Saturday 6th May

Team Basil decided that one member (Sarah) was willing to sacrifice her visit Cefalù and another member (Skye) wanted to stay with The Boss (Sarah), so that left me to bravely explore the nearby town on my lonesome.

I caught the small bus from the campsite and it was soon clear that even bus drivers ignore the new Italian speed limits. As we squeezed through Cefalù’s narrow streets he was travelling at least twice the indicated 30kph.

My initial impressions of Cafalù was that it had a much larger beach than I had imagined and it was far more touristy that the other places we have visited in Sicily, even Siracusa. The streets were busy with tourists and lined with a mixture of up and down market tat shops and restaurants. It had a much wealthier feel to it, presumably due to the tourist income.

I had planned the things I wanted to see on Google Maps and set out on my route. The first item was a medieval clothes washing area, which is the most elaborate I have seen. Several stone washtubs with water constantly flowing through them and a large pool fed with water through twenty two cast iron mouths.

Further along street was the last remaining of the original gates in the town’s walls. It was nothing out of the ordinary but gave a nicely framed view out onto the beach and the turquoise sea beyond.

The main attraction for me was the Norman/Arab Cathedral and, in particular, the elaborate mosaics. Some Sicilian buildings have what is a termed “Norman Arabic” architecture. This is because when the Normans under Roger II conquered Sicily from the Arabs they allowed the Arabs to remain and thus the Arabic influence on some architecture of the period.

I enquired at the ticket office about the price to enter the Cathedral and in particular the part containing the mosaics, only to be told that the mosaics were under preservation work and could not be seen for the rest of the year. I decided I couldn’t wait that long so satisfied myself by admiring the exterior of the building.

I grabbed an Arancini for lunch. Arancini, like Canolli are Sicilian specialities. They consist of a large ball of rice with a filling in the centre (traditionally ragu) which is then covered in breadcrumbs and deep fried. Like most Italian food it is a simple concept, but the result is more than the sum of its parts.

The rest of my visit consisted of looking at the exterior of some further buildings, none of which were particularly outstanding.

By now it was 1.45pm but when I looked at the bus timetable the next one was not until 3pm. All the buses stop at 12.30 and restart at 3pm. Well I suppose every Sicilian must have their lunch break!

I arrived back at the campsite to relieve Sarah of Skye entertaining duties and that allowed her to go for a swim in the pool.

We did sneak a look at a few moments of the Coronation but I suppose if I had been at home I might have watched a good deal more, but in all I preferred spending my time in Cefalù.

Sunday 7th May

Sunday, for European countries, is a day of rest and we’ve decided to take this seriously today.

Sarah is crocheting a dragon for our eldest grandson, I’ve been writing the blog and doing some Palermo planning and Skye has been pestering us successfully for games of frisbee. In the current heat her stamina is much reduced and she’s usually has enough after 15 minutes or so.

In fact, first thing this morning Sarah took Skye to the beach and while Sarah waded out to and then sat on a rock Skye got great amusement from jumping off the rock and having her first proper swim in the sea.

It’s midday and I can predict the rest of the day will be relaxed. We might go swimming, we will certainly be playing more frisbee and we’ve talked about having takeaway pizza from the campsite bar since Sarah saw one last night and said they looked surprisingly good.

*An English rhyme, apparently at least 200 years old, that as children we would often chant if we got on a high point, say the top of a climbing frame, before your friends.