Palermo - the city of "OMG it's HOT!!!"

Nathan writing: Monday we headed out to the largest city in Sicily, Palermo. We had the goal of seeing as much as we could. We had help though. A good friend of Kim's aunt and uncle, Tatiana, was awesome to be our translator and tour guide. Thank you so much Tatiana.
We first drove up to Monreale, a cathedral the overlooks the city. Inside we could see the grand architecture that you would expect in many cathedrals. The coolest part of this one was the tile work on the floors, and actually seeing a Sicilian hand-cutting new tile for restoration. We also hiked (yes, hiked) up the stairs to the upper levels of Monreale. (See pictures)
After Monreale, we went to downtown Palermo for lunch. We found this little place which didn't look much from the outside, but inside it was exactly what you would expect to see in a little Italian Restaurant. Our food was just as expected, Excellent!!! Luckily, Tatiana was there to make the ordering process a bit easier. Being that there were 16 of us there and no one in the restaurant spoke English.
After lunch we headed to The Capuchin Catacombes where many (probably 1,000) Sicilians from as far back as 1599 were hanging from the walls, yes, hanging. Most of them were no more than skeletons and clothes, but some of them had been preserved so well they still had skin and hair. It was quite disgusting and a little creepy, but facinating at the same time. No pictures were allowed so you will need to ask us to see the pamphlet we bought if you are interested.
Heading out of the Catacombs, we ventured to see some of the sites in Palermo. We had to find parking first, and everywhere in Sicily it is a nightmare for two large vans. We finally were guided to a spot by a Sicilian "Parking Attendant" (basically this guy was getting people parked on the street and making sure no one else could park there unless they paid him). We then walked to San Domenico church and were able to get out of the heat and see some more incredible architecture.
We then began walking, and came to the place known as Quattro Canti (Four Corner). This is the place where the four major districts of Palermo meet. A crazy intersection where a flood of cars and mopeds cross.
Less then a block down from that, we come to Piazza Vergogna (Square of Shame). Here there is a fountain with statues depicting unclothed figures showing it all to the world. I found it funny that a group of Politizia (Police) were standing right next to the fountain. Then I found out that they were protecting a dignitary who was inside.
We then continued walking down the streets and were able to see two theaters. One of them was the largest one in Europe. Then we stopped for some much needed Gelato before walking back to the vans and coming home.