Cefalu

The whole experience at Cefalu was amazing. Getting to spend 6 days and 5 nights there was a great way to try to learn about the city and gather information for our projects. Day one was our arrival and we spent a little more time in Palermo before catching the bus into Cefalu. We spent time at the Cathedral again and we met a few local teenage girls who seemed to fall in love with Spiro rather quickly. Needless to say, their infatuation with him was pretty funny.

We had lunch at a local market - cow spleen sandwiches...and yes, I actually ate it. I was surprised by how good it was - tasted like roast beef. Did some shopping, then hung out in the park next to our hotel waiting for the bus.

The funny girls outside of the Cathedral with the guys.

Right after Marco told them that they could keep him.

Cow spleen lunch...YUMMY!

Waiting for the bus to Cefalu.

Arrival in Cefalu was amazing. We got to drive through the newer sections of the expansion and see the Rock and old town in the background. Our hotel was...not as nice as the ones in Naples and Palermo, but we did fine with what we had. You can't really complain when you are right on the beach. We walked down into the center of the old town and took many pictures along the way.

The view of the old city and "La Rocca" from right outside our hotel.

Pretty flowers I liked along the walk into the old city.

Amy, myself, and Maureen on the rocks.

Chris, Maureen, and I on the peninsula.


Amy and Matt being Amy and Matt...silly!


That's me and the newer part of the city behind me with the water.

Our walk was followed by another Prosecco night before our group dinner. It was a lot of fun to get together and since the hotel was pretty much deserted, we had the restaurant all to ourselves!

Wednesday was spent having meetings, doing research, and climbing the mountain. Below are a few pictures I took during the morning.

Niko the historian giving us a lesson outside of the Cathedral.

The wall of the city.

Another boyband picture! Haha...

Me on one of the walls.

Maureen in the tiny pass through in the old city.

After our walking tour with the Historian Niko, Maureen, Chris, Duffy and I (team History) climbed to the very top of the mountain that is a staple to the city life. We all felt a huge sense of accomplishment when we made it too the top - especially with my complaining and worrying about getting back down. We managed just fine, which was awesome.

View from about 1/3 of the way up the "La Rocca"


Me on top of "La Rocca"

The Port of Cefalu from the top of the rock.

The new city

Duffy and I at the wall on the rock by the Temple of Diana.

Maureen and I at the top of the rock.

Thursday we got into our studio space and were given the opportunity to try to get some work done. As the history group, we had to do a bit of research in the museum library which was incredibly difficult because of the fact that none of us can read Italian very well. Seemed to do fine. So Thursday and Friday were spent getting work done. Friday night was a group dinner with the mayor. It was supposed to be the "best restaurant in Cefalu" and I can see why. All of the food was really very delicious - but I think my favorite was the risotto and shrimp. YUMMY!

Saturday morning I went to do some on site sketching in the city by the water. We had the morning to work and the afternoon to do whatever it was that we wanted. A group of us decided to tackle the mountain, and for a few of us, it was our second time. Saturday night we went back to our favorite place in Cefalu for dinner - it was a small restaurant but they had delicious pasta and a dish called meat and potatoes. We went there three nights of the 5 - the three we didn't have group dinners set up. Shows you that once you find a place you like, its hard to break away from it and try other places.

The whole gang

Sunday we spent the morning in Cefalu documenting our sites and then headed to Castelbuono - another mountain town in Sicily, but we were all so tired it was hard to be enthusiastic. Plus, we knew that we had to get on the ship to Naples before getting back to Rome and everyone just wanted to be back in the familiar city that we currently call home. The boat ride was - rocky at best. We watched Garden State in our room, wandered to the lovely piano bar, and then headed back to bed.

We wound up getting into Naples so early that we had to wait about 4 and a half hours for our train back to Rome. I don't think any of us have been more relieved to be in Rome once we got there. Waiting for the train, I wrote out the few postcards I hadn't finished yet and then caved and ate McDonald's. I know, I know...that's horrible - but it was comfort food and SOOOO good. Ah well...what's done is done.

So - I've now caught you all up on what happened while we were away! I'm up to speed! YES!