Cefalu with Mom

Monday night, determined not to let mom's missing suitcase ruin our fun, we decided to go to Cefalu regardless of whether or not Alitalia found the suitcase. Tuesday morning mom woke me up filled with excitement - her suitcase FINALLY made it to Sicily. We drove into the airport in Catania, picked up the suitcase and headed for Cefalu - one of my favorite places in Sicily up on the northern coast. To me, Cefalu is the perfect Sicilian beach town - clear sparkling blue water, beautiful old architecture, and not too many tourists.

Two boats anchored just offshore

Our first order of business when we arrived was lunch - we were famished. We found a cute little ristorante just across the street from the beach and feasted on pizza and Caponata while relaxing to the sound of happy beach-goers and watching the water sparkle in the afternoon sunlight.

After lunch we meandered along the waterfront and into the narrow streets of the town. As we passed a gated courtyard we heard running water. The gates were open so we peeked inside. We found a sight that I had seen on a Rick Steves video about Sicily but hand't been able to find on my first visit to Cefalu - The Washing Place/Il lavatoio. Some sources say that it dates back to Medieval times as a place that women went to do laundry. It was used for this purpose until just a few decades ago.

The Washing Place/Il Lavatoio

A view of the coastline from the seawall

Chiesa dell' Itria
I like this one because the blue sky matches the stained glass window.

After wandering the streets of Cefalu we went back to the car, changed into our swimsuits and spent a blissful hour or so floating in the Tyrrhenian Sea - a "must-do" on my mom's vacation agenda. Happy and tired we drove the two and a half hours home to have dinner with my hubbie.

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