Sporting Club Cefalu

... we didn't get to use because it was overcast. With no beach and no gelati festival we thought we would get our revenge and get our gelato from a local shop. Damn it was still good.
With Shona's sweet tooth satisfied we still had a couple of hours remaining before our train back to Palermo, so we decided to climb La Rocca, up an enormous stair case (The Salita Saraceno) winding up through three tiers of the cities walls, a good 30 ...

... Samaritan done that for us, too? We probably would have done better to just double-park somewhere, or leave the car on the sidewalk! We found the second fountain just a couple of blocks from there. This one wasn't working and looked a bit neglected. Jim stayed with the car while I took the pictures (yup, more penises), and then we headed out of town. I don't know what it is, but I'm not enjoying driving through the cities. Give me the country roads, any day ...

... The complete trip took about four hours. After that we toured the city of Taormina, also by the sea. Then it was back to our hotel where many attempted to call home. ( The phone cards that the delegates purchased here have been a challenge to say the least!) Right now we are waiting on a "city official" to welcome us to Cefalu then we will be off to our hotel (and the kids hope the pool or the beach.) I ...

Okay, okay, enough ragging on poor old Sicilia. Granted, the island has been beautiful. Challenging, not only physically but gastronomically. I've suffered 3 major bouts of food poisoning, and Ainaz has had just one, but threw up as many times as my 3 episodes combined. We've sworn off meat, any water that doesn't come from a grocery store shelf, and pretty much anything else that doesn't unwrap or peel. Personally, I'm loving the cereal. The selection leaves some to be ...

Today I took a day trip to Cefalu. Cefalu is a small sea side town half way between Palermo and Messina. I randomly looked this city up after seeing a postcard picture in town and decided I had tos ee this. The town has a long history. On the hill behind the city is the ruins of a Temple of Diana built by the ...

... rocks. It was so beautiful and tranquil and i just wanted to lay there for the whole day, but seeing as we had so much to take in, we couldnt hang around for too long. We stopped off for something to eat at one of the restaurants along the beach and had a lovely pizza with plum tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and freshly shaved parmesan - YUM! We made our way through the cobbled streets which ...

... to eating dinner as I want to eat couscous, for which Trapani is famous - they even have a couscous cooking competition every year. The couscous obviously is a remnant from Arab times but I don't know why it's only cooked in Trapani and nearby, but nowhere else in Sicily. However the Sicilian influence is felt as it is made with with seafood - it's a lovely golden colour and is served with 2 fillets of fish draped over, and a bowl of reddish fish stock in a bowl on the side, which you ...

... taking naps. I had no sleep pattern. After 3 days I got onto a more regular schedule. Our first stop was Cefalu, a beautifully dramatic city with a big rocky hill overlooking the city (see photo of view from top). Stayed there for 2 days til the winds settled down. From there to Trapani on the NW corner of Sicily. Spent 2 days there as well. We celebrated my friend Alison's birthday with a nice dinner out, probably at a mafia-run ...

Day 137 - 138, 21st - 22nd October 2006, Cefalu, Sicily: making friends through vehicular misfortune On our way to Cefalu we passed through some more amazing mountainous scenery and finally hit the north coast of Sicily some time in the afternoon. On checking in we encountered the resident crazy, Guiseppe, but more about him later. We had some lunch and a siesta and then headed into Cefalu village for a wander and some ...

... book did have some weak parts, but it was a realistic portrayal of one man's descent into insanity as he succumbs to his guilt. The train conductor on the train was quite nice. He told me which platform to change at when I arrived in Piraineto. I managed to catch an earlier train to Palermo but ended up waiting for the same Cefalu train anyway. Finally got to Cefalu ... it's quite beautiful here. I walked around town and along the ocean. There was a big beach with ...