Monreale and the bus ride from Hell


Tonight, (Wednesday) the Heavens decided to upon up for several hours, so our dinner tonight consists of cheese and crackers for me while Susanna enjoys a Noodles in a Cup Ramen and whatever else we had in the hotel fridge.
After almost a month of pasta, pasta, pasta, I can’t really complain.
 Today we spent much of the morning suitcase hunting to replace the one Susanna brought, which now has a broken handle and a cracked wheel assembly. Included in the hunt was a walk through the fish and produce market where we found ourselves somewhat shocked at the variety and just plain strangeness of some of the offerings. Various sizes of squid and octopus were on display as well as, I could be mistaken, fish intestines. Living in the Caribbean many years ago I recall them being cooked into a stew which, allegedly, improved virility.
We picked up some grapes and a couple of pomegranates for snacks.
  Other than stopping for a lunch of fried baccala ( salt cod) and squid, with actual roast potatoes rather than noodles, the rest of the day was spent just being lazy.
 That was in sharp contrast to Tuesday when we hopped a couple of busses to get to the suburb of Monreale, some 7km from Downtown Plalermo. The second bus ride was about 45 minutes long with a stop every 2-3 minutes, picking up several passengers at each. By the time we finally climbed the steep inclines up to Monreale the bus was packed to the point that I could only put one leg on the floor at a time!
 While the ride was truly hellish, the destination more than made up for it. The Duomo di Monreale was a Norman built church with the most amazing frescoes and sculptures. In terms of size, the only places that might come close are the Hagia Sophia and some of the mosques in Istanbul. With many side chapels, a cloister and a museum, it kept us busy for a good two hours before we returned to the city on a just barely less crowded bus, but not before admiring the 6 km view extending from the mountain all the way to the  Palermo docks on the distant waterfront.
















































Returning to Palermo we wandered through the Norman Palace garden area and through the Cathedral grounds before bussing it home for the afternoon. 
 Dinner was at a previous tries neighbourhood spot for a large plate of mussels and clams followed by their signature pasta dish- more mussels and clams with some rather chewy squid with spaghetti in a light tomato sauce. Dessert was a pair of semi freddo’s- ice cream in a chocolate or pistachio casing along with a shot of espresso that barely registered 20ml but which made up for it in flavour.

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