Anne, Laura, and I (the three piccolo ladies in Rome!) traveled to Sicily for four days, returned to Rome for a day, and then went to Istanbul! Our trip was a great combination of relaxation (Sicily) and go-go-go sightseeing (Turkey), and although it certainly had it's share of ups and downs - as any ten-day trip would - it was definitely an unforgettable experience.
On Friday morning, we flew into Palermo, the capital of the island of Sicily, and one of the biggest cities in Italy. It was a unique mix of tropical beauty and metropolitan bustle, and I honestly wasn't the biggest fan, so I don't have a ton to write about it, especially since we only spent one night there, and the hostel was kind of secluded on the edge of town (although in a beautiful location). We took the bus up to the mountaintop town of Monreale, which had great views of Palermo and the sea, and also had a cathedral, filled with mosaics that illustrated biblical stories, built in a rivalry between Monreale and Palermo. Friday morning, we took the train to Cefalu', a small and very picturesque beach town on the northern coast of the island, where we would be spending the rest of our time in Sicily. On the train, we met two older women from Toronto who were traveling all over Italy. After we introduced ourselves, they said the four words that make me love anyone, "Oh, we LOVE Chicago!" Well, me too! Let's be friends!
Our B&B in Cefalu' was amazing - way to go with that booking, Anne! We had a huge room with a couch, immaculate bathroom, and two balconies, plus an ocean-view terrace for our breakfast and an awesome manager who loved that he could speak to us in Italian. Our first day there, we explored the Duomo, which dominates the main piazza in the small town, ate lunch in the square, and decided to climb La Rocca (literally The Rock), which is this very random, and very tall mountain/hill that dominates Cefalu's landscape (see pictures below). On our way up, we met one of the Canadian women from the train on her descent, and throughout my struggle up the rock, I had to keep reminding myself that if she could make it, I could too! La Rocca contains the ruins of ancient fortress walls (seriously, I couldn't think of a better place for a fortress if I tried), churches, a Greek temple, and at the top, a castle. The first half of the climb had zig-zagging stairs, but once we reached the Temple of Diana, we were literally left to our own devices to climb through vegetation on very steep and barely-existing foot trails. At points, I was literally on all fours, slipping on rocks, and climbing what seemed like an almost vertical trail. However, after much huffing and puffing, we finally got to the top! That night, after a fancy dinner (thanks, Mr. Witt!), Anne and I grabbed a well-deserved drink at an Irish pub where a bunch of locals were watching a soccer game, and after only one day in the town, we both knew that we had stumbled onto a great choice of vacation spot in Cefalu.
Sunday was beach day! Although not quite warm enough to go swimming, we played in the sand and splashed around in the water, and just enjoyed the wonderful atmosphere and totally relaxed setting. We strolled through the town, grabbed some gelato, and walked along the boardwalk for some great photo opportunities. A little later, we sat in the marina along with the whole town (or at least it seemed), and I can honestly say I've never seen a happier place - families and friends mingling and laughing and enjoying the sunset and the simple things in life. I feel like that really summarizes my time in Cefalu, and it was just my style - relaxing, enjoying the little things, experiencing amazing beauty, and getting in some laughs along the way. Cefalu was one of the coolest places I've traveled to, and I absolutely could have spent the whole week there. However, we had big plans for the second half of the week - Turkey! Since this post is long and rambling and unorganized enough as it is, and since the wine I had with dinner is making me sleepy (sigh), I'll leave that for another entry.
Thanks for reading, everyone! That is, if there's anyone left reading this - if you are, I strongly commend you for making it this far!
Duomo and the Piazza in Cefalu'
some of the ruins while climbing La Rocca
view from the castle at the top!
view of the town - you can see the Duomo to the left of La Rocca. Please note how high we had to climb (and how steep it was!) to reach the top, and be impressed!
the marina
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