Mamma Mia!  What a day we had!  The fun didn't stop until after 10 PM!!!  But it was all brilliant and I enjoyed almost every second.  I do have to say that if you come to Sicily, be prepared for heat and humidity.  Coming from Florida I figured I would be just fine.  I still sweated like a pig today.  Sicilian's don't have A/C like we do.  Thank goodness we got some sea breezes.  Despite that I think I will be washing out clothes every night.  I am just getting too hot and stinky :-). It's all worth it though.

We started our day fabulously eating breakfast outside looking out to the Tyrrhenian Sea with the cool breeze ruffling through my hair.  It was gorgeous.  Here they did omelets for breakfast and it was the most different omelet I've seen.  They grilled the "bacon" which was more like a thin slice of ham and laid it and the cheese on top of the omelet.  It tasted really good.  The cappuccino wasn't up to the standard of the ones at the hotel in , however.  That place spoilt me.  Here you got it from a machine.  It was way too strong.  I had to add milk to make it palatable for me.  Then I found out they would make you a cappuccino so I did that for my second one.  It was no better than the machine one.  I added milk to it as well.  But hey, at least I could get one.  It was all good.

At 9 we met Luca at the pool for our meeting.  We welcomed three more ladies to our family.  One had flown in last night from the States and the other two had been in Malta and then Palermo.  They were all friends and were doing this trip together.  It was interesting to see that we have two published authors with us.  One lady writes murder mysteries so I want to stay on Phyllis' good side.  John is the other and he writes a different types of intrigue books.  He has been with us since the pre-trip with his wife Ellen.

Luca introduced himself as well.  He has done acting, lived in England, and is currently living in his van exploring nature.  During the lockdown he started writing songs and is working on an album.  He looks like his is going to be quite the character.  I think we are going to laugh a lot which is always a good thing.

After going over our itinerary for the next couple of days, we all broke away to potty one last time.  I ran up to the room and changed into my hiking shoes because I wouldn't have a chance before we wanted to tackle La Rocca.  The path to it was in the old city and that was where today's walk was ending.  It didn't make sense to walk back to the hotel and then back to the beginning of the path.

When we reconvened, our local guide Gabriella was ready to lead us on our walking tour of the historical center of town.  She was wonderful.  She knew her stuff and you could feel her enthusiasm for what she was doing.  I was thrilled when I found out she would be our guide in Palermo as well.

We ambled along the water admiring the Tyrrhenian Sea.  The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day for a walk.  Gabriella shares some general information about the city as we walked.  We already knew that Sicily had been invaded many, many times.  She likened the city to an onion as it had many layers of history.  The Phoenicians were the first to conquer the area.  Then the Greeks came.  Then there were Romans, Arabs, Normans, Spanish.... You get the idea.   The first human building they believe was the Temple of Diana built up on La Rocco.  It has been dated to the 9th century B.C. 

Tyrrhenian Sea at Cefalu

Fishing use to be the main source of income until the 1950s.  Now tourism feeds the economy.  It is one of the largest tourist draws on the island.  People co me from all over Italy to enjoy the beaches here.  With the cool sea breeze, it is a good place to beat the heat of mainland Italy.

Everywhere you look you see three legs called Trinacria or Triskeles.  This is the symbol for the island and is even found on its flag.  Although there are variations, usually it has a Medusa face in the center with three bent legs around it.  Sometimes it has wings on the sides as ears and some have wheat.  And since the face is Medusa, there are two pairs of tangled snakes above the head and below the chin.  Since Medusa turned people into stone, it is thought that this is a reference to Mount Edna.  It has three legs because they represent the the corners of the island.

Once we hit the historical center, the streets narrowed and we walked between tall buildings with shops, homes, and eating establishments.  It was very similar to what we had seen in Lecce.  Gabriella told us it was actually Norman Arab architecture.  Or to be more correct Norman architecture with Arab features.  Cefalù is one of  the many Norman towns in Sicily.  Basically the Normans were professional conquerers.  According to Gabriella they were originally Vikings who conquered their way through Europe.  However, they were a bit more willing to live and let live than some of Sicily's other conquerors.  Others like the Spanish forced the people to convert to their religion, leave, or die.

As we walked we came upon a wood shop.  The artist Roberto had done restoration work on the doors of the Cathedral.  He works with the roots of olive trees.  He invited us into his shop so we could see what the inside of these old buildings looked like.  I loved the wooden beam ceiling.  The rooms were tiny and filled with his work.  It was fascinating to see what all he had created.  It was also fun to discover that Roberto's cousin was famous.  He did the soundtracks for one of the Star Wars movies and for "Up."  He also worked on music for the TV series "Lost" and "Fringe."  Pretty nifty!

We wandered a bit further to the Lavatorio  which was a medieval laundry.  Fresh water from the river ran through it and the women would gather here to wash their clothes.  The fresh water poured into the shallow pools from several lion head spouts;  small raised wedges poolside gave the women something to scrub their clothes against.  It was a bit more modern than beating your clothes against the rocks at the river.  This public laundry was actually used  through the late 1970s.  

The Lavatorio

Legend has it that a beautiful virile shepard fell in love with a beautiful nymph.  He kept trying and trying to get her attention but she ignored him.  Finally she relented and fell in love with him.  Alas, he had a fickle heart and was unfaithful.  Angered that he had betrayed her, she killed him.  But after he was dead, she regretted killing him and cried enough tears to fill the river which fed the laundry.  Many of the myths around here feature women killing the unfaithful men.  Hmmmmm......

Our next stop was Piazza del Duomo and Cefalu Cathedral.  The huge, imposing Cathedral captures your eyes immediately.  Built as a fortress church, you can immediately tell it is completely different from the Lecce Cathedral.  This is no baroque church.  It is a Norman church constructed with Arab features.  It was built between 1131 and 1240.  Truly you look at it and cannot tell that it is a church.  It looks more like a fortress.  It even had the slits for shooting arrows.  But if you think about it, fortress churches made complete sense.  They were large and could hold many people.  They could worship and be protected here.

Cefalu Cathedral

The Cathedral has an interesting history.  In 1131 Norman King Roger II was caught in a terrible storm in his boat which ran aground in Cefalu.  Roger II was so grateful that he had survived the ordeal that he decided to build the Cathedral here.  He also wanted to move his capital here.  This church would hopefully pave the way.  Unfortunately Roger II died before the Cathedral was completed.

The Cathedral may have been modest and stern on the outside, inside, it was beautiful.  It has a glittering mosaic of Jesus in the center that is beautiful.  It is done in Byzantine style which means every little thing has a meaning.  For example, Jesus has two locks of hair on his forehead.  That symbolizes the fact that he is both human and divine.  The mosaic is made from 24 carat gold which is astonishing.  This portion of the church is spectacular but the remainder is unfinished.

Inside Cefalu Catheral

We did notice something peculiar in the Cathedral—the stain glass windows.  They are NOT original.  They were an addition in 1992 that was quite controversial as they were very modern and  abstract.  The artist was from Palermo.  Some represent scenes from the Book of Genesis and others the last Judgement.  They aren't made of glass either but of recycled plastic.  Somehow that just didn't seem to go with this church.

We continued on our walking tour through more narrow streets and byways.  You had to keep your ears actively alert for cars, bikes, and motorcycles behind you.  They whipped through those narrow streets like daredevils.  I did enjoy walking through them though and thinking about what it must be like to live your life here.  It's so different from what I am use to.

Eventually we made our way to Porta Pescara which is one of the preserved gates of the city.  I particularly liked this one, affectionately known as the Fisherman's Gate, because through it you got a beautiful view of the sea perfectly framed in the doorway.  Just though the gate we saw a small clubhouse.  It was closed but Gabriella told us that this is where the wives of the fishermen meet.  They do sewing and embroidery.  You could see their work through the window.

After we walked through the gate we were officially on Il Molo which is the old port.  The views were here were glorious.  This harbor was the heartbeat of the fishing business.  When fishing vanished, it got very quiet.  They do hold a festival here though with some crazy competitions such as the slippery pole where the men of the town try to walk across a greased pole to capture the flag.  We admired the view and followed Gabriella to Bastione Marchiafava.  The Bastione is a 17th century fortification.  The outside is still very well preserved.  We didn't go inside.  On the terrace of the bastion you are suppose to be able to see the Aeolian Island.  Today it wasn't clear enough.  Despite that the view was really nice.  Plus the breeze felt great after the climb up.

The bastion ended our official touring portion of the day.  Gabrielle was meeting us tomorrow in Palermo for our walking tour there.  At this point everybody had to decide what they wanted to do until we met again at 5 PM for the optional trip to Castlebuono.  Four of us were going to hike La Rocco.  First, however, we wanted to grab some lunch.  When Phyllis heard we were hiking, she asked to join in.  First though she had to go change into hiking shoes.

Not too far from the Bastione we found a little bar that advertised gourmet Sicilian food and drinks.  We decided to give it a whirl.  I was glad we did.  It was very tasty and it was fast.  Doug and I split a sandwich with cheese and spicy salami on it.  It had a kick to it but I really liked it.  The beer washed it down really well, too.  Steve and Pam tried a different sandwich and they enjoyed theirs as well.

Just down the street I had spotted the gelato store that Rick Steves had suggested—Squagghia.  Their signature flavor was pistachio, almond, and sour cherry all mixed together. Doug and I both tried it.  He liked it better than I did.  From now on I'm sticking with Caffee.  Although I didn't care for the flavors, the gelato itself was creamy and thick and luscious.  We'll have to go back if we get a chance.

By the time we reached our meeting point with Phyllis , she was hiking up the street.  It was perfect timing.  We paid our entrance fee and headed up the trail.  In the beginning there were nice steps that made the hike uphill easier.  

The concrete steps then turned into a dirt trail until about the midway point.  Then you had a choice to see the Church of Sant'/Anna or head up to the castello.  We headed for the church.

It was small and certainly nothing fancy.  It dates back to the 9th or 10 century.  There was an old oven there as well as a couple of other buildings.  We ambled through these ruins for several minutes and then continued up the path to the Temple of Diana.  This temple dates back to the 4th century B.C.  It's actually thought to be the first human constructed building in Cefalu.  They believe it was built by an indigenous tribe back even before the Greeks came to the city.  The temple itself is a megalithic.  The stones are huge.  It reminded both Doug and I of Mycenae in Greece where they had the "Giant Walls."  You could see how carefully the various stones were placed, rather like puzzle pieces.

After a short break, we resumed our hike upward.  By this point the trail had become rather challenging.  You had to scramble over rocks, slip and slide over dirt on rock and do all of this on a steep grade.  One lady we passed told us that it was very hard.  Not what I wanted to hear!  It was bad but not as bad as she said.  I didn't look forward to the trip down though.  I hate going down.

Eventually I made it to the top.  Doug had beaten us all.  Steve was down with Phyllis helping her.  Pam had decided to stay a bit below the halfway point.  She had a bum knee and didn't want to push it too much.  Just as I reached the peak, Doug decided he needed to go help Steve and Phyllis.  I was left to wander the castello on my own.  The view was breathtaking (not that I had much breath after that hike). I had to wait until some German ladies s had moved out of the way before I could get pictures of the view.  I loved looking through the crenelated wall to see the town and the sea down below.

View from the Castello on La Rocca

Eventually we all made it up to the top.  We wandered around and saw a couple of different views.  We didn't have time to tarry much because we had to get down and ready for the optional trip.  Fortunately going down was faster than going up.  We made it in probably 30 minutes.  We picked up Pam along the way and beat feet back to the hotel.  

By this point I was exhausted and dirty.  I just wanted to take a clean shower.  I also needed to wash every stitch of clothing I had been wearing.  It was all drenched with sweet.  The hot shower felt really good.  I was a happy camper once I was all clean.

At 5 we met Luca for the optional trip and loaded up the van to ride up to Castlebuono.  The ride was beautiful and Luca shared information as we drove.  I had no clue that on Sicily they had their own language.  People speaking Sicilian are looked down upon as being less than those who speak Italian.  Interestingly enough Luca told us that the Normans actually used the Sicilian language in their poetry.  Obviously they appreciated it. 

The Castlebuono is nestled in the mountains.  The castle was another building that was Norman with Arab features.  It was built in 1316.  The edifice was big and demanded respect.  One purpose was to reflect to the people who saw it, the power of the religion.

The castle/fortress itself is mostly museum.  We saw modern art, we saw abstract art.  And we saw the bones of the castle itself.  The building was quite beautiful.  I can't say I enjoyed the abstract art.  I'm not a big fan of it.  My favorite part of the castle was the baroque chapel.  What a little beauty!  It was an explosion of statuary.  It was truly baroque in that all of the space was filled. It looked like marble but it was all made out of stucco and molded into cherubs, angels, and even some demons.  Construction on the chapel took three years.  I'm surprised it didn't take longer.  Protected by bars was supposedly the skull of Anne whose daughter was the Virgin Mary.  Once a year they take it out and show it to the masses from one of the balconies.

Chapel at Castlebuono

Finished with the castle itself, we wandered the streets of the small town.  Men were out in front of their clubs gossiping and looking at their cell phones.  We didn't see any women doing this, just the men.  We stopped at a stall and tried some manna.  Manna comes from the sap of a tree.  It drips out of the bark and dries into strings hanging down from the tree.  We sampled some ground up manna as well as some chocolate and a cake similar to fruit cake, just much lighter.  They also shared a liqueur made out of prickly pear.  It was icy cold so it tasted excellent.  We bought a bottle to take home.  By the time we had eaten everything they offered us, I was full and we still had dinner.

I do have to say that dinner was my favorite part of the optional outing.  The restaurant—Giardinon di Vinere, Slow Food—was fabulous.  We sat out on a balcony overlooking the square.  Two musicians strolled around serenading us all throughout dinner.  Luca even got up and sang a few songs with them.  He is very good and you could tell that he enjoyed doing it.  Before we left the owner came and serenaded us as well.

The wine was flowing, we were all singing and swaying with the music while eating traditional Sicilian dishes.  It was perfect.  The conversation at the table was great.  The night was beautiful.  Everybody was happy, relaxed, and enjoying themselves.  It was a little piece of heaven.

Afterwards walking back to the bus, we did some window shopping and Luca told us about the legend of the man with two hats.  We had seen ceramics of a man and woman with two hats on but didn't know what it meant so Luca told us.

Once upon a time there was a beautiful young girl who lived in the Arabic district of Palermo.  She was outside on her balcony working with her plants when a man walked by.  He fell immediately in love with her.  However, she played hard to get.  Eventually he wore her down and they made passionate love.  Things were good until the girl found out that her lover ha a couple of wives elsewhere.  In a fit of rage, she cut his head off and used it as a vase for her basil.  After that her basil grew beautifully and everybody was jealous.  They made ceramic heads for their plants in the hopes that their gardens would grow just as well.  The moral of this story is to not make a Sicilian woman mad!

The ride back to Cefalu was a quiet one.  It had been a very long day and we were all tired.  We all woke up fast though when a feral hog ran out on the road in front of the bus.  That was exciting.  We didn't hit it but another car was pretty darn close.  That was the last exciting thing to happen.

Tomorrow we board the bus once again.  This time we are heading to Palermo where we will learn about the Mafia from the son of the former top Mafia guy.  I'm looking forward to that.  It should be interesting.  Then we have a walk around the city center.  It will be another full day 🙂