Cefalu, cooking class in Sicily, Roger II and wonderful ceramics

So my friend, Mary Calhoun, is back in Cefalu again!  Lucky her.   Alison and I met her when we did our 12 day tour of Sicily this year.  Where did we meet?  At a fabulous cooking class, Sicilian Food Lovers -Antonio was the chef and his wife Cinzia were absolutely wonderful.  We made pasta (good grief, who would have thought?), the filling for cannoli and had we ate outside by the olive and orange trees on a beautiful 17th century estate.  Can it get much better?  We had a terrific time and boy did I eat a lot.


Cefalu is a beautiful seaside resort between Palermo and Messina.  Most people go to see Roger II's cathedral, which we did go into.  Unbeknownst to Roger, someone put in modern, abstract art windows in his medieval cathedral!  For some reason though, I liked them.


We also walked along the lungomare, the usual promenade by the sea that most Sicilian towns have and we ate our share of octopus, sea bass and dolci.


For us history lovers, Cefalu dates back to the Carthaginians, Phoenicians, and all the usual suspects who found their way to Sicily.  Cicero is said to have stopped there and pronounced it one of the most beautiful places in Sicily.