Yesterday we left Palermo for our next stop, the village of Petralia Soprana, which is close to the centre of Sicily.  For our last night in Palermo we went to a traditional puppet show – dialogue entirely in Italian which was a bit of a challenge but the humour was clear all the same.  Then we headed off to a restaurant others in our group had tried previously which seemed to be the happening place that night so we joined the queue outside with a glass of white wine and people watched for a bit.

Early start the next morning for Monreale, which is about 20 minutes outside Palermo and famous for its Norman Duomo – which also has amazing mosaics and a massive mosaic of Christ Pantocrator above the altar.  The church was built in 1174 using christian and muslim craftsmen and is a real fusion of christian stories told through the mosaics and arabic design elements.  After we visited the cloisters next door which again were a fusion of christian and arabic design.

Then off to Cefalu for a short exploration of the town and on to Sant’Ambrogio nearby for lunch at a restaurant with a terrace overlooking the sea.  Replete and happy it was onto the minibuses for the hour and a half trip to Petralia Soprana.  Our hotel is a restored palazzo – not grand but comfortable and most importantly modern bathrooms! Petralia only has 7000 or so residents and very few hotels – tourism is not a big thing in this area.

Similarly Sant’Ambrogio, which only 5 km from Cefalu, which is very touristy, has very little tourism infrastructure.  Our guide Carmellina is working with other locals to try and develop more tourism in the village to create jobs.

Last night it was more food – a banquet of hot and cold antipasti at a local restaurant.    After which we waddled back to the hotel and bed!

Internet here is weak so not sure when I will be able to post pictures.