Monreale: More Than the Cathedral

Captivating woman at a coffee shop in Monreale

I promised a post on the Monreale Cathedral, but I have decided to post instead about the town. I found a wonderful coffee shop with the best cappuccino. The lovely woman who works making the espresso and cappuccino is a real pro, and the coffee was exquisite ... just like I like it - strong, not bitter. We could not communicate very well as she only spoke Italian, and there I was trying to speak to her in English and Spanish. We used a lot of hand signals and smiles. She took me over to the cashier stand, where her mother proudly showed me photos of her granddaughter, the daughter of the one who makes the coffee. The shot above I took candidly. It is my favorite of her.


The Cathedral at Monreale is the highlight for many people. It was very crowded and not really to my liking. The mosaics were impressive, but it was very dark inside. I preferred the Cathedral in Palermo, but Monreale is a charming, tiny town. 

Elegant gentleman outside the Cathedral

I love this shot of a local walking around the town. He has great posture and a jaunty cap. The drivers were crazy, almost running us down as we took photos and gawked. Here is a shot of our group from the Holland America Eurodam.

Holland America Eurodam group tour "Palermo & Monreale"

This is a shot of the view we had from the hill by the Cathedral.

View from Monreale

Promise Cathedral photos tomorrow. 


P.S. Can you find me in the first photo? I am barely visible in the mirror taking the photo!