La Chiesa de La Rocca & Rolla
March 11th, 2005 | Posted by Shannon
Here we are in Cefalu, and this is the big Norman church, that sits right up against the rock that overlooks the town and the sea. This place is fantastic. Beautiful, warm, sunny and hardly any tourists. Though I have been taking up the phrase “shut up, bitte.” Just kidding. Maybe.
In Cefalu I am trying to sort out my feelings about Palermo. I feel that I only scratched the surface of something the size of the Great Wall of China with my pinky nail. And yesterday, after being stuck in traffic on a bus for an hour, I was really ready to get out. But fast travel is not my gig, slow travel is (just not the kind of slow travel that involves a bus going one mile an hour.) I was really intrigued by all the bombed out buildings with graffiti all over them. And the outdoor market that goes on forever. And the food didn’t suck, either.
We are very happy here in Cefalu. We climbed halfway up La Rocca and now, I am going to try to get Colleen to go to a wine shop that has a little tiny balcony on the sea, where we will drink a bottle of Duca Enrico. This is a good place to walk slowly and breathe. I was walking too fast in Palermo.
Tomorrow, we head to Taormina and the villa. Tomorrow we will eat dinner with Cheryl and Nancy!
I love Sicily. It is so beautiful here, my heart hurts.
March 12th, 2005 at 3:40 pm
Hi Shannon et al,
Cefalu is great isn’t it ? We ate at a place called Ubriaco Pesce, or something like that. Right overlooking the water. When you get to Taormina try Trattoria Rosticepi -our friend Piero is a great cook. Thre’s also a good wine bar that’s toward the Greek theater, but you cut off to the right & follow the street that goes down to the right. They have a fixed price dinner, but you have to reserve it earlier in the day, so she knows how many people are coming.
ciao,
Tom
March 13th, 2005 at 12:01 pm
Hi Shannon, March 14th.
I had trouble getting to sleep last night and I needed to do some serious dreaming of my favorite destination-and I did so while still awake. Found your website and travel commentary and I gently faded into a lovely space. -Thank-you.
I gather you must be in Taormina by now, comfortably lounging on that balcony admiring the views. I hope the weather is nice!
I was in Sicily last June/04 on a cycling trip that took me through half of the island including the Aeolian Islands. Lipari and Salina are two islands that turned out to be the icing on the cake on my trip. You take an easy ferry from Messina to Lipari aprox. 1 hour, if you’re strapped for time, you can go for the day and come back to your lovely Villa! Also, Sicily is famous for it’s dolce (pastries) and home of the canolli’s, be sure you get your fill!
Anyway thanks for re-kindling the memory of my trip to Sicily, truly one of the best kept travel destinations of all time!
Ciao! Elio.
PS: I am a Canadian born Italian living in Vancouver, dreaming of Italy.
March 13th, 2005 at 1:00 pm
Sounds like things are going well. We all just wanted to say hello and this seemed the best way.
P.s. sundays are pretty fucking boring without you.
The Vine