More Cefalu
Cefalu is dominated by a huge rocky hill known simply as La Rocca, capped by an old castle initially built by the Arabs but later conquered by the Normans in the 11th century. Obviously, this has to be climbed and we duly set off from the centre of town starting with a paved straircase. Round about twenty minutes later we entered through the first fortifications and were logged in by a crusty old chap who’s sole purpose appears to be to count the tourists in and out. The path climbs steadily past old buildings towards the ‘castello’ at the top. There’s a surprisingly large proportion of well maintained ruins and original walls still standing, but the highlight really is the view, with the town and disproportionately large cathedral below and magnificent views along the east and west coasts.
Palermo
Our guide book describes Palermo, Sicily’s capital, as decrepit and dignified. Well, we didn’t see the dignified part. But decrepit, dirty, crumbling and litter strewn it is. We liked it immediately. What it does have is endless Piazzas adorned with once great buildings simply rotting into the earth and statues and monuments in abundance. With a little imagination its easy to see that Palermo must have been a very great and wealthy city indeed. These days it looks as if the rich people just left one day and then the current residents moved in without the money or inclination to keep it maintained, Presumably, one day it will collapse completely and everyone will move on.
We did manage a very strange meal in Palermo as we found a Chinese restaurant and, after 3 weeks of Italian food, we fancied a change. The meal was mostly memorable for the surreal experience of ordering Chinese food in Italian.
Scopello
Further along the North coast, a little west of Palermo is Scopello, a tiny village situated at one end of the Zingaro national park, Sicily’s first. We rented a small bungalow in a complex of 8 just by a pretty little pebble beach. We were the only residents. Did we arrive too early?
The park itself runs along the coast and we set off one day to hike across it and back – 14kms in total, but the path was well maintained and we had a great day strolling around on our own. The weather had turned a bit windy, but it was a warm wind and the temperature was 22 degrees so pretty good walking conditions. Not long after we arrived back the weather turned and a fair old storm blew in and has rained us in for 2 days. We’ve turned into southern Mediterranean softies and only go out when the sun shines.
We booked the ferry to Napoli today and head there with the car overnight on Monday 9th March. Hopefully we’ll find a bit more internet access on the mainland and will be on-line a little more frequently.
With only Italian TV and no internet we’ve had to find ways to pass the time. Last night we were reading the label on the back of a pesto bottle during dinner. (This being another method we’ve started to learn Italian) And it lead to a philosophical debate about what makes a nut a nut as compared to a seed. Does anyone know? We really must get a pack of cards.
Cefalu is dominated by a huge rocky hill known simply as La Rocca, capped by an old castle initially built by the Arabs but later conquered by the Normans in the 11th century. Obviously, this has to be climbed and we duly set off from the centre of town starting with a paved straircase. Round about twenty minutes later we entered through the first fortifications and were logged in by a crusty old chap who’s sole purpose appears to be to count the tourists in and out. The path climbs steadily past old buildings towards the ‘castello’ at the top. There’s a surprisingly large proportion of well maintained ruins and original walls still standing, but the highlight really is the view, with the town and disproportionately large cathedral below and magnificent views along the east and west coasts.
Palermo
Our guide book describes Palermo, Sicily’s capital, as decrepit and dignified. Well, we didn’t see the dignified part. But decrepit, dirty, crumbling and litter strewn it is. We liked it immediately. What it does have is endless Piazzas adorned with once great buildings simply rotting into the earth and statues and monuments in abundance. With a little imagination its easy to see that Palermo must have been a very great and wealthy city indeed. These days it looks as if the rich people just left one day and then the current residents moved in without the money or inclination to keep it maintained, Presumably, one day it will collapse completely and everyone will move on.
We did manage a very strange meal in Palermo as we found a Chinese restaurant and, after 3 weeks of Italian food, we fancied a change. The meal was mostly memorable for the surreal experience of ordering Chinese food in Italian.
Scopello
Further along the North coast, a little west of Palermo is Scopello, a tiny village situated at one end of the Zingaro national park, Sicily’s first. We rented a small bungalow in a complex of 8 just by a pretty little pebble beach. We were the only residents. Did we arrive too early?
The park itself runs along the coast and we set off one day to hike across it and back – 14kms in total, but the path was well maintained and we had a great day strolling around on our own. The weather had turned a bit windy, but it was a warm wind and the temperature was 22 degrees so pretty good walking conditions. Not long after we arrived back the weather turned and a fair old storm blew in and has rained us in for 2 days. We’ve turned into southern Mediterranean softies and only go out when the sun shines.
We booked the ferry to Napoli today and head there with the car overnight on Monday 9th March. Hopefully we’ll find a bit more internet access on the mainland and will be on-line a little more frequently.
With only Italian TV and no internet we’ve had to find ways to pass the time. Last night we were reading the label on the back of a pesto bottle during dinner. (This being another method we’ve started to learn Italian) And it lead to a philosophical debate about what makes a nut a nut as compared to a seed. Does anyone know? We really must get a pack of cards.
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