Palermo, SIcilia, day 2

Had hardly any sleep last night, after the last few nights of loudness, to have dead silence was hard to get used to.  Then woke at 6 which is ridiculous, think I was waiting for noise to complain about, but it didn’t happen!

I went for a walk down the main drag and found the information centre, found out how to get to where I want to go to, and then walked in the opposite direction so I could catch the bus to Montreale because I was told about the magnificent views from the cathedral there (thanks Lou) and wanted to check the place out.

 I walked past a few Palermo streets

and past the Palermo Cathedral

I was told at the bus ticket office that I am now in Sicilia so need to learn how to speak Sicilian (!!) but they let me get away with my Aussie brand of italiano!  I had 45 minutes to kill before the bus arrived so went in search of a cappuccino.  I found a dingy little bar where the guy took F O R E V E R to make my  cappuccino and then tried to charge me 3 euro.  I laughed and said that I have been all over Italy I have not paid more than 1.80  euro for a cappuccino and I was not going to pay 3 euro.  (They take one look at me and think they can rip me off!!).  He very sheepishly looked at me and said ‘no?????’, NO! and I asked again quanto costa? 3 euro.  Again I said no and walked out in search of another bar.  As I walked away I heard the cup go crashing into the sink.  I have a feeling had I been in range I would have been wearing that cappuccino!!

After I found another bar and paid 1.20 euro for my cappuccino, I went to the park near the bus stop and watched the uomini do what they usually do- play cards.  So far I have only seen them playing cards at a café, today they bought their own boxes and crates to sit on and used the park seats for their card tables.

Bus arrived, we get to Montreale without incident which was nice!  I went into the cathedral and WOW the interior is all mosaic – not one bit of paint – all mosaic.  Huge job – I don’t know how long it took to do it, there was a tour group there and I tried to listen but they were a German tour group and I understand niente German.  So, I still don’t know how long it took but as a mosaicer I know it took forever!

Then I paid 2 euro to walk up flights of skinny claustic stairs and along claustric skinny passageways to get to the top of the cathedral, it was well worth all those deep breaths I made myself take, the view was absolutely breathtaking.

Claustrophobic stairway and passageways

The views were worth it!

I had lunch in Montreale at a café that called itself a pub – I had chips and salad and bread and wine, followed by the best espresso I have had in Italy! Then I went for a walk around the mosaicing shops, watched a bit of mosaicing happening then went to the café across from the bus stop and asked what time the bus leaves.  Every hour on the hour.  It was 2.10pm so I decided to have coffee and shoot the breeze until the bus came.  2.20pm the bus arrives! Buses are like all the other traffic in Italy, they do whatever they want whenever they want.

The best espresso in Italy so far

I got on the bus to have … a freaking creep … sit opposite me.  I sat and stared out the window.  About five minutes later he got up and sat in the seat behind me.  Next thing I feel him touching under my arm, I swung around and GLARED at him, he pretended that he had been grasping the seat but accidently touched me.  I turned around and leaned forward in my seat so he couldn’t touch me again, next thing the bastardo is standing beside me!  I could not get closer to the window and away from him if I had climbed out the window!  There was an American couple across from me and I was just about to ask the man to swap seats with me when we arrived at my stop.  I started to get up and creep started to turn to leave too. By this time I have my camera in my hand and I said to him, if you get off now and follow me I will take your photo and go straight to the polizia! The bastardo stayed on the bus.

I came back to my room for a while then went for a walk down the 'other' street (haven't been down there yet) to find somewhere I could buy a bottiglia of vino and some smelly cheese, I found a shop that not only sold both, it also sold dried pomodori so I got some supplies, arrividercied the two uomini in the negozia and told them I will see them both domani!

I came home along a new road and found a café so feeling a bit thisty I went in, had a glass of vino and some chips, and told the mamma there I would see her domani and have come home, had a couple of glasses of nice Italian vino , bread, cheese and dried pomodori and am about to watch my shit tv show ‘Avanti un altro’. 

Tomorrow I am going to walk to the treno stazione ("the big building" I found yesterday) go to the bus stop and get the bus to the temples.

Buono notte tutti!