Today was a moving day again. For the first time it seemed like everything would work out smoothly. We could check out by 10:00, walk or catch a bus to the train station, arrive in Cefalù by 12:00 and check in immediately.

We checked out by 10:00 and walked to a coffee shop. It took quite a while to get a table, so we decided to take it easy and aim for the 12:00 train instead of the 11:00. We had a pistachio croissant and a ham panini, which were good, and two cappuccinos, which weren’t as good as the previous morning’s.

We then walked the entire 2 km to the station, popping into another church or two on the way.

Caro with a cappuccino and pistachio croissant at a Palermo coffee shop
The painted ceiling and nave of a Palermo church

Inside another church on the walk to the station
A narrow Palermo street with balconies and a church tower at the end

At the station there were long queues at the ticket office and the ticket machines. Hugo tried to buy a ticket online, but it was sold out. George had said there was no reason to book in advance, the same advice as for the bus two days ago. Hugo then tried a machine: also sold out. The people in front of him were trying to get the same train. They cursed when the machine showed no tickets available and then frantically phoned someone. We still went to the platform anyway, where even more people were trying to get on, but the train really was completely packed.

We managed to get tickets for the 13:48 train in the end. The machine refused our cards and the website at first didn’t work with Google Pay, but it finally went through with a credit card.

To have somewhere to sit and wait, Caro stood in the McDonald’s queue for what felt like 30 minutes, while Hugo claimed a table as soon as someone got up.

Our train finally came and we just-just managed to get a seat. Tickets had supposedly sold out, but they clearly still sell more than there are seats, because a lot of people were standing.

The railway, the Palermo–Messina line, runs along the coast, sometimes right next to the sea. In Cefalù we again decided to walk to our apartment. Usually it feels like we’re the only ones walking away from a station with our bags, while most others are being picked up. This time almost everyone off the train had the same mission. A lot of the streets are pedestrianised, so people probably don’t even bother with a taxi. It looked like a massive migration of wheeled suitcases invading the town.

Caro with both backpacks among the crowd on the platform at Cefalù station

Travellers pulling wheeled suitcases through the streets of Cefalù

Caro with the backpacks in a narrow Cefalù street
A steep, narrow staircase

We had only booked the apartment recently. Two months ago Booking.com showed almost everything as sold out, so we booked another place with free cancellation. When we checked last week, a lot of places that hadn’t been available were now available, including this one. It was R1,400 cheaper and closer to the beach, so we cancelled the first one. That’s a lot of gelato…

It is a large four-“room” apartment (room as in enclosed area, not bedroom), but it’s a bit dated, the mattress isn’t great, and the decor is very interesting (read questionable).

An underwater mural with sea turtles above the beds in the apartment

A beach mural in the apartment bedroom

The apartment kitchen

Hugo then quickly put in two more hours of work, finally able to open the laptop somewhere quiet.

After 17:00 we went down to the long main beach along the Lungomare, our first real soft-sand beach in Europe. It was also the busiest one, but the water was almost perfect: sand at the bottom, calm, the right temperature. All good. We stayed in the water until past 18:00 and then went back for a quick shower.

We then headed out again to find a grocery store. We had a kitchen again, and for a few nights we’d been eating out at almost €40 a night.

Cefalù's old town rising above the beach and the old pier

Sunset over the sea at Cefalù

Caro on the Lungomare promenade with the old town and La Rocca behind

We walked about 900 m to Gourmet Decò, the upmarket branch of a Sicilian supermarket chain and our first big-ish grocery store in Italy. Wow, what an experience. It could have been a whole sightseeing trip on its own. The fresh vegetables had the same fancy feeling as a modern Checkers in South Africa, but the crazy part was the cured meat and cheese counter. Cured meats, some still on the bone, were stacked on high shelves. People order just a few slices or a couple of etti (100 g each), and the staff shave it off hams that have usually been curing for a year or more. Cheeses and cured meats one can only dream of.

The il Salumiere cured meat and cheese counter at Gourmet Decò

We got pork rashers, salami, prosciutto, four types of cheese, olives, tomatoes, apples, canary melon, milk, Coke, Decò’s own-brand “Aperol” spritz (looks like Aperol, isn’t), pesto, bread, chips and chocolate. By the time we paid it was €40 again, but hopefully it will last more than one meal.

The Gourmet Decò groceries spread out on the apartment table

Back at the apartment we had a platter feast.

A platter of salami, prosciutto, cheese, tomatoes, olives, pesto and bread