Day 4 (4/8) Palermo

This being Easter day, almost everything is closed in the city. We wanted to get a feel for an Easter mass so we walked into a church a block from the hotel and stayed for the beginning of mass. The church was packed, but other than that the service was unremarkable. Then, we made a second attempt to see the magnificent cathedral in Monreale. This attempt also failed. After waiting at the bust stop for about 30 minutes in a growing crowd of tourists and locals, we gave up. You would think that with a tourist attraction like Monreale cathedral, the city would increase the number of busses going there…
We walked to an antique market called Mercado delle Pulci expecting it to be closed, but several stalls were actually open and we made two purchases – souvenirs from Palermo. Al got two big Murano crystals from some old chandeliers and Bo got an antique key. After that we wanted to see a 12th century palace called Zisa. It’s one of the series of palaces built by Sicilian kings on the outskirts of the city and used for hunting, relaxing and meeting mistresses. It was quite a walk from the center, and we had to stop a few times to take shelter because the weather changed every few minutes. It pored for 5-10 minutes and then it would become sunny and warm, and then pour again. When we finally got to Zisa, which is now in the middle of a lower working class neighborhood, there was no sign, no information, nothing. We had to figure out how to go around to finally find an entrance to the surrounding park so we could get close to the building. The palace itself is closed to the public. It looks magnificent from the outside, and from a description in the book, it is also very interesting inside, but there is no way to see it.
Our general observation about Palermo is that they could care less about tourists. They go about their business, but don’t put any thought into accommodating the needs and interests of visitors. People are very nice and try to help when you ask, but very few speak English so getting adequate information is difficult.
Afternoon adventure: We had noticed that the local McDonalds had a sign stating free WiFi. So we thought we would use it. Al ordered coffee, paid the .8€ then asked for the WiFi password. After 5 minutes of discussion we understood that we must have an Italian cell phone to get the password. Al still waiting for coffee. A person shows up with a 5lb bag of coffee beans and gives it to the counterman. Shortly Al gets his ½ ounce of coffee.