Palermo

 We usually arrive at least a day early for the workshops so that we have time to catch up on sleep and have a little buffer built in for airline problems.  Since our travel went well, we had all day in Palermo before our meeting this evening.

The hotel had a fabulous buffet for breakfast.  Any place that has an entire table of desserts at breakfast Is fine with me.  The also had food you might typical    think of as lunch such as arancini.  And let me just say, we’re being cheated at home on strawberries because the ones here are so flavorful and juicy.




Five of us caught a cab to Montreal, an area that overlooked the city, to visit the Cattedral di Montreale.  Built in 1172, it is one of the greatest examples of Norman architecture and contains beautiful examples of glass mosaic work on the walls and floors.  Gold fills the church on both walls and ceilings.  We thought 2 hours would be plenty to tour it but we could have easily have stayed for a third hour just to see everything the church had to offer.





















Our cab driver dropped two of us off at the Mercato Ballaro, where a daily street market sells both produce on meats, some ready to take home to be cooked, while others were ready to be eaten and sidewalk tables.  We wondered through, sampling bruschetta that was given to us to try, and arancini that was warmed up for my meal to go.  This market was bustling but we never felt unsafe.  It was a lovely stroll to see how the locals buy their groceries.














We took an afternoon rest before meeting our group to walk a short distance for a drink and snacks at a nearby rooftop bar.  About half of the group were new to us, so having a little time to mingle was nice.  We returned to our hotel for a delicious dinner, starting with vegetable risotto for a starter, and a beef filet for our main.  We ended the meal with a seven layer chocolate cake that was light and delicious.  




Still tired from our travels, we went right to bed once the meal was complete. 

Tomorrow: The bakery





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