Day 2: Cefalù

Today we drove to Cefalu, a town on the northern coast of Sicily,
about an hour away from Palermo. It was breathtakingly beautiful.It's
right on the sea and has a very distinctive cathedral surrounded by
little orange-roofed buildings, with a large mountain as it's
backdrop. The sand on the beach is fine and white and the water is
turquoise blue; the whole place reminded me of Greece, which I've only
seen in movies. We visited the cathedral, built by the Normans in the
12th century, and also visited the Museo Mandralisca, a collection of
artwork and archaeological artifacts. Most impressive, though, was the
beach. We walked down to the water and put our feet in. It was so
warm, and crystal clear.

In the afternoon in Palermo we walked around and did some shopping. We
walked through a big market selling all kinds of junk. It reminded me
of the big market in Bologna, if that means anything to you, except
that it was down one long winding street instead of stalls in a main
square. (Mom said it reminded her of what Orchard Street used to be
like...if that means anything to you.) The most interesting part was
seeing all of the iron balconies outside every window above the
market, each one covered in laundry and sheets hung out to dry. We
didn't end up buying anything, but the market definitely gave me a
real feel for Palermo - there were almost no other tourists around.
After dinner we went out to a nearby piazza where there was a big band
playing music on a stage, and there were lots of Palermitans of all
ages crowding in the piazza. The music was good - I think I'd describe
it as Italian rock - and it felt like a very non-touristy place to
hang out on a Saturday night.