There was a rather long walk to the Palazzo dei Normanni and the Cappella Palatina, but it was once again worth it, with the beautiful mosaic I saw and the famous altar in the Cappella Palatina, which was a small church or perhaps a chapel by itself, whatever the true meaning might be.
Next was the Palermo Cathedral, by far the most different than any other cathedrals in Italy that we had seen. I knew from the book about the tower of Pisa that the Saracens – Muslims – had once controlled Palermo, thus changing the style when this cathedral would have been built. There was a great deal of influence from the Saracens in that time. But the exterior of the Palermo Cathedral truly was of a more Arabic feeling, whilst the inside proved to reciprocate many other Italian masterpieces of architecture.
After that, we walked to the Mediterranean after finding some quick food to eat on the way. The shore was rocky – meaning huge boulders stacked against the cement walkway, but it gave us something to climb for a while. The waters were relatively peaceful, though they were blocked by a pier. On the left side of us, on the coast, was a very steep cliff, almost a completely vertical wall. Before it was a large marina full of boats and small ships.
We tried to get into the Teatro Massimo, but by the time we had gotten there, it was past closing time, even though it was only 3:30 or so. We decided to come back early in the morning before our plane ride off the island. We then had free time until a group dinner, which was what we would be having for the next three nights. I stayed back at the hotel to rest and write a little, since the day had involved even more walking than normal.
Dinner was probably my favorite of the whole trip. It was called Ristorante Cin Cin and Jeff, our travel agent, knew the owner. We were served by the friendliest of managers and quite the dishes, too! Octopus and an exotic casserole for appetizers, followed by a moist rice that I’ve already forgotten the name to, and delicious native pasta. It was my favorite meal probably because not only the excuisite cuisine, but the newness of the food and the local dish that it was.
