Tuesday Night and Wednesday Morning ... and Afternoon ...

Last night’s restaurant, recommended by our host at the Hotel Porta di Castro, was called Al Vicolo. You could translate it as “In the Sidestreet” or, if you were unkind, “In the Alley”. It was tucked away in the corner of a square in the middle of very rundown bit of town, just round the corner from the ruined church, in a tangle of small streets with people sitting out on chairs in the streets and kids running around. In the daytime it looked like this.

We have been given numerous warnings about looking after your belongings in Palermo’s fair city, especially when out at night. Always wear your bag across your body to avoid bag-snatching; handbag carriers should be away from the pavement edge, for the same reason; make sure pockets are fastened if possible; it goes on and on. So we were just a tad paranoid about going out to eat at Al Vicolo. When we got there, the restaurant had spread across half the small square, the darkness hid the scruffiness and what lighting there was just made it all look so much more appealing.

We were greeted by Gianni who gave Phil a printed menu as if he would choose for both of us. I managed to get another copy, but I shouldn’t have bothered. After we persuaded Gianni to speak to us in Italian rather than English, he explained to us that this was more or less the winter menu and we should ignore it, as in any case it changed from one evening to the next according to what was available. He then gave us a mouth-watering description of what was on offer tonight. Later I heard him do the same explanation in French, English and Spanish, each time seemingly fluent and certainly fast.

 For 12€ you can choose 2 dishes from antipasti, primi piatti and secondi piatti. Drinks are extra but for two of us we paid a total of 31€; that’s 24€ for food, 2€ for mineral water, 1€ for coffee (only Phil had coffee) which meant that the perfectly acceptable house wine cost us 4€ and we had 2 mezzo litro jugs!!

The starters were excellent: a mix of caponato, chick pea fritters and I’m not sure what else for Phil and sardine balls in a sweet and sour sauce with onions for me.







We followed that with a mound of small fried fish and seafood for Phil and pasta with swordfish, shrimps, mullet and courgettes for me. Very good indeed. And we managed to get back to the hotel safely afterwards. 



This morning, more food: breakfast, which included coffee, pastries, cheese and ham toasties and a plate of fruit. No wonder we didn’t need any lunch. When we protested that we only wanted one toastie we were told, “Bisogna mangiare” – “You need to eat”.

Here is a small example of the decor in the foyer of our hotel. 

Towards the end of the morning we went out to catch the number 389 bus up the hill to Monreale. We remembered just in time that you need to buy your ticket before getting on the bus and validate it in a clicker machine as you get on. However, I am firmly convinced that most of those who got on the bus had no ticket to validate. When the bus opened its doors at a bus stop people piled on through ALL the doors; very few went past the validating machine. 

This seemed to be accepted as normal, although I understand that they could have been fined if an inspector had got on. Also, when I refer to this as a bus I use the term loosely. It was more like a sardine can on wheels, clearly going for the record on how many people you can squeeze into a bus. Coming home was much the same, except that this time we had seats, as we were among the first onto the bus. We should like to take issue with the guide books as well as they failed to point out that you catch the return bus at the same stop where you got off on the outward journey. There were rather a lot of confused tourists unsure where to catch the bus!!!
 
Our purpose in going to Monreale was to visit the cathedral there, built by King William II in competition with the Archbishop of Palermo, who was having the cathedral there built at the same time, end of the 12^th century. William won and produced a fine cathedral.

Inside it is decorated with brilliant mosaics, almost certainly by Greek and Byzantine craftsmen. There are scenes from Bible stories all around the interior but high up on the wall, with the idea that it would make the people raise their eyes towards heaven and make them aspire to go there eventually. Here in the 21^st century, I overheard one lady say that she had intended to bring her binoculars but had forgotten them. 
 
No need for binoculars. You can see Noah’s Ark very clearly.
 
You can also very clearly see the Arabic influence in the mosaic floors, the patterns on the walls and in the very arches that support the amazing roof.

 

 
The guidebook said it was worth visiting the town as well but it didn’t appeal to us immediately and it was far too hot to do much more than admire the classic cars parked in the square around the cathedral.

 And, of course, the wonderful panoramic view of greater Palermo.


 
 Then back to our hotel for a rest, before venturing out for another gastronomic adventure this evening.