Monreal; Palermo; Mondello

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Our first Sicilian cart

Friday, 6 April. After the buffet breakfast in the hotel, we left for Palermo again on the bus. It was another sunny but cool day. This time our destination was Monreal, a hill just behind Palermo. We visited the 12th century cathedral with fantastic gold mosaics, much like we had seen in the Palatine Chapel, but on a much grander scale. Afterwards we spent half an hour in the beautiful Benedictine cloister adjoining the cathedral. Even though there already was a grand cathedral just down the hill in Palermo, it is told that King William II had this cathedral built because he didn't like the bishop of Palermo and, by building another cathedral, he could have another bishop nearby more to his liking.

Cathedral in Monreal
Interior of Cathedral
Jane in Cloister

Enzo then drove us back down into the traffic of Palermo. He parked by the Teatro Massimo and we were given an hour on our own. We walked through the nearby open market, stretched for blocks down a narrow street. Still having a few minutes left, we took a closer look at the 19th century Teatro Massimo, recently reopened after 25 year's of restoration. It is one of the largest opera houses in Europe.

Market
Mediterranean Tuna
Teatro Massimo

The bus then took us to a pizzeria in Mondello for lunch. Mondello is a pretty beach resort only a few miles up the coast from Palermo. It faces the west side of Mount Pelegrino, as opposed to the east side we could see in the distance from Trabia. We had nearly an hour after lunch to stroll the beach before boarding the bus. We were back at our hotel about 4:15. We enjoyed a leisurely evening with another excellent (and large) dinner at the hotel.

Mondello
Mondello Beach
Mount Pelegrino

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