Southern Italy, Day III: Palermo and Monreale

January 27th, Day 3:
The boat pulled into the port of Palermo, on the northeast coast of the island of Sicily, between 6:30 and 7:00 AM... I woke up at 5:45 AM to watch the sunrise and so that I wouldn't have to be woken by a stern Italian pounding on our cabin door. The group met, and rolled our luggage off the boat and several blocks through the quiet Palermo streets to our hotel, the Hotel Joli. Fortunately, we were able to drop our bags into a room so we didn't have to drag them with us all day.



The port of Palermo around sunrise.








The group, ready to go at about 7 AM, and in desperate need of coffee.









We had a short time to walk around and relax in the park next to the hotel, then we got on a charter bus to the small town of Monreale, near Palermo. It wasn't a long drive, but I think most of us passed out on the bus and woke up in the parking lot at Monreale. The town is up in the mountains and has some awesome views of the sea and surrounding valleys. Our objective was to explore and sketch Monreale's cathedral and the adjacent cloisters.


The park next to Hotel Joli.











The street in Monreale leading from the parking lot to the cathedral.












The square in front of the cathedral was beautifully landscaped, and had a great fountain in the center. The sun was blindingly bright and it made for some cool effects in the water.


















Ooo... shiny.






The inside of the cathedral was much more polished and intricate than the rough-hewn exterior would suggest. There were tons of intricate details, from the flooring to the column capitals to the ceiling, you could take a million pictures inside and still not capture everything. Below are some of the better ones that I took:






The nave of the cathedral of Monreale... check out the awesome mosaic work.

























After the cathedral were the cloisters. It was a really pleasant space, basically a square garden bounded on all sides by a covered collonade. The columns were amazing, with dozens of colors, varieties of stone carving and mosaic patterns.























The obligatory "Look at all of us working diligently" shot.
















Mo shaking off a sleepy foot.









At noon we went to get lunch and found a great spot for picture taking at the end of a street, it looked out at the sea and the mountains and islands in the distance... it was really beautiful, and the weather was just about perfect. Then we sat in the square in front of the cathedral and ate some pizza, then wandered around for a while and looked at some cool shops on the way back to the bus. While a couple of my friends were buying post cards, I sat down on the street and fell asleep against the side of a building... strangely, no one I was with was really surprised, but they did use the opportunity to take some great photos that look like I was mugged and left for dead... thanks, guys!


Part of the group enjoying the scenery.
















Me and the nice view.








Some more Monreale countryside.




The view from the Monreale overlook.



A tiny Fiat, one of the smallest cars I've ever seen.







Anyway, we took the bus back to Palermo and had the rest of the afternoon to explore the city. Vikki, Mo, Matt, Amy, Chris and I decided to go down to the waterfront to find the "beach". On the way, we passed a cool marina with everything from yachts to rowboats. It was a lot like Baltimore, but with far less sketchiness.












After the marina, we passed through a public garden, climbed on some rocks, and made our way down the huge waterfront. It was a very active public space whenever we saw it, with tons of kids playing soccer and hanging out. We spent a while there taking pictures and playing in some abandoned rowboats on the beach.



The Palermo waterfront on a gorgeous day.


An old rowboat on a quiet beach... listen to the sound of the water going in and out.


















































One of the many places in Sicily that look like it was taken directly from a postcard.






It was late afternoon when we headed back downtown, and we were pretty much starving... after a futile search for an open restaurant, we decided to wait in a busy shopping section of the city and eat later when more options were available. It's times like those when you miss living in a huge city like Rome, with restaurants everywhere. The whole process seemed to take hours, and the kicker was that we ended up eating in the restaurant right across from the hotel... oh well. That was pretty much it for the day, but in closing:



... the Moron Center!