A couple of weekends ago Patrick and I made a trip to the northern coast of Sicily. We drove about two hours to a beautiful town on the water called Cefalu. It's wedged between a stretch of mountains and the Mediterranean sea. The town has wonderful little winding streets that you can wander through. We started our time there trying to find a good place to park, which is often difficult and time consuming.
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| Cefalu |
Once we found a surprisingly convenient and cheap place to park we went in search of lunch. We opted not to eat right on the beach where prices are often inflated, and instead walked into town a bit. We found this very cute little 'bistro' and were pleasantly surprised by our meals. While in Venice a few months ago I was intrigued by a menu item but we didn't end up eating at that restaraunt, so I was happy when I saw it on the menu here. Strawberry risotto. I know, crazy, right? It's a savory risotto with strawberries and parmesean cheese. To be honest I have no idea what they use for the liquid in this dish, but it was really good.
After lingering over lunch we headed into town. There is an old fountain with spring water running through it, up until very recently the locals used to use it to wash their clothes. We explored the cathedral and piazza del duomo. We then made our way to the ocean, and I took some time to go explore the tide pools (nothing terribly exciting there). We walked back to check out the cloister next to the church. (A cloister is a rectangular shaped, open area located next to a cathedral. Monks would often use the area to walk and pray.) On our way back through town we meandered down alleys and into shops.
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| Fountain |
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| There I am staring at the beautiful water. I love the ocean!! |
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| Cathedral |
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| Piazza del Duomo |
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| Cloister |
I wanted to make a quick stop at Santo Stefano on the way back home. It's known strictly for ceramics, and who doesn't love ceramics?! About 10 minutes out of Santo Stefano Patrick asked me to drive so that he could take a short nap, I happily obliged. I was taking the exit to Santo Stefano and merging into another lane, and on the side of the road there were two cops with their lollypops out. (Local cops here park on the sides of roads and have these foot long white sticks with a red circle in the middle. They hold up the stick to cars passing by and you have to pull over. They don't have to have any reason, and they can do it to whomever they want. It's essentially to check to be sure that you have all your documents: insurance, registration, license.) I honestly think I was pulled over because I was yielding too thoroughly, unlike most Italian drivers.
I pulled over while cursing under my breath. As mentioned in my previous blog post (when I thought I was pulled over before) I remembered that I didn't have my license translation. And naturally the only time I remember that I might need that ridiculous and stupid document is, well, when I need it. Luckily these cops were nice, and they only made us switch seats. It cut Patrick's nap a little short, and he was just a little bit cranky with me. The cop let me know that if I drive and don't have that stupid piece of paper and I get pulled over, they can impound our car. So I guess really, it's not a completely stupid piece of paper. Here's the good news: I got a new translation!!
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Sicily has some of the most beautiful
varieties of wildflowers I've ever seen. |
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| Wildflowers |
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| Wildflowers |
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| Sicilian countryside |
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| Sicilian countryside |
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