If I win the lottery, I have decided I want to retire in Cefalu, Sicily.  As soon as I heard of this small fishing village, I knew I wanted to see it.  It’s  a city and commune  in the Province of Palermo, located on the northern coast of  Sicily, Italy on the Tyrrhenian Sea.  It had the beautiful quaintness of other villages I visited but it wasn’t as steep or hilly.  After a week of trekking up and down steep hills, this little fishing village was heaven.  It had all of the charm of the other villages I visited such as Cinque Terre and the Amalfi Coast but I could walk over the entire historic city and not feel like I just completed a marathon.

Cefalù is built on the top of a huge rocky outcrop, which rises straight up from the sea and dominates the coastline. As you approach by road, the sight of Cefalu, with its magnificent cathedral overhanging the sea, takes your breath away.

The town is one of Sicily’s most important tourist attractions, both for Sicilians and for foreigners. Its long sandy beach is also unparalleled in the whole of northern Sicily.

When my daughter and I was making a decision about where we wanted to go while in Sicily, I saw a photograph that someone had taken while standing in this exact spot.  There was something about boats and old buildings that drew me to this little fishing village and I knew this is where I wanted to go.  My daughter and I took turns choosing places to  visit as each port she graciously gave in to me on this one.

 We wandered tiny, narrow streets leading down to the sea.

This is one of the many streets that ended at the sea.  The streets are very narrow and  you had to watch out for oncoming cars.  As you can see, there’s not much room for another vehicle to squeeze through.

There were several tiny shops throughout the town.

Also of interest is the Medieval wash house – “lavatoio” – which is fed by a natural spring.