both Norman symbols.
We leave the cathedral and spend 45 minutes just wandering around the small town before it is time to catch our bus back. We are really glad we came up here as the cathedral was incredible and the town has a totally different feel than Palermo even though we are only 8 miles away.
Back in Palermo, we decide to explore a little more. I had read about a street food place not too far from the hotel and we try to locate it. We enter Piazza Marina which used to be used for Knight tournaments and public executions. It is quite nice and in the middle is the Garibaldi Gardens which have enormous Fig trees some of which were planted by the designer in 1863.

Fig Tree in Piazza Marina

Walking around we stumble on to the food place with lots of locals eating so we know it has to be good. I order a triple which has Panelle, eggplant, and potatoe on it and Carol gets a sausage and onion one. The sausage is grilled up fresh to order. Both very good and very cheap. From here, we explore some more, looking for a gelato place that Giuseppe had told us about. We find it and the people are very nice letting us taste a few flavors while we decide. I get pistachio and cassata in a brioche and we cross the street to the marina, sit on a bench and enjoy our gelato. The people watching is pretty good so we linger a bit longer before continuing our stroll. We stay along the water front for a bit and then turn back inland toward our hotel.
Tonight we head down to happy hour around 1630 again and when I get to the lobby, Giuseppe asks if I speak Italiano as he is having trouble understanding an English couple and what they want. The English guy is on the phone and I know just enough to tell Giuseppe he wants the address to return his car to. We go into the lounge and have some wine while watching Giuseppe do his check in routine. We introduce ourselves to Mary while her husband is off returning their car. She sits and has a few drinks with the help of Giuseppe’s insistence. Then she goes to her room to take a shower and unpack. A short while later her husband Charles gets back and sits and has a beer with us. This turns into two or three and not only does he have a great name but we are getting along splendidly. Mary joins us again and Charles goes up to freshen up before dinner. When Charles returns, we ask them if they would like to join us for dinner tonight and they say yes. We do not leave yet as we keep having our drinks filled by Giuseppe. Then I ask for a limoncello and Charles asks me what that is, so I tell him he must try it. One taste and he is a fan. Giuseppe just keeps filling our small glasses with limoncello and the party moves outside so they can have a cigarette. Before we know it, it is almost 10 P.M. and Giuseppe says he needs to go home to his wife. He has done it to us again, as we are both feeling pretty toasty. The four of us walk the short walk to the restaurant and no problem getting a table now. Another night of ordering only water. We enjoy another great meal, getting the mushroom walnut pasta again and trying a ravioli with a black squid ink sauce. I thought about trying it on our last trip and didn’t so the time has come. It is wonderful and nothing like I thought it would be. No fish taste whatsoever and very unique. Even Carol likes it. By the time we leave the restaurant,it is midnight. We have really enjoyed the company of Charles and Mary which just added to the great food experience. We are sure we will see them tomorrow which is the last day of their vacation. Right now it is time to get some sleep.
Expenses
Bus to Monreale 6E
Panino Lunch 3.5E
Gelato and the Brioche 4E
Dinner at Le Delizie di Cagliostro 28.5E
Harmony Hotel BNB 95E
Walked 7.3 Miles