Cefalu, Sicily (Italy)

With noting on the flight schedule, I woke up early today and drove (with Charlie W.) over to the town of Cefalu. It is located between Palermo and Tindari on the north coast of Sicily (it actually has a Club Med!). Our primary purpose was to go to Mass in the 900 year old Cathedral. Despite being in Italian, the service was great - the artwork and architecture in the background was also a highlight. Afterwards, we had lunch in a restaurant on the waterfront - I had the Fish Menu (swordfish, pasta, etc.). We continued to walk around for a few more hours. As we were getting ready to leave the little town, we stopped into a souvenir shop that had an adjacent bar. We ended up chatting with a couple from Scotland for a few hours - they have a vacation home nearby. It was a good conversation and we enjoyed their company along with the local wine. Just before dusk, we headed towards home. We could see a pretty church on the hill overlooking town, so we decided to try to get up there. After a few aborted attempts, we located the correct road. It turned out to be the Gibilmanna mountaintop shrine - a very interesting building... It had a great view of the whole Tirrenean Sea. After looking inside (they were having a Mass), we found a little nearby gift shop. I bought the girls some scented Rosary beads. While I was waiting for Charlie by the car outside, a little boy approached me - he had some questions about a green prickly ball (some kind of fruit). He kept saying "castagna" (which I later learned meant chestnut - after I broke open the green prickly part!). He gave me one and I took it with me when we left. On the way home we also stopped in the city of Enna. In the dark, it wasn't very interesting - might be worth another trip someday. Got back to the Bachelor Housing for NAS Sigonella by 2100.  Another interesting day in Sicily!