Cinque Fotografie-Day 1 Cefalù/Palermo

We wrapped an eventful time in Sicily as we now prepare to head to Italy's mainland.

We had a great night on the northern coastal town of Cefalú. The views from our hotel room were spectacular although the wind was unusually strong, evoking memories of my days in Wyoming.

Around 5:30 this morning, I was wondering who on earth would be moving furniture around at such an early time of day. It turns out that the answer was Mother Nature. When we went to breakfast we observed several deck tables and chairs being whisked across the floor into a big pile. It was pretty comical to watch although it also disrupted the vibe of serenity that I imagine is the norm here.

After breakfast we headed on the 90-minute journey to the Palermo Airport to drop off our rental car. That went pretty smoothly for the most part.. We weighed options on how to get to the ferry terminal, and we opted for the bus as we has considerable spare time and it was less expensive.

We managed to board the bus shortly before the sky let loose with torrents of rain which we grateful to dodge. When we arrived at our stop, we looked for a place to get lunch. The server was quite friendly, and he was excited to learn that we lived in Portland and he told us that he loved The Simpsons (generic Springfield) and we showed him a photo of the Ned Flanders Pedestrian Bridge. It turns out the he was also a fan of basketball ball and that he loved our team and Damian Lillard.

After lunch we walked with our packs for about a mile to the ferry terminal. Our first task was to find the ticket counter to check in. Let's just say that several security agents gave us conflicting directions and the one benefit is that I was able to get in my steps goal. We checked in at the counter and then realized that we had another two and a half hours before we would be able to board the ferry bound for Napoli.

Unlike ferry terminals that I've experienced in Washington state or for cruise lines, there really was no seating area. We wandered over near our ferry and we were scolded by a security guard who told us that we were too early.

We were able to board a few hours before we departed from Palermo. We did check out the dining area and the antipasto plate was quite good. I ordered a white fish dish with vegetables and Jim C ordered spaghetti. For some reason Jim's spaghetti never arrived; the server thought that Jim had canceled the order- another one of our lost in translation moments.

Despite that error, we had a decent dinner. At this writing, we are in our stateroom that is equipped with bunk beds and a full bathroom.

It's time to call it a night. Buona notte from the Tyrrhenian Sea. 💞Читать далее