We decided to catch the train to Cefalù today. After catching a taxi to the station, using my newly-learnt Italian, I tried to negotiate a discount for us and Kath, but the ticket man would not have a bar of it. He said we all looked too young. We thought that hilarious, but the tickets only cost us €11.20 each.

Cefalù is a very appealing town 70km east of Palermo, set on a spur jutting out into the sea. It took us 50 minutes by train. We’d only been there for about ten minutes before I was regretting the fact I hadn’t based us there for the 5 days and travelled to Palermo for a visit. It was stunning.

We followed the line of tourists for about 500m before we were in the old town.

We enjoyed the sites of the small side streets and quaint shops along the way.

The town is built right up to the edge of very steep cliffs.

Cefalù is obviously set up for tourists, and it was clear that the locals took great care and pride in their town.

We arrived in the Duomo square just in time for morning tea. The people were so friendly. We spotted this gorgeous cafe after we’d had ours, but will remember it for next time. It looked so cute.

The 12th Century Romanesque Duomo is considered one of the finest in Sicily. So we went in for a look. Can you spot the man on the roof above Kath? He had a mate on the ground who was passing him up something.

We then headed towards the sea as we’d read that most brochures promoting Sicily usually have photos of Cefalù’s coastline.

We weren’t disappointed. It was beautiful.

I suggested we walk along the coastline to get back to the railway station. This was a bit of a mistake as we walked too far and had to turn back and climb some rather steep roads to get there. This did test us all out a bit.

But, we made it, and only had to wait about 15 minutes for a train back to Palermo. We enjoyed the views of the countryside out one window while we could see the sea for much of both trips out the other. We would highly recommend a visit to Cefalù. We imagine that in the afternoons the streets would be quite empty after all the tourists depart.

Once back in Palermo we headed out for a late lunch to try two of Sicily’s traditional foods.

Arancine – stuffed, crumbed, deep fried rice balls.

I’ve attempted to make these before but mine were not a patch on these. We all gave them a thumbs up. Of course Mick had the one filled with black pig, Kath had a speck and cheese one, and I chose the tomato and zucchini.

Mick also tried their home made IPA which he thoroughly enjoyed.

For dessert, we shared two cannoli. We’d finished these before I could get the photo.

We’ve booked a small tour around Palermo and to Monreale tomorrow. We know you can catch a local bus to Monreale but this sounds too complicated for the three of us, so we’ll go in style. More on that in my next post.