Cefalù, Sicily
38°02'18" N, 14°01'22" E
A few staycations from our home base in Palermo! Enjoy!
It’s been lovely to be docked somewhere long enough to get to know a place. Being in Sicily for this long has given us the possibility to connect with neighbors, our local Bangladeshi mini-market, and find the best places to eat an arancini. Food is a great joy in Italy and the last month we have even gone so far to take a 7:30am espresso with a brioche in the piazza. We spend our afternoons taking long luxurious walks and sitting on the steps of the nearby church to watch the Sicilian weddings pour through the streets. We don’t know why but for some reason, June seems to be an optimal time to have a wedding. We decided that in 10 or 15 years we will renew our vows and have a proper Sicilian shebang complete with the rented out convertibles and the very custom fit tuxedos and lace dresses. Stay tuned for your invite.
The last month has looked a little bit different for us as we challenged ourselves to begin waking up with the sun at 5am, to take the rare quiet moments in our neighborhood. We have been fiercely journaling, working out, and learning. In these moments we have cultivated a deeper sense of togetherness and expansion.
On a recent trip to Cefalù, we rented a lovely B&B overlooking the sea and decided to wake up at 5am to enjoy the emptiness of the terrasse and the view of the Tyhrennian, pink and golden with the morning. We ventured out into the streets after an espresso and found the most exquisitely tranquil streets. We let our wild selves lead the way and found ourselves walking along a stone pathway that skirted the cliffs and the apartments above. The summer sun here is no joke and by 7am we could already feel the promise of a hot day.
We followed crabs and our joy and found ourselves sitting at the café in the piazza in front of the Duomo di Cefalù. It was built by King Roger; a gift to the inhabitants of Cefalù for helping him through a fierce storm. He promised to build an epic church in the place where his feet touched the ground. And epic it is. We took a moment to make an offering and lit a candle as we made our prayers to the ancestors as the crisp morning light filtered through the stained glass windows warming our faces.
We were eager to make our way to the Lavatoio Medievale after siesta hours. The steps leading down to the cool running water felt like stepping into an ancient oasis. It’s as if you were to close your eyes you could hear the rumblings of Sicilian women washing their clothes and making loud boisterous conversation. The energy in the place was palpable and it certainly felt like there were still people there doing their laundry as they always had. An inscription at the entrance reads: “Here flows Cefalino, healthier than any other river, purer than silver, colder than snow.” It wasn’t long ago that this beautiful wash house was used, giving us a hint of ancient Sicilian life.
Our mini Italian staycation wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t eat great food and drink some local red wine. Our hosts suggested we try a typical dish of Cefalù called Taianu. The name nods to the island’s Arabic past and comes from the word “taio” referring to earthenware or terra cotta pots. The dish is served in a giant earthen bowl and filled with pasta, slow cooked pulled beef in a tomato sauce, pulled fried eggplant, fresh pecorino, and lots of basil. We ate our meals in a cobblestone alleyway with lights strung up casting a romantic glow on our sunkissed and red wine cheeks.
Time in Cefalù must include a visit to the Museo Mandralisca. A totally wild collection of neglected paintings, strangely taxidermied animals, and Antonello da Messina‘s Portrait of a Man that was rumored to once serve as a cupboard door.
Since waking up at 5am and taking in the sights of Sicily has proved to be a cool and relaxing way to spend the morning, we planned a trip up the mountain to the Duomo di Monreale. It was our first bus trip in Sicily! We went down to the local tobacco shop and did as our dear friend Gaetano suggested, to ask for a “biglietto del autobus.” We found ourselves riding an empty bus through the usually bustling streets of Palermo and crawling our way up through olive groves and winding mountain roads. When we walked into the piazza we were confronted with loud roaring motorcycles. It turns out the village was hosting a sort of motorbike race that day and everywhere we walked there was an older gentleman in a thick leather outfit squeaking his way past us to the event. We found a seat at the café and watched the buzzing morning energy.
Once the Duomo di Monreale opened, we made our way to the entrance fending off zombie-like tourists wearing headphones and being led by a tour guide. There were hundreds of people there just as the Duomo opened. We were totally shocked and grateful we were there early. We skipped paying the heavy entrance fee and instead decided to take the free entrance to have a look around. Once inside, we were awed by the incredible mastery of the designs and tile work. To see this church in real life is a dream. It’s really quite impossible to imagine the magnificence of such a place. We found ourselves at the back of the church where a woman was selling tickets to the rooftop. We paid the four euros and made our way up to the top of the church with stunning aerial views of the grounds and the immaculate gardens. There were the sweetest open air domed hallways that led you deeper into the hive of the church. We stood overlooking the city for some moments of gratitude and made our way back out. Since it was loud and hot we decided we would try and catch the next bus back home in time for the city to start waking up. We got to our stop just as the streets were thick with tourists and weekend locals. The bus ride made us feel a bit nauseous as there was a lot of stopping and going and masses of people and cars to watch out for. We decided to treat ourselves to an arancine on the way to our apartment and enjoy a Sicilian ginger beer to equalize ourselves. The heat was already taking the wind out of us and it was only 11am!
The next weekend, we were on a mission to find the massive mural, The Triumph of Death, which is housed at the Palazzo Abatellis. It depicts a skeleton riding a skeletal horse parading over scores of other dead bodies. It nods to the pandemic plague, Black Death of 1347-1351 which is estimated to have possibly killed 50% of Sicily’s population, owing to the fact that it was a major entry port for disease in the Mediterranean. Once we found the painting we spied a balcony from which you could view the painting in its enormity. We were looking for the route up to the balcony and began ascending some stairs, where a woman was posing for an Instagram photo at the top. We were happy to wait for her to have her moment when she told us she needed the view of the whole staircase and that we should leave since there was nothing to see in the room that she was blocking. The audacity! The narcissism! We stood there anyways waiting condescendingly as she finished up her photo shoot and went inside. There were tablets with ancient Arabic script organized on the floor, beautiful carvings in stone hinting at Sicily’s deep Arabic roots. We felt sad that someone felt compelled to tell us these artifacts were uninteresting and also that they weren’t displayed with more honor upon the walls. The visit had us digesting what it means to honor history and gave us a deep look into prevailing dominant culture beliefs. We did eventually find the Triumph of Death. We sat on the only bench arm in arm listening to the boisterous conversations that filled the room and took in the sight of death riding on his magisterial horse.
We wonder what another month in Sicily will reveal. We are quieting ourselves to hear the inner workings of her heart and listening to how she wants us to join her ancient dance.