Sicily Day 10 Goodbye Menfi, Hello Palermo

Today we begin what is our last stop in Sicily. We saved Palermo for last since it would be easy to check it out on our way out avoiding much of a ride to the airport in the afternoon tomorrow. Traffic here is a walk in the park though from what I have experienced. Only in the main cities do things get a bit hectic and even then it’s nothing compared to NYC.

Our morning began with Monica being a little sick from over indulging the day before, and myself saying goodbye to our new friend Theo, who was at every turn during our time in Menfi. It was a blessing for both of us, since his wife was sick, and it gave him someone to hang out with. For us we enjoyed the great energy and enthusiasm he had. Theo is one of those types of people who just has a passion for life. He was in the middle of a two month tour of southern Italy with his wife, the career wine enthusiast. Theo as well was a well educated former professional rugby player who just is a very successful and inspiring person. He was born in Jamaica, is English by cultural tradition, lives in Canada and has traveled the world in the various paths of life he has walked. It was just a great time at the winery, and by the end our expectations of Planeta Estates Menfi far exceeded our expectations.

After breakfast we checked out and made the final leg of our scenic driving, first through the remaining hills of Sicily, and then a 30 minute leg along the northern coastline of Sicily into Palermo. The city was hopping and we saw they are having a BBQ which excited us. In addition while Monica rested, I made my way to the tomb of St. Benedict the Moor. He is the other saint I came to see and lay some special holy cards I made on his tomb.

St. Benedict the Moor turned out to be the highlight of my day. I unfortunately walked for over an hour and 15 minutes to the shrine due to miscalculations, and I had already parked my car in the garage for the day. Upon arriving the shrine was closed as expected, but I thought it was going to reopen, I again was wrong. A man was leaving who seemed to belong to the property of some sort. We had a language barrier though, but he eventually understood I wanted to see St. Benedict. I was told to go ring the convent door bell. Upon my arrival, there was a man sitting with two other people that kept telling me the place was closed. I kept trying to emphasize I needed to see St. Benedict today since I was leaving tomorrow to go back to America. It seemed like the man literally was shooing me away, but I didn’t want to run the risk of leaving and not being able to find someone to let me in the next day, should I arrive at an off time.

The man finally said I will be right back. He came back in his habit and revealed to me he was a Franciscan priest of the property. He took me to St. Benedict the Moor when he discovered I had a devotion for him and I was trying to share it with others back in the states. After saying a prayer and touching my cards to the relics of St. Benedict he took the 4 of us to the room that St. Benedict slept in. From there we went to the little museum dedicated to him, and the priest shared some more of St. Benedict’s life with us. It was that intimate experience I am all too often privileged to be in the right place at the right time for. In addition to all of this, when they understood I walked there, they gave me a ride to the bus station, but from here I just decided to walk since it was only 20 minutes and I was trying to see more of the city.

The final highlight of this leg was a chance encounter with a man i had seen walking to the shrine. We both stopped and said hello to each other since the odds of 2 strangers crossing paths twice like this was unlikely. I was even more fascinated that this man resembled St. Benedict the Moor with his dark skin and flat nose. As we spoke he revealed to me he was from Senegal and was here studying to be a cook. I shared a St. Benedict the Moor card with him, since St. Benedict was patron of cooks. It was a truly special moment that topped the moment off. We parted ways and I gave him my information if he wanted to stay in touch, but my new friend Jamaal was definitely a great short conversation that I wish I could’ve learned more about him, just like our friend Theo the past days.

Monica and I closed the night out at the Palermo Cathedral for mass, a nice meal at a local restaurant where the chef was filled with so much joy while he was cooking and for myself it was the end of a great time in Sicily. I plan to finally catch a sunset tomorrow down by the harbor, something that has eluded me this entire trip, despite being on the shore line pretty much my entire trip.

For more pictures of Palermo and our day you can visit here.

The chef at Pastando in Palermo was a joy to watch. Simply dishes, but he literally smiled while he made every dish. There was something soothing about this experience.