Cefalu, Sicily

It's pronounced CHEH fay LOO. Hard one to say, but Cefalu is easy on the eyes. It's set on a rocky point sailors call a "head" hence the name of Greek origin. (Cephalus)

The train up to Messina was beautiful. It hugged the coast, so we made sure to sit on the right side of the train going north. We changed trains in Messina but had time to grab an espresso before we left and then settled in for a 2-hour ride to Cefalu. It also hugged the coast but we switched from the Ionian Sea on the east side of Sicily for the Tyhrennian Sea on the north side.

We had leftover pizza and a half a bottle of Etna red for lunch. For dessert, we had a couple more almond pastries and tried an amazing new dessert (for us) full of sweet pistachio butter. I have no idea what it's called but I may have to go back to Taormina just for that.

Between guide books, novels on our e-readers, and lunch, the 3 1/2 hour trip went pretty quickly. This is why we prefer train travel.

Cefalu is a small town and not too busy this time of year. We absolutely love it here. It's a great change of pace from Taormina, which has hordes of clueless tour groups clogging the streets. Our apartment here, and its host, are amazing. He left wine and coffee and lots of recommendations for us. He personally greeted us to show us around the apartment. That's really rare these days.

We easily saw all the sights in a day and a half. The Cathedral has incredible mosaics behind the altar. It was built by Normans, who settled from northern France, and they were only a couple generations removed from their Viking forefathers.

We had warm, sunny days here and wandering the narrow streets was fun. Eating at restaurants all the time can be a drag, so we had a picnic with the wine and the meat and cheese we brought. We didn't need it on the train.

Last night's restaurant was so amazing, I made a reservation for tonight when I paid the bill. We sat right by the kitchen and were fascinated by the calm demeanor and professionalism of the four chefs. I opted for gluten free pasta with Bottarga. Hoo Boy. That was a new one. It's a fish roe pouch that's a Sicilian delicacy. It's quite "fishy " but I ate it all. Move over, anchovies. It was still perhaps our best meal in Sicily and half price of what we paid in Taormina.

The next night we went back and sat at the same seats. The head chef recognized us and comped us a starter of panelle (chickpea flour fritters) and cazzille (mashed potato fritters), both gluten free. This meal was even better. Cefalu is wonderful but 2 nights is plenty and for those with little time, you can do it on a day trip.

Tomorrow, we go to Palermo, Sicily's largest city on a 10 am train.

More photos and videos are here.
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