Sicily Pt II: Left Our Hearts in Cefalu!

By some divine power, I stumbled upon this gorgeous seaside town of Cefalu on Sicily’s northern coast during a Google search—yeeaaaa I need to go there I thought. I knew that while I was planning mine and Smitty’s 2 week escapades around Europe, we had to hit Paris, Cinque Terre, Tuscany, Venice, and well it just so happened to be the end of September so we squeezed in Oktoberfest in Munich as well :). Sicily was Smitty’s idea. After we picked up our new friend Zach the World Traveler in Florence and had the most amazing pasta of our lives in Palermo, we hopped on the 45 minute train heading eastward towards the coast. As we approached, we saw it around the bend—a medieval Italian oasis right on the Tyrrhenian Sea and sitting under a rocky fortress and lighthouse jutting out from the rocks—Cefalu! We were already in love. Our B&B was right on the water’s edge and a stone’s throw from several candle-lit restaurants with a view of the bluest water I’ve ever seen. We had no plans, no expectations and no worries, only smiles and curiosities. We dropped off our bags and wandered into a cozy restaurant next to the sea—2 bottles of wine and several dishes of Italian delicacies later, we raved about how much we were enjoying our time in Sicily! Wandering through the streets at night at the tail-end of tourist season meant the only noise we could hear were the crashing waves against the rocks…and a random vespa engine somewhere off in the distance (and our own giggles!). 

The next morning, after enjoying a cuppa joe on the balcony overlooking the ocean, we set out to discover the place by daylight. Our explorations didn’t take us far because we were sure we found the best spot in town—a bench on a jetty with a view over the bay to the entire town. It felt like we spent hours here! Laughing, observing, sunbathing, me getting creamed by a wave, and reveling in the fact that we were in a small Sicilian town far, far away and no one in the planet could be enjoying this moment as much as we were at that very second. We somehow managed to peel ourselves away from that bench and into the town’s main square. Old Sicilian (oh no, they are NOT Italians, they are Sicilians!) men were gathered on chairs playing cards, smoking cigarettes and watching the world go by. We thought that was a great idea so we grabbed a table on an outdoor terrace and well 18 beers later (and several hours!) we strolled down the street to indulge on a meal of seafood spaghetti, ham & cheese tortellini and mista salads. Oh and we made a quick stop on that bench :)…aaaaand we may have watched the sunset from there too. The entire 3 days we spent in Cefalu felt like one long dream. Smitty and I felt blessed to be best friends experiencing Europe together, felt so humbled to have met a new friend and felt totally completely in love with this place we were sure that no one in the universe had discovered. The time came to leave this magical place as Smithers and I continued in one direction and Zach the World Traveler continued in the other. It was a sad day, we felt like we were saying goodbye to not only 1 new friend, but 2 new friends—to Zach and Cefalu, we hope to see you again :)…

{Bye Zach!}

{…and bye Cefalu! Our nearly perfect view from the train}

Sicily Pt I: Palermo, Taormina & The Best Pasta We've Ever Had

After spending a couple of days getting lost in Florence, making a friend of Zach the World Traveler (who joined us on the plane to Sicily!), we arrived pretty late in the Sicilian town of Palermo...and we were starving. It was nearly midnight once we found our hostel tucked behind the backstreets of bustling Palermo, but our hostel owner assured us that we could sneak around the corner to a small place and get a meal. Not one person was sitting inside, beads were draped over the open door and some cheesy Italian music was blasting from the radio in the back--not your ideal Italian restaurant right? WRONG! We sat down, pointed at 'vino 1 Liter' and with a few hand swishes and no English words, we somehow figured out that the chef would prepare us whatever he liked--this may have been the best miscommunication I've ever experienced! The three of us waited patiently for our meal to arrive and then suddenly, there it was, 3 heaping plates of spaghetti slathered in olive oil, tomatoes, garlic and pepper. Such a simple dish, no? Once the spaghetti hit our tastebuds, we ooooo'd and aaaaah'd at the sheer deliciousness! How could such simple ingredients be combined in such a magnificent way? Then and there we agreed that it was most certainly the best spaghetti we've ever had. 

The city itself was quite crazy--vespas, cars, and Sicilians swishing off in every direction. We weren't dying to visit Palermo as it was just where we had to fly in to, but we managed to squeeze in a little stroll down the fish market and to the catacombs. Although not the most beautiful city, it was still that city with the place that had the most amazing spaghetti the 3 of us have ever had. We had hoped to squeeze in one more helping of that delicious plate of spaghetti but 'damn its closed!' was our fate, then we were off! Our next stop was Cefalu, a charming little village on the north side of Sicily. Cefalu was AMAZING which is why I decided to dedicate one post to it. After Cefalu though, we hopped on the train bound for Taormina, a hilltop gem in the wake of Mt. Etna. The train ride itself was quite a treat--we peered out the window watching as we rolled past endless blue/green/crystal clear coastlines with rolling green hills at our backs. 

Four hours later, we set foot in Taormina. We were just in time to grab a meal of ham 'n cheese tortellini and the waiter bet that we couldn't finish 2 liters of wine, we graciously accepted (and proved him wrong!) his challenge--piece of cake :)--then he treated us to a free helping of tiramisu! Taormina sits high above the ocean and man did that ocean look tempting. Finding a walking path through grape vines and around mountain bends, we made it to the sea below--the shores of Isola Bella are what greeted us. For the rest of the afternoon, we got 10 EUR massages on the beach and twiddled our toes in the sea ;).

{Palermo}

 

 

{Taormina}

{Isola Bella}