Tue. 10-24-2023. Monreale

 I am so lucky to have the freedom to throw a pack on my back and walk away to whatever is next. Who has that kind of freedom. Freedom to discover more of this amazing world.  

I decided to not take a bus and walk the mostly super urban route 2 hours to Monreale.  And the time estimate from the guide was close to accurate, which reassures me somehow.


I made symbolic stop at the Palermo Cathedral and started walking.  It was about 90 minutes of this;



Then the topography changed slightly (maybe dramatically) and I was on side roads up the hill to Monreale.  I made on little stop for a strong espresso and a custard cookie thingy, for €2 ($9.75 at Buchon)  The coffee here is serious rocket fuel   



Looking back to Palermo. Yeah it was uphill, and a fire affected (not effected) the air quality.  


Cute little town by the way, and still very touristy, but not oppressively so. My first stop was the Monreale Cathedral where I cornered a priest and shoved the translation on my phone in his face (in the nicest way possible) asking for my stamp. He had it right there and Shazam, I already have two stamps on the Camino.





There is some sort of siesta thing here in the afternoon I am not figuring out yet.  I went out at 3:00 PM to shop and everything was closed. So I read the Godfather a bit and then had a Negroni to settle into the afternoon. By that point the town had come back to life. I have to figure out supplies for tomorrow, because Thursday is the real deal, as I head out into the hinterlands.  
I met one guy briefly on my walk today through Palermo, who is doing the Camino, and another guy at lunch who had his guide book out.  So there are others out there doing the same thing I’m doing. Maybe there will be more. 


Local Sicilian wine.  Two liters for about €3.00 and it’s not rotgut, it’s fruity and light and it gets better with some air. There you have it. Thanks for your comments but I haven’t figured out how to respond.  

Will someone from the pool give Richard the URL PLEASE.  


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